mvp growing by leaps and bounds!

It's been a little over two years since I joined 500,000 others in the Million Veterans Program.
The latest update shows that enrollment now stands at 711,022 members, with 6696,802 of that number being military veterans.
I am one of the 145,760 former USN sailors.
I am one of the 159,980 veterans who served between May 1975 and July 1990.
All I did was donate blood and fill out a background study for the genetic research.

The following Letter from the Principal Investigator was part of the winter update.
*****
"Dear MVP Enrollee,
Your are part of a special group of Veterans ho have selflessly joined MVP's world-leading effort to understand how genes affect health and disease. For this we are sincerely grateful. To date you are among over 710,000 MVP enrollees.
We have entered a new and exciting phase in MVP. More than 30 teams of researchers are exploring the data and finding information about diseases that affect Veterans such as PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and eye disease. The results of these projects are being presented at national meetings and published in major journals - and the world is taking note!
In addition, the VA has joined forces with other federal agencies to enhance and use this wonderful resource. The Department of Energy is collaborating to help provide computing power to analyze this amazing data. We are also collaborating with the Department of Defense to pilot enrollment among Veterans who have left active duty. My son, an Army Ranger, is looking forward to the day when he might be able to enroll.
As we enter the holiday season, I want to thank you again for joining this effort to improve the health of all Veterans as well as all Americans. We have heard countless times that Vetras join MVP to continue serving fellow Veterans and the country. We appreciate your generosity. I want to assure you that the entire MVP team i working tirelessly o make the most of this world-leading resource.
Mike Gaziano
MVP Principal Investigator"
*****
I am so happy to have the privilege of being part of this study!
Veterans, it's never too late to lend a hand in helping others, so please consider lending a bit of blood and becoming part of this study.
Thanks, Mr. Gaziano, for taking the time to write that letter.
(See, I do read those updates.)
(smile)

nerdfighter in flash match!

I had been waiting for Kiva.org to have a special fundraiser.
They do so fairly frequently.
A generous patron of the site would pledge to match donated funds up to some threshold.
Today, such a fundraiser was announced, but the catch was this: it was a 'flash match' and would end at midnight or after one million dollars.
Time for action on my part!

Then came decision time.
To whom should I donate my doubled $25 this time?
There were so many loans which were up for funding...
in so many different countries, for so many different reasons...
to so many different people.
I was only making the one loan, using funds which had been repaid to me.
Where would my money - and the match - be of the most help?

I chose the field of 'education' for my tenth loan today.
It will be the fourth such loan I have made on this site.
The first was to Elaine Marie, in the Philippines. She was the eldest of three, the first in her family to want higher education to better her life and theirs. That story resonated with me.
The second loan went to a young man, Maycol Francisco, in Nicaragua. He had nearly completed his degree as an anesthesia technician. He was in his final semester and needed funds for those final classes. Honestly, his story fit right in with those of the health professionals I was teaching.
The third loan, made at that same time, went to a young woman in Nicaragua, Yaleska Gabriela. Like Maycol, she was in her final year of studies for her degree in Public Accounting and Finance. That degree reminded me of my stepdad, so of course I helped her attain her goal.
Today, I chose Hussein of Lebanon. He was not asking for money for his own education. His three children would not have the tuition for school, as he was on a fixed salary and his wife could not work. He "wishes his children a successful future" and recognized that education was a requirement to turn those wishes into reality. Bravo!

Feeling inspired?
Want to join me as a Nerdfighter, to help defeat world suck?
There's still time to help Hussein and his children...
and to help Kiva reach that next billion dollars of dreams funded.
Thanks!

not missing AB+

Subtitle: M ke s me ne wh le g in

As part of the American Red Cross's recent summer blood drive, "Missing Types", I donated a pint of whole blood last month.
(FYI: That was my third donation this year. I plan to give at least once more. A maximum possible of six donations can be given each year, 56 days apart. I think I'll try for that in 2019. To help someone live, make an appointment here.)
Today, they informed me that my pint of blood had a little adventure!
It took a trip to Alabama to help someone there!
(smile!)

"Dear Faustina,
Thank you for giving blood with the American Red Cross on 08/14/2018. After first ensuring that local needs were met, your blood donation was sent to UAB Health System in Birmingham, AL to help a patient in need. Your donation is on its way to change lives!
Every day, patients receive blood for a variety of conditions including life-threatening illnesses, blood disorders and traumas. Your blood donations are critical to helping save patients' lives.
On behalf of the hospitals and patients we serve, thank you for being a Red Cross blood donor.
Sincerely,
Dr. Pampee Young
Pampee P. Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
American Red Cross "

How very nice of them to let me know!
I was once in Birmingham at the medical university. My BFF's little sister was graduating - with her Medical Doctorate in pediatrics.
Nice to know that my life-giving blood was used there.
(smile)
i thank You, God, that i am able to donate blood.

100 miles

If not for chasing rabbits, I don't know if I ever would have heard of this organization...
and yet, I drive by its office on Drayton Street quite often.
The rabbit I was chasing - provided by the Coastal Jazz Association - led to the site for volunteering for the upcoming Savannah Jazz Festival.
While at that volunteer site, I hippety-hopped to several of the organizations I knew...
and this one that I did not.
One Hundred Miles was founded in 2013 for the sole purpose of preserving Georgia's coastline -for our children, for our grandchildren, for the generations to come.
The science-first organization began in Brunswick, but they're here in my town now.
With its mission principles of education, collaboration, and celebration, it certainly seems tailor-made for me, doesn't it?
I don't know how it has escaped my attention for five years, but I'm onboard.
It's time for another sea change, for me, for the coast I have loved since I was a girl...
for the world.
I joined at the Horsehoe Crab level, mostly because those prehistoric beasts amaze me.
It was as easy as clicking here to choose my favorite.

i thank You, God, for rabbit holes and this birthday gift!

shindig for supers!

The Ronald McDonald House had a fundraiser this afternoon and I couldn't resist being there!
"Super Summer Shindig" - such sweet syllables!
(smile!)
The alliteration drew me right in, of course.
Plus, I had a personal reason for my presence.
When my ex's grandson was born, the baby had to stay several days in the hospital. His mom spent those days, and nights, at this house... at no charge.
What a blessing!

What made this a 'super' event?
All the superheroes that were there, of course!
As well as those provided by Princess Productions
- such as the 'Amazon Princess' with me -
the kids and their parents were encouraged to
dress in costume.
Such fun!

Face painters were present to adorn all comers,
cornhole sacks were there to be tossed,
and there was food and drink, too.
Oh, yes, free food was in abundance, as was...
free ice cream!!!
Thank you, Ben & Jerry's, for making sure
to have nondairy available, too!
Better yet, it was the coconut almond fudge
chip that I love so much!

I'm so glad I was there to help support this fundraiser.
The birthday funds I donated were partly from me and partly from my exhusband. I know he would have been there if he could have been, to help this sanctuary that had sheltered his daughter.
I'll be watching for more of these in the future.
Who knows? Maybe he will make it to the next one!

story time for cats... in.... space!

Oskar, the blind kitty, is now stardust.
However, his space adventure, "Mission To Cataria", with Klaus will live on forever!
Once into the ether, always out there somewhere!
(smile!)
Thanks to the project to send their book to the International Space Station, the actual book gained passage and arrived there earlier this year.
Once there, it had to wait its turn to be read aloud..
and that moment has arrived!
The story, written by Travis Bossard and Mick Szydlowski, has been read aloud by Richard (Ricky) Arnold II, a genuine astronaut!
But guess why I think this almost 55-year-old was the right man for the task?
He's a former US Navy sailor, like me! And what does the acronym "N.A.V.Y." mean? "Never Again Volunteer Yourself" - LOL! That's how we found ourselves in the Navy - by volunteering our services. That trait is in our blood, that desire for helping others.
i thank You, God!
I also like that he was a former science teacher - also like me! Plus, he loves the ocean. Purr-fect!
(smile!)
Now, settle in for the tale, keeping in mind that its run time is 13:51 minutes.
My many thanks to Story Time From Space for making "Mission To Cataria" a reality!
It's available here or on the ISS website.

utility patent for my invention has been filed!

Hallelujah!
For the last five months of hard work, emails have been flying back and forth between me and Cramer Patent & Design.
But, good news!
The finalized Utility Patent application has been e-filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office... and well before the August deadline!
That includes fifteen pages of the application itself, five pages of drawings, one page of addendum, one page for an oath, and four pages for the power of attorney for Aaron Cramer to represent me to the USPTO.
I must say, this has certainly been a learning experience for me.
Trying to explain an educational tool for blind and low-visioned students to a group of people who have full sight has certainly been a daunting task...
but, worth it.
Yes, it's been worth every minute, every hour, every day.
I had hoped for my invention to be available to students this coming academic year.
That will probably not be the case, given that August 2018 is a mere two months away.
That's fine... August of 2019 for its launch will be fabulous!
Hold on, chemistry students of the world - it's coming to you soon!