Oops, should have read "My wishes for a health and speedy recover" not "I wishes".

Regards,
Tom

Man, Brett Michaels is one strong dude. That's a lot of stuff to go through in such a short amount of time.

Thanks for posting this Tom! I've wondered before about celebs with clotting problems but couldn't find any lists on the Internet. Wish they would talk more about these things publically to raise awareness.

Thanks Tom. My best wishes go out also.

I read that Regis Philbin just had his clot removed because it was causing him pain.

Brian Vickers had an eerily typical case of PE, with requisite re-hospitalization and cocky resistance to limitations on anticoagulants: "I just can't crash. So I told them if I promised I wouldn't crash, could I race? The answer was no."

http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/05/21/brian-vickers-says-his-2010-nascar-season-is-over/

I had sent Brian Vickers Public Relations folks a bunch of information and had strongly recommended Dr. Moll them since he was in their area. Also, one of our Board Members had talked to Brian's Mom. Hopefully we can gain support from him, his sponsors and NASCAR for some type of public service announcement and media support.

I had emailed Regis after his clot. I had helped scheduled military funerals honors for one of the segment Producers of his show a few years ago when her dad passed away (ex-Navy Vet). Never did get any response from his camp though. Did the same thing with Captain Phil Harris last year after he suffered a DVT and PE ("Deadliest Catch"). As we know, he passed away this season from a stroke.

TossNTurn, there are several athletes and celebrities who became vocal after this clotting episode. Melanie Bloom, the spouse of NBC New Correpondent David Bloom comes to mind. David died of a PE during the beginning of the war in the middle east when he was implanted with a tank battalion . David had FVL. Melanie has been very vocal and is spokesperson for the DVT Coaltion (run and funded by Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceutical - makers of Lovenox). Lanie Kazan was their initial spokesperson when the Coalition formed in 2003/2004.

Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull suffered a DVT, Olympic Skater Tara Lapinski, Regis, Jessie Ventura, Issac Hanson of the pop group "Hanson", Nancy Grace, and of course Brian Vickers and now Bret Michaels. The list goes on (Vice President Dick Chaney).

The DVT Coalition has done well during the March DVT Awareness month, but, we as a patient base really need a spokesperson who is active throughout the year. This has been something which has escaped organization like www.stoptheclot. Part of the reason is, the National Blood Clot Alliance is a grassroots based Patient Organization created by patients. We don't have the money to support a full media campaign like the pharmaceutical companies do (their spokespeople are salary based). If we an find a spokeperson pro bono, I think the word would echo farther since our mission is 24/7. Hopefully one day.

Regards,
Tom

I hope that both are well and come through these illnesses,it does prove that it can happen to anyone,these things do not discriminate through age or gender,my thoughts go out to all who have suffered this horrible illness,but always believe that it can be beaten,your life does not change as a result but sometimes your mind does play tricks,good health to all.

Thanks as always, Tom.

NBCA indeed has some apparent weaknesses. It is fairly new, since only 2003. It was founded by and for DVT/PE patients, who discovered that "nothing happens without money" only by accident. As you say, there are no wads of cash for a celebrity.

Still, in my limited experience selling the organization and obtaining sponsors, I was able to turn those things around and represent that its board members still serve without pay and that its officers are motivated solely by a desire to improve outcomes for patients present and future. Some of the irregularities that have passed, like a domain name change and an organization name change, I represented as pains that grew as a result of people with big hearts who just did not know the perfect way to start and run a philanthropy, but gained experience quickly as they went along. All that spin was made even easier since it was the truth.

NBCA's participation with the Surgeon General's Call To Action for DVT/PE was a plus. More than anything else I am seeing changes in the ways that some doctors treat early DVT patients, such as with the doctors' group that made terrible mistakes in my own case. I believe that NBCA's being grass-roots, and definitely not astroturf, helped that along.

With so many good things happening and headway being made, a little star power would be a great next thing to have. If that comes, so much the better. If not, we can still do nothing but win.

ROCK ON Bret Michaels, the new Apprentice!!!!!!

Yeah, I thought that was cool that he won The Apprentice too. The guy beat death a couple of times, so you gotta give it to him for pure spunk and drive and balls.

He's very inspirational to me, just that will to keep going. But I still don't get the , weird doll hair. What's up with that?