At this year’s 2019 Advocacy Summit, the Arthritis Foundation was excited to welcomeMeg Maley, CBS’ “Big Brother” Season 17 houseguest, as a first-time Advocate.
Meg was diagnosed withpsoriatic arthritis (PsA)那时她才12岁。在“老大哥”节目结束后，梅格决定利用她新发现的平台，分享她与PsA和葡萄膜炎生活的故事。Since then, she has emceed theWalk to Cure Arthritisin New York City and hosted a multitude of fundraisers to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.
Originally from New Jersey, Meg recently moved to Texas. Because of this, she has experienced firsthand some of the issues surrounding access to care from a state-to-state level – and the dire need for important changes to take place on a federal level.
We caught up with Meg after theAdvocacy Summitand got her top five takeaways from her advocacy experience:
Get Involved!
“节目结束后，当我开始更多地谈论我的关节炎时，我想加入关节炎基金会，尽我所能。有很多不同的方式来支持关节炎基金会!我从来没有想过倡导;我没想到我能做出如此震撼的事。但这次经历让我意识到，我可以发出自己的声音，我可以做出改变。I can help makehealth carebetter.”
Your Representatives Appreciate You Being There
“Not only is it a unique experience to be on Capitol Hill, when you walk in the offices and meet with your representative and their staff, they really are appreciative of you being there in person, talking with them face to face. When you are able to sit there and say, ‘I have arthritis,’ you can see that telling your story and having more conversations around arthritis will help drive awareness to more people.”
Junior Ambassadors
“As someone who was diagnosed with PsA at a young age and really struggled with it when I was a preteen/teenager, I’m passionate about working with young people. TheJunior AmbassadorsI met completely blew me away! They asked the most thoughtful questions and are able to tell their story about living with this disease. They are so courageous and brave. I don’t think I would have done something like that when I was their age.”
Your Time is Worth Their Time
“We met with Rep. Sheila Jackson (TX-18), and the staff working with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Congresswoman Kay Granger (TX-12) and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-7), who were all really great and appreciative of meeting with us. When you speak to them, they are taking notes and documenting our conversation. The more you contact your representatives, whether it’s a phone call or writing a letter, the more arthritis will be talked about and changes can be made.”
The Big Picture
“Texas has already passed step therapy reform on a state level, so during our meetings we were able to communicate the importance of supportingstep therapyon a federal level. After my personal experience with state-to-state health care issues, where my doctor had to fight to reapprove a medication I had already been taking, you realize the importance of federal laws. Your representatives are the people who can help push this issue further on a national level, where the impact would help so many more people. You definitely come out of this event with a lot of hope for the future.”
Thank you to Meg for sharing her insights from the 2019 Advocacy Summit and to all Arthritis Foundation Advocates and Ambassadors who joined us in Washington, DC, or participated in our virtual summit.Together, we will continue to #AdvocateforArthritis to support the 54 million Americans with the disease.
If you’re interested in becoming an Advocate,visit our website to learn more!
Related Resources:
- Sign Up to Be an Advocate
- Meg Maley Uses “Big Brother” Experience to Share Arthritis Story
- Dating with Arthritis: Reality Couple Gets ‘Real’ About What Works