Newsletter
Extracts from the December 2007 Newsletter
Opening Words from the Chairperson
Hi Everyone.
I start on a sad note with the death of Ellen Eade last month. She was Chairman for seven years. Under her strong leadership the group had raised awareness of osteoporosis, supported those with it and lobbied for improvements in local services. This we continue to do.
She was an inspiration to all of us and will be sadly missed by group members and particularly by Committee Members, for her advice and support. Our thoughts are with her husband, Ken, and the family.
Since I returned from my holiday in France, where we had lovely weather, food and wine, I have walked on the Bone Walk, on a very very cold evening with Dr Paul Richards. We walked and Paul talked and talked - for one and a half hours. We found this very interesting and learnt a great deal about Victorian Lynn. Dr Richards then gave a talk in the evening to group members. We thank him sincerely for all his support over the years. We raised £506.50 from sponsorship. I thank those who obtained sponsorship and also those who sponsored.
This month we welcome back Cantabile and look forward to hearing how they got on in Jamestown, USA. Thanks go to them for their support of us.
No December meeting - we take a rest! This being the last Newsletter of the year, I wish everyone a Healthy and Happy Christmas and New Year, and to those who have had bad health I wish them a speedy recovery.
I look forward to seeing all of you who are able to come to the meeting on Thursday 24th January 2008. David Grimes will be speaking on the subject of Sandringham 1850 - 1950.
Best wishes.
From our Chairperson, Jill Fysh
Ellen Eade, Chairman 1996 - 2003
We have so many memories of Ellen with Ken always working alongside her. We will treasure them all.
She loved working with children, having a flair for talking to youngsters, possibly because of all the years she had spent working with Brownies and Guides in earlier days. One of the first things the group did was to provide all local school nurses with copies of the Healthy Bones Pack and this led to working with primary school children.
Aclasta (Zoledronic Acid)
This new drug treatment was launched in the UK in October. It has been shown to increase bone density and reduce the risk of fractures in the spine, hip and other sites. It is also effective in reducing the risk of hip fracture rates in those people who have had a previous hip fracture. Zoledronic acid is a bisphosphonate, the same family as Fosamax, Didronel PMO, Actonel and Bon Viva.
Bone is constantly being worn away and rebuilt by specialist bone cells. This family of drugs inhibit the cells that break down bone and allow the cells that rebuild bone to work more effectively.
Zoledronic acid is licensed for the treatment of osteoporosis in post menopausal women but not for men or pre menopausal women. It has not been studied in pregnant or breast feeding women, so should not be used in these groups. It should also be avoided by individuals whose kidneys are not functioning normally, specifically those whose kidney impairment has been classed as moderate to severe.
The treatment is given as an intravenous infusion once a year. A five milligram dose of the drug is given slowly over 15 minutes via a needle inserted into a vein. This is likely to take place in a hospital clinic, although some GP surgeries may also have facilities to give intravenous drugs. People having this infusion should drink at least two glasses of fluid, such as water, before the infusion to ensure adequate hydration at the time of infusion.
This drug does not contain any calcium and vitamin D. It is recommended that you obtain calcium through a well balanced diet and adequate vitamin D from exposure to sunshine. If you have difficulty in obtaining adequate levels of these, a supplement may be prescribed by your doctor.
To obtain a full copy of this NOS Information Sheet, please contact the Secretary.
Groups & Volunteers Forum
I attended the recent meeting in Birmingham and I'll list a few of the matters raised.
Andi Marsh, our East and London Region Development Manager has just retired and her post will be advertised. Andi remains committed to NOS. She will work with her local group and become one of the new NOS volunteers.
A sixth Development Manager will be added to the team to cover what will be called the Central Region. Her name is Caroline Johnson and she has come to NOS from the British Lung Foundation where she has been doing similar work. Caroline starts on 2nd January.
Next year a new overarching booklet will be produced supported by a range of leaflets. The leaflets will be similar to those we have now so will be phased in as existing stocks are used to save wastage.
The new name, Osteoporosis UK, is likely to be used as the response to questionnaires sent out to all members was overwhelmingly in favour of the change as long as this could be done with minimal cost.
Health professionals had been asked to bid for money from the changing MOSS project. Our King's Lynn Group had written to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn Chief Executive to encourage this. Unfortunately although the hospital put forward a proposal, the Primary Care Trust would not support it. Anyway, it was reported that NOS had a huge pile of applications, so obviously, many would be disappointed. The response does highlight the shortage of scanning services across the country.
More promotional material will be produced next year linked to a skeleton aimed at young children and families.
Edith Finbow
Information Exchange Day: Peterborough, 30 October 2007
Jill, Barbara Blacklock and I attended this and we met up with several friends across the Region. This is always a good opportunity to hear speakers from Head Office but also a good link with other groups. A way of comparing notes, as, although every area is different, many of our problems are the same – how to increase membership, improve local services, encourage more committee members and so on.
We were sorry to be saying good bye to Andi Marsh. She has supported us for several years helping us when we had problems and praising us when things were going well. We hope she enjoys her changing role.
Janet Strang, as part of her talk, spent some time in explaining to us the new idea of volunteers. For some time, Janet has been aware that there are some people who would be useful, having specific skills, but they are not near enough to a local group to join a committee. Or perhaps they do not want an ongoing commitment to a group but could offer to do something to help, now and then.
Janet explained her vision is to try to establish volunteer clusters. This would mean there would be a regional pool of people who could fundraise, give talks, work in education, give information, lobby, liaise with the media, support members - according to their skill and inclination. In no way would they replace groups or tell them what to do but would be there as an extra resource.
Julia Thomson updated us on the work of the Nurses Helpline and Barbara will give a more detailed report on this in our next issue. We were delighted to hear of improved staffing levels and increased telephone helpline hours.
Bob Rees spoke about living with osteoporosis. His story of breaking bones on holiday and totally the wrong diagnosis and treatment was dreadful. The positive outcome is that having at last been correctly diagnosed and finding out about NOS he has become a magnificent Ambassador for the Society and we are hoping he will be able to join our Study Day in February 2008.
Edith Finbow
Sharpe Chefs
NOS Patron Sean Bean helps raise vital funds for osteoporosis. Sean Bean fans from all around the world have come together to write a recipe book. All royalties will be donated to the National Osteoporosis Society.
Sean Bean, in his introduction to the book, says As a patron of the National Osteoporosis Society, I am delighted to put my name to this book
. Sean talks of the important work that the NOS carries out, helping the many men and women affected by osteoporosis and their families, to cope. He says By being a part of the Sharpe Chefs, I am able to further support the NOS and their work.
Bernard Cornwell, author of the Sharpe books has written an introduction to the book and even provided recipes from Richard Sharpe. All recipes are inspired by the Sharpe series and include Rifleman Lemon Chicken and Sharpe Shooter's Poacher's Stew. The recipes showcase the international cooking traditions of the Sharpe Chefs who live all over the UK as well as through Europe, America and Australia.
What an ideal Christmas present this would make.
From the NOS website
Patrons
Those of you who are members and receive a copy of the Annual Report: have you noticed how many celebrity patrons the Society has?
- Sean Bean
- Deborah Bull CBE
- Wendy Craig
- Trudie Goodwin
- Susan Hampshire OBE
- Nerys Hughes
- The Lady Hylton
- Ross Kemp
- Dame Mary Peters DBE, DL
- Maggie Philbin
- The Countess of Portsmouth
- Dr Miriam Stoppard
- Lizzie Webb
- Barbara Windsor MBE
- Lynn Foulds Wood
With a strong communications department, all these influential people and The Duchess of Cornwall as President, we should be able to catch the media's attention…
If you would like a copy of the Annual Report, please contact the Secretary.
Forthcoming Fund-raising Events
See our Diary Dates for a comprehensive list.
Recent Group Events
Bone Walk | September 2007
Dr Paul Richards led the Bone Walk around Victorian Lynn from 5:30 PM. That meant he had been talking for an hour and a half before getting to the hall, but after a quick cup of tea he went on again to tell those at the meeting more stories and interesting facts about our local town.
In 1800 there were 9 million people in England, with most of them living in the country by 1901 there were 36 million and 80% lived in towns and cities. There were more houses built in that 100 years than ever before. In fact, the towns grew as Great Britain emerged as a world power. There was a demand for grand buildings, libraries, town halls and new churches as well as many streets of new houses.
There are many Victorian buildings in Lynn. Much of the wealth came from the sea and the buildings are linked to that. The rail line from Lynn to London opened in 1847 made a huge difference. A new hotel with stabling for 120 horses for using those trains was erected. The foundation stone for the dock was laid in March 1868. Grain warehouses were built on the Dock. Frederick Savage opened his first Lynn ironworks in 1851.
Paul's knowledge and stories bringing history to life seem limitless. His present charity and specific enthusiasm is for the Hardwick Road Cemetery. He leads a tour round the cemetery and it is bound to be fascinating.
Patchwork | October 2007
The speaker for the evening was Sheila Cetti. As Jill, our Chairman, had just told members about Ellen's fall, hospital stay and sadly, her death, Sheila had a difficult evening to fill.
However, she had no trouble in lifting spirits. She talked to the group about how she started on patchwork, then found out about quilting and now is involved in making wall hangings and baskets, using anything that inspires her. She now exhibits around the country and in America. She brought with her a mountain of her work and the group was charmed by her natural manner, amazed by her patience and flair and intrigued by the baskets.
Sheila is a member of the Samphire Quilters who regularly hold a display of their work during the King's Lynn Festival in July. Anybody who would like to see a wonderful example of their work - the Captain Vancouver Quilt - should head to the Regalia Rooms at the Town Hall, King's Lynn, where it is on display.
