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Chronicle Online. Issues of The CFIDS Chronicle are now available online in the easy-to-read PDF format. 

Features

The "Branding" of CFIDS 
Working to change the way the world views us
By Kim Kenney 

Don't Derail Your Disability:
Tips for Winning Your Insurance Claim
By Ben Glass

Chronicle Q&A: Finding the True Face of CFIDS
By Mark Giuliucci

Snapshots of CFIDS:

Expectations
By C. Eric Hellmann

Orthostatic Intolerance 
By Anna B. Wilder

Soul Powers
By Sara Zeno

'Biscuit Bash
A Sold-Out Smash

Complementary Therapies: Acupuncture: Let the Energy Flow
By Mark Giuliucci

Interest Areas

Living With CFIDS

On the Inside Looking Out
By Karen Burke

Keeping it Real: Self-Talk for CFIDS
By Gail Caissy, EdD 

Departments

Reader's Forum

CFIDS News

Association News

DC Dispatch

Research News

Media Watch

One to One

Message to Members

Back in the saddle, back in the race

Sixty-five years ago, a knock-kneed racehorse and his ragtag handlers took on the world’s greatest thoroughbred in a match race that ended with…well, you’ve heard the story by now.

The tale of Seabiscuit has captured America ’s heart this summer — and provided the CFIDS community with the rarest of opportunities: A chance to be heard on the national stage. Laura Hillenbrand, author of the best-selling book about Seabiscuit that became a major motion picture, has told millions of television viewers, magazine readers and radio listeners about the toll CFIDS exacts on her and so many others.

For years, people with CFIDS have been seeking a credible voice, a champion for the cause. It’s unfair to ask Hillenbrand to assume that role, no matter how eloquent and sincere she may be; after all, she is afflicted with an illness so severe that she had to write much of “Seabiscuit” lying flat on her back with her eyes closed.

But her efforts have given us a badly needed jump-start. The momentum is there. For the first time in years, there’s a genuine sense of hope that public opinion can be swayed, that politicians and scientists and other decision-makers can be persuaded that CFIDS is an illness worth fighting full force.

The Seabiscuit phenomenon also dovetails with the branding concept that’s discussed in this issue’s cover story. To become a “branded” illness, CFIDS must work its way into the nation’s permanent vocabulary, just as “MS” or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” or “Alzheimer’s” have in the past. It’s a long-term project, built through repetition, recall and relentless work. Seabiscuit and Laura Hillenbrand won’t do the trick for us by themselves. But they have put us back in the race, given us a shot.

It’s up to the CFIDS community to grab the reins and run.

Kim Kenney
President & CEO
The CFIDS Association of America