Calling all Readers! Nominations for the AOA AWARDS '08

Editor's Note: Again this year, Age of Autism will name the year's winners and warriors (and a few sinners) -- and we want your nominations. Please send them by Dec. 10 to me at olmsted.dan@gmail.com. There are several obvious categories involving people, events, publications and media moments. But true to our reader-inspired spirit here at AOA, we'll let you decide.

Past winners -- who are thus ineligible though much appreciated -- include Jenny McCarthy as Person of the Year, Michelle Cedillo as Child of the Year, Ashley Reynolds as Media Person of the Year. But think creatively -- what mattered most in '08 and who or what deserves to be honored? Tell us why, too, and we'll run many of your comments, along with winners and runners-up, over the year-end holidays. (Worst moments, lousiest books, dumbest quotes also are welcome! We wouldn't want to leave anyone off-it) -- Dan Olmsted

Comments

[Louis Conte]

Dear All:
Sorry that I am getting here late.

Favorite Leader of the Rebel Alliance - John Gilmore. John never stops working for our cause and our children. He never stops bringing people together. He leads by doing.

Journalist - The Great David Kirby. The guy is finding the truth - no matter what they throw at him.

Dignity through Humor and Insight - Kim Stagliano. You see it in any picture next to any post. You read it in her writing.

THe Best Lawyer that the other side should fear - Bob Krakow......And they should.

Best team ever start an autism advocacy coalition - Lisa Rudley, Tricia Zarro, Lisa Colin, Katie Weisman, Rob Sparling. Autism United of Westchester.

Best Thing about New Jersey - Louise Kuo Habakus. The Trenton Rally was great.

Courage Beyond All Words - The family of Ashley Brock. I saw them at the Green the Vaccine Rally. I will never forget them.

Louis

[Kevin]

Is it too soon to nominate Boyd Haley for 2009 Man of the Year?

[Lin]

Oh....and Bryan & Laurie Jepson for parents of the year. Their story is that of saints or angels or both.

[Lin]

I second the nominations of Maurine Meleck and Bob Moffitt for grandparents of the year! The both of them work so hard and diligently! Truly inspirational.

Polings for family of the year. They made and changed history!!

The rest are too hard for someone as indecisive as I am to declare a nominee! So many wonderful advocates out there. We‘re very blessed!

[Lisa - TACAland]

How many folks can be in the winners circle? There are so many.

Here are a few:

Bernadine Healy (brave and credible)
Sharyl Attkisson (brave!)
David Kirby (thanks for keeping up the fight!)
Andrew Wakefield (thanks for staying strong!)
Hannah Poling & HER PARENTS! (Being the poster family is no easy task.)
Bryan & Laurie Jepson for adopting Austin (oh this got to me!)

I know there are more - sorry if I forgot someone. There are so many folks to thank. Hopefully we can nominate Obama next year for his upcoming, heroic efforts for our kids? (And some of his cabinet?)

Also -I love the previous people who were awarded for their efforts. Thank you.

[Craig]

Doctor of the year HAS to go to Jon Poling. I love this man!

Idiot of the year is a tie between Ken Reibel and TheProbe.

Biggest pHARMa-scum (tm) absolutely MUST go to Pauly prOffit.

Best guy EVAH: David Kirby. Dude, you just rock.

Parent of the year: Every parent who struggles day in and day out to try to bring their child out of the vaccine induced fog that was thrust upon them by a corrupt and greedy pharmaceutical industry. We are the ones making this happen; we are the ones who will MAKE them listen.

[N/A]

I second Shauna Layton Together In Autism. She does not have any big names helping her. She's a mother who does all this hard work on her own and devotes lots time to helping our community daily. She should also be acknowledged for the fact that the site togetherinautism.org has grown so much and so quickly since it started. It is, well known for covering everything where most are isolated on one or a few topics. She cares very deeply about each and every family with autism, supporting them one on one. There is true heart in all that she does. I agree with the previous post, someone who devotes so much their time and energy especially in the face of their own challenges deserves acknowledgement. Choose Shauna

[Andrea]

Kick -ass Grandparents of the Year:

Maurine Meleck-who is raising her 2 grandsons. One of them happens to have autism. Political activist. Poet and a hell of a letter writer.

Check this out: http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=11012904080763710&ShowArticle_ID=11012411084056586

and

Bob Moffitt- a grandpa who takes a lot of time transcribing interviews and posting them online so we can all read what we may have missed. A great letter writer in his own right. A political activist as well. Bob goes to a lot of rallies (and brings his brothers with him). Most of all loving grandfather to Bobby.

[Maurine Meleck]

Person of the Year-David Kirby
Child of the Year-Hannah Poling
Mother of the Year(for sharing it all) Barbara Fischkin

Maurine

[Twyla]

I second Jamie's nomination of Lisa Ackerman! Lisa's accomplishments are phenomenal!

[Lin]

While all the children are equally important and play the most significant roles in this ongoing travesty, I absolutely must nominate my son, Sam Wessels, for child of the year. After all, I am his mom and I, for one, am forever grateful to him and for him.

Sam Wessels changed the course of the entire 2008 presidential campaign. Exclusively by himself? Of course not, but he most defiantly made an impact, touched some hearts and changed some lives forever. Senator John McCain was so taken with Sam Wessels, he went as far as to call his home one Saturday afternoon while on the campaign trail, a gesture practically unheard of by top contending presidential campaigners. Who could blame him? Have you seen that gorgeous smile? How about that beautiful red hair? And that sweet and innocent voice asking, “If you are president, will you help me, and all of the others, like me? I have autism.” What about that? How could any deny him?

Yes, little Sam Wessels allowed his mom to drag him from campaign event to campaign event for over a year and half, rarely complaining, always compliant. He shook their hands and gave ‘em five; McCain, Romney, Thompson, Edwards, Huckabee and Obama. Actually, some more than once, while others weren’t even in the running for commander in chief, but rather second in command. He smiled his sweet smile and beseeched them to help, with a bit of coaching from his mom. Okay, a lot, but he did it nonetheless. He traveled many hundreds of miles and spent countless hours waiting for his turn as patiently, quietly and tranquilly as is humanly possible for a young child with autism. He touched many a heart and even brought some to tears. He allowed TV crews and cameras to invade his home, his space. He answered their questions to the very best of his ability. They all fell in love with him, each and every one.

Is Sam Wessels solely responsible for autism being added to the 2008 presidential election arena? No, of course not, but he most certainly did his share to ensure the word autism would be uttered and those affected by it would not be forgotten….and then some.

Thank you, Sam Wessels, thank you!

Love,
MAMA

[Jeanne]

Oh, oh.... one more...

Doc of the Year: Bryan Jepson (and family) for adopting Austin, a little boy with autism. “We’ve been there, done that, so its part of our life, so hopefully it will give him a chance to make some good progress,” Laurie Jepson said. Incredible!!!!

Oh, and Mark... thanks for the nod - too funny about the DK thing... LOL You put a smile on my face today!

[Cathy Jameson]

Dan,

Then, how about a "People Who Run the Joint" nomination slot?

I would say Kim earns that award hands-down. :)

Cathy Jameson

[Mark]

blogger of the year must go to Jeanne charlieinwonderland not because she nominate me but for her work on the Maloney meeting, lend for health and the daily laughs from her stories as well as the amazing pill cam pictures. i suggest a photo of DK for a prize.

man of the year Martin Walker
Martin who !! he has sat and documented the Wakefield Murch and Walker-Smith trial missing just a few days. he has been threatened with legal action been called many names. but is highly respected by the parents.
most importantly has exposed the trial as the sham that it is.read his accounts at www.cryshame.com

Child of year
Hannah

[Jamie]

Lisa Ackerman gets my vote. Lisa started TACA and has worked endless hours having supported over 12,000 families as of last count that I know of, provided information to the media, put on doctors dinners, debates, medical seminars for parents and professionals, worked on legislation, being there in the background pushing for better services and training for families. She has been the person behind people that have been in the news. TACA now has chapters across the nation with more being added in the coming months. All this started because of a mom's need to do more for her son.

[Josh]

Wow, how can I even begin to sum up a nomination into a few words? I vote for Shauna Layton-Founder of Together In Autism www.togetherinautism.org. This mother has fought tirelesly to help other families affected by autism, while helping recover her own child. She is a mother of 2, one has autism. She was on bedrest for 7 months with her second child due to a heart condition she developed during pregnancy, he was delivered emergency c-section as her and her son's life were in danger of a rupture. Just as she recovered from surgery, her oldest was diagnosed with Autism. She then and there began to fight the fight. She is a full time stay at home mom who uses all of her free time to help others in need. Her website is a rare one, as it covers ALL things autism, it is not focused in one certain area and it's for all that are on the spectrum. It most importantly provides a personal touch. 100% FREE. The name Together In Autism says it all. This mother developed her site originating in the Midwest in 2007 and now she is helping thousands of families across the globe (U.S. Bulgaria, India, Korea, Netherlands, U.K., just to name a few). You name it and she helped people from that region. She has made a few posts on AOA that brought me to her site, it's amazing. Along with the site; she has a Yahoo Group: togetherinautismorg, where she posts the latest autism information (everyone is welcome to join), a Message Board, and a very informative Monthly Newsletter. This site is ever evolving. There's always new information or new ways of providing support popping up all the time. Right now just one of the many projects she is involved in, is gathering Autism Journey Stories that focus on Recovery along w/ pictures, soon coming to the site. If anyone is interested, she's having them sent to togetherinautism@aol.com. We need more people like Shauna who devote all of their free time, energy and devotion. She has paid for all of the expenses to keep the site going along with the resource fairs she has attended. She is just now supplying the option for the public to donate to support her efforts, as she hates to ask. She held an Indiana cities first ever autism walk in April of 2008. She marched in front of the Green Our Vaccines Rally on June 4th, she can be seen marching in June 23rd's People Magazine Issue along with Jenny and Jim. She is also a Rescue Angel. She has been interviewed by Autism One here's interview:

http://www.autismone.org/radio/video/greenrally.cfm?v=21

This woman is a mother, full time caregiver, activist, advocate and a true Mother Warrior. I know she would not want me to share this, but she also is a flood victim from the June flood on 2008. She came home from the June Rally to find herself with an un-repairable home. This as well as many other road blocks has not kept her one bit from her mission of giving support and information to the public. She has helped people relocate to far regions of the world like India and spent the hours locating resources such as doctors that follow a DAN! like protocol. For someone to devote their time and energy so selflessly is something to be acknowledged. She lives and breathes Recovery for her child and others across the globe. It is obvious that this is what she was put on this Earth to do. Please help me give credit where credit is long over due. Thank you Shauna and Together In Autism (T.I.A)

[Jack]

What a list of great people. I second all of them.

And, for dumbest quote, I like Renee Jenkins and her "we know 3% have these defects..." line on GMA.

[dan olmsted]

Hi Folks -- thanks for these great nominations and I've received many more via e-mail -- we'll collect them all in one place and consider them carefully. (Keep them coming through Dec. 10.) Sorry to say, two people are ineligible -- the great Kim Stagliano, because she runs the joint! But we'll let that wonderful nomination serve as a reminder of all the great work she does.
Also, Anne Dachel is our media editor so she's ineligible. Besides, she bothers reporters and editors with her relentless e-mails ... just kidding -- i named her AOA's very first person of the year for doing all that and so much more -- here's what I wrote in 2006:

Person of the Year: Anne Dachel. This Chippewa Falls, Wis., mom and member of the National Autism Association keeps chipping away at the mainstream media's wall of indolence and incuriosity.

She sent e-mails to just about every reporter who wrote about the subject this past year along with letters-to-the-editor of their publications, as well as penning articles of her own.

She praises, she pushes, she relentlessly raises the questions at the heart of the matter: Why have the number of cases risen so dramatically? Why aren't journalists asking tougher questions of Important People?

A recent example of her work: "We need the press to continue to investigate and report on the generation of affected children in the U.S. We're being overwhelmed by a disorder that was unheard of a few years ago, yet the press isn't calling for answers. If one in every 166 children were suddenly developing blindness, I'm sure it would be a front page story."

Some no doubt find this a bit much. But what Dachel represents is persistence. Private citizens have every right to question elected officials and keep the media on their toes, whether the pooh-bahs like it or not. It's an old-fashioned thing called citizenship.

[Erica in Alabama]

Well after viewing Amanda Peet's PSA on vaccines for the millionth time - I guess she would have to be nominated for Blindest Celebrity Endorsement.

I am sorry Miss Amanda but I am NOT misinformed about vaccines, nor am I passing misinformation. Thank you.

[Maggie]

Here's my nominations:

Dr. Wakefield for "not backing down" during his trial this year.

Dr Poling for "going public" when he didn't have to.

Dr. Geier for "cranking out study after study regarding thimerosal."

And of course, David Kirby for "everything."

[Elizabeth Soliday]

Andy Cutler, PhD. person of the year, for selfless dedication to helping cure autism.

Hannah Poling child of the year, for being a part of the landmark case that proves the autism-vaccine connection.

Sharyl Attkisson, media person of the year, for telling it like it is!

[Twyla]

I nominate Kim Stagliano in five categories.

Daily provider of info – Every day we log on to AoA and read such interesting and important news. I have the feeling Kim is the one who finds a lot of these articles, and she posts the articles. And she writes a lot of good articles, too.

Best sense of humor – Kim is so funny! She has a wonderfully concise way with words.

Editor's note: this is the late shift moderator, and I agree with you!

Best pictures – The pictures Kim chooses for the stories are consistently entertaining and apropos.

Best moderator – Kim filters the comments, allowing through some controversial ones to spark conversations but filtering out the abusive ones. This must be a lot of work! She sometimes gives a few people a little slap on the wrist, and sometimes sends out some words of reassurance as needed. She deserves credit for maintaining a good environment.

Best parent – Kim is biomedically treating not just one, not just two, but *three* daughters with autism! And her love for her daughters shines radiantly whenever she speaks of them.

Kim is enriching the lives of thousands of readers and keeping the world informed about autism. She is the daily heart and soul of AoA.

Editor's note: this is the night shift guy (not Kim). I agree on all fronts!!

[Lisa Sigismondi]

Tori Tuncan for starting, maintaining and growing www.lend4health.org - on her own time - and helping our kids that need financial assistance get funding for their biomedical needs.

[M.Caulfield]

I nominate NYC Firefighter Tim Dwyer for the Warrior Award for educating Denis Leary on the realities of living with autism.

After hearing Leary's negative comments he fired off a scourching letter, published on AofA), challenging him to come to out to The ELIJA School on Long Island and see his "fat, lazy, stupid, son".

Under pressure Leary called Tim and agreed to come out to the school for a meeting to "work things out".

Although he contines to insist his comments were taken out of context, he did visit The ELIJA School and spend an hour touring each classroom and meeting all staff and students.

Later that week in multiple book interviews he referenced many of Tim's words regarding the stuggles of familes with autism.

He also pledged future support for our community. Thanks to Tim's efforts, I don't think we will hear him or any other comic utter the words "inattentive mothers or competitive fathers" anytime soon. Thanks Tim!

[Tanners Dad]

I nominate Tanner and all the other's impacted by this injury. For having the best attitude and work ethic when it comes to Autism. He has fought hard and never complained. He came out with "Hi Daddy", Bed, Mom, Hi, and baby. I will never rest until every mother with a child with Autism gets a hug and hears,reads, or sees the sign for "I love you Mama."

http://www.causecast.org/member/tanners-dad

[Jane Johnson]

I second Bernadine Healy and Sharyl Attkisson.

[How Manifestly of him]

For *Manifestly* not being upto speed on THAT thimerosal-autism thing, Brit Hume.

"BRIT HUME: Yeah. I'll be forced to get up to speed on that issue, which I am manifestly not."

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/03/imus-and-brit-h.html

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

Could you have a category called something like Bad Badder Baddest ? Actually you can put this one anywhere you please: The director of WHO. I hope that he or she knows that they can take the sole and entire credit for the new epidemic of autism in third world countries.

[Christine Heeren]

Worse quote by Michael Savage:

Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is.

What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot."

Best quote by Jenny McCarthy:

"Bullshit!"

[Christine Heeren]

I vote for John Gilmore as the Father of the Year.

If it wasn't for him, we would have never heard of the Polings (he organized that press conference on CNN) and organized the protests in both NYC and San Francisco against Michael Savage.

He is also the only person in New York State to form a coalition to get REAL legislation passed on both a state and local level.

He is also a founding member of A-Champ, The Autism Action Network and Autism United. John is also the organizer for the HOPE Walk on Long Island, which raises thousands each year.

He has spoken at countless rallies, protests and conferences around the country.

[Randy]

htbenz wrote:
“For us to give up vaccines would hurt our core business because that’s why kids come in,” Lessin said."

"Family practice doctors — who are not as dependent on vaccinations for patients — may decide the shots are too much of a financial headache, he added."

Yep - all about the kids, eh?

Contrast this with the "Giving Thanks" post by Wendy Fournier

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/11/giving-thanks.html

Googled around a bit and found some interesting thoughts posted by a gentleman namde Edward Welbourne (http://www.chaos.org.uk/~eddy/human/altruism.html) regarding what constitutes fake altruism:

"Self-serving expectations of reward, or the psychological trickery of internally rewarding oneself, for being "virtuous" may lead an ego into fake altruism, either consciously or otherwise; which others may mistake for the real thing, but that doesn't change the fact that the good intent was at best a sham, if present at all."

He believes that personal gain and the pursuit of the common good can overlap for the altruist, which is fine (and might even help keep the altruist focused) - provided he/she is in fact driven by the common good.

For those who may disagree with his definition of altruism, he states: "While I reserve the right to try to persuade you to revise your opinion, I ultimately respect your judgment on what's good for you, even when I've failed to change your mind: do-gooders all too often fail to extend such respect to those they purport to help, with unwelcome effects, which do-gooders tend to either ignore or somehow blame on others."

Amen.

In that light, I'm proposing a "fake altruism" category, fwiw...

[K Fuller Yuba City]

Best look of total confusion...
Matt Lauer, watching Nancy Snyderman go into a trance like state, sounding like a broken record, insisting that there is no controversy.

[MikeWag]

I'll be nominating Dr. Jon Poling as person of the year. He has calmly and intelligently broke this whole thing open. When he put up a slide of Mitochondrial Disorder Symptoms at the NAA conference and asked how many parents had kids who showed these symptoms, almost every one in the room raised their hands. The whole scam is about to come undone thanks to this man and his family.

[Andrea]

Oh I forgot.....Hannah...Hannah Poling has to be the child of the year. Hannah changed EVERYTHING.

[karenatlanta]

My vote is for Anne Dachel!
The relentless letter writer and advocate who keeps me motivated to write the press.

This is tough because I love them all. Especially those who have no dog in the race - but still keep fighting for our kids.
Carol Maloney
David Kirby
Dan Olmsted.

Kim Stag also deserves some kind of "Life time Achievement" award, for getting through her struggle with such humor and grace.

It's so hard to choose, can't we just give everyone a very loud round of applause!

[Andrea]

Great recommendations Jeanne. I second you on those.

I think Bernadine Healy deserves some recognition and Sharyl Attkinson always does a great job reporting this issue.

I sent Dan an e-mail for dumbest quotes- it was totally not G-rated- so I didn't submit it here.

My picks were Savage, Leary, Offit and Snyderman. There seemed to be just so many dumb people making dumb statements it was too difficult to choose only one!

[htbenz]

Check this article out, well t least Paul (PR)Offitt is still making money, eh ?!?!?!

Dec 1, 2008

Some doctors may give up vaccines because of high costs

By Mike Stobbe THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA— About one in 10 doctors who vaccinate privately insured children are considering dropping that service largely because they are losing money when they do it, according to a new survey.

A second survey revealed startling differences between what doctors pay for vaccines and what private health insurers reimburse: For example, one in 10 doctors lost money on one recommended infant vaccine, but others made almost $40 per dose on the same shot.

The survey was revealing even to some doctors. “Many physicians really weren’t aware that they were getting reimbursed so little,” said Dr. Gary Freed of the University of Michigan, a co-author of both articles published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The studies are the first to attach numbers to doctors’ long-simmering complaints that they are only breaking even — or even losing money — when they give shots.

“It’s a pleasure to see a real study to show we’re not just making this up,” said Dr. Herschel Lessin, a pediatrician in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., who said his practice’s spending on vaccines has more than doubled from 2006 to 2007.

Experts say there’s no evidence that significant numbers of doctors are quitting the vaccination business yet because of financial concerns.

But health officials are worried. Reimbursement concerns were behind an exodus of doctors from vaccine programs in the 1980s, which contributed to a terrible resurgence of measles in 1989-91 that caused 11,000 hospitalizations and 123 deaths.

This year, U.S. measles cases rose to the highest level in more than a decade, mainly because some parents are opting out of getting their kids vaccinated.

Health officials fear that problem, along with doctor’s economic concerns, could set the stage for bigger outbreaks in the future.

“This is a very important wake-up call,” said Dr. Lance Rodewald of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referring to the two new studies.

The first study was based on a mail-in survey last year of nearly 1,300 pediatricians and family physicians; nearly 800 responded.

About half said they had delayed buying at least one vaccine because of the cost. Roughly one in five said they felt strongly that reimbursement for the purchase and administration of vaccines was not adequate.

The second survey asked doctors what they paid for vaccines and how much they were reimbursed by private insurers. It was answered by 76 doctors in five states, representing about 20 percent of those asked to participate. Many contracts prevent doctors from talking about their spending and reimbursement for vaccinations, Freed said.

One example of the disparity was a vaccine that protects against pneumococcal disease. The per-dose difference ranged from a $40 profit to an $11 loss. A chickenpox vaccine netted some doctors $35 but cost others nearly $30 per dose.

The survey examined the cost of the vaccines and the expense of storage and related medical supplies. It didn’t look at administrative fees and staff time.

The studies did not look at the 50 percent or more of vaccinations paid for by government, which generally provides free vaccines to doctors and covers administrative fees.

In New York state, some doctors actually do better financially with the government vaccine program than they do on the private market, with the government’s administrative fee double or triple what some private insurers pay. Some business-savvy doctors can still make at least a small profit on vaccines in the private market, said Lessin, who is vice president of a 24-physician pediatric practice.

Most pediatricians are likely to keep giving vaccinations to kids, partly because of altruism and partly because giving shots drives business. “For us to give up vaccines would hurt our core business because that’s why kids come in,” Lessin said.

Family practice doctors — who are not as dependent on vaccinations for patients — may decide the shots are too much of a financial headache, he added.

Indeed, the new studies reflected that schism: Overall 11 percent of physicians have seriously considered stopping vaccinations for privately insured patients. But 21 percent of family doctors felt that way, compared with just 5 percent of pediatricians.

The financial problem has been getting worse in recent years, as more vaccines have come on the market, experts say. Some have been unusually expensive, including Gardasil, a vaccine for girls against cervical cancer which is given in three doses over six months and is priced at about $375 for the series.

A government advisory panel studying the financial burden of vaccines is expected to submit proposals for changes in reimbursement practices to federal health officials next year.

[Jeanne]

Person of the Year HAS TO BE: David Kirby. The man has worked tirelessly (while being personally attacked) in order to keep the public up to date and talking about autism. Most people would have probably moved on by now. But not DK, he's a hero and champion for our kids.

Child of the Year / Parents of the Year: Matthew Faiella / Ruth and Daniel Faiella. Daniel and Ruth are singly focused on recovering their son, the epitome of Warrior Parents. Matthew is a trooper, a true Warrior Son. Their blog, RecoveringMatthew.blogspot.com chronicles every step of their journey through Matthew's treatment.

Advocate of the Year: Angela Warner. As you all know, Angela works nonstop for our military families and their children with autism through her advocacy (including her blog AutismSalutes.com) - which, in the end, helps all families, all children with autism... and she has FOUR children - two of which are on the spectrum. Advocate for all, friend to many, this woman is the real deal!

Blogger of the Year: Ginger Taylor. If you haven't already, check out AdventuresInAutism.blogspot.com. There has been an almost constant flow of awesome information on Ginger's blog - this woman is one smart cookie!

Most Supportive Person of the Year: Kim Stagliano. Have you ever noticed how kind and supportive Kim is, even when she has every right to NOT be? Most of us would have caved under the pressure Kim has had this year; but, not Kim. She's still standin'. She spends many hours of her day keeping the machine that is AoA running - which is no easy task, I am sure. At the very least, we should all give Kim a big, GIANT, "Thank you!" for her hard work and support. So... THANKS KIM!!!

International Blog of the Year: SomethingBeginningWithA.blogspot.com
Mark, the blog owner, keeps us abreast of what is going on in the UK, as well as what is going on with his son, Edward's, recovery.