Today we are a different kind of tired. We started early this morning going through multiple workshops on how to lobby, how we can help our communities advocate, and many other important subjects about stroke and cardiac care. Before I can share any of the information that we learned today, I think it would be best for us to try it out first. What better place than at the Nation's Capitol!
One of our favorite parts of the day had to be meeting all the people. So many people are fighting for stroke care. It brought a new sense of hope to what we are striving for. We have used this time to network with doctors, nurses, survivors, caregivers, and people working with the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The best part is how welcoming people are to us "newbies"!
We spent a good part of the day learning the importance of social media and face-to-face advocating. Plus, it made us realize that we are doing some things right when it comes to getting the word out. We may have learned a few things that should help us down the road. Look for that in the future!
We are calling it a night pretty early tonight but we start even earlier tomorrow and then we have to make our way back to the airport and close out our time in D.C. People talk this town down and say that no one can get anything done here. I beg to differ .. people are trying to get stuff done, but politics get in the way. Let's hope that what we have to discuss tomorrow doesn't get political and our legislatures can work with us to get something special done.