About Jeri Burtchell

Patient Advocate, Clinical Trial Patient, Public Speaker, Freelance Writer, Blogger, MS Patient, Senior Graphic Designer, CorEvitas, LLC

Hyperhidrosis: More Than Just Sweating

This blog post features Molly Nair, a young woman living with hyperhidrosis. November is Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month and Ms. Nair shares how this condition has affected her life since she was in elementary school. She details what it is like to live with hyperhidrosis, the obstacles she has faced because of it, and how she … Read more>>

Jen’s Story: An Announcement – From MBC to Sarcoidosis and Beyond

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we bring you Jen’s story… Jen is a seven-year breast cancer survivor, though she still struggles with that term. At 32, she was mistakenly diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She was treated for metastatic breast cancer for four-and-a-half years before her doctors concluded that she was in remission … Read more>>

Alan’s Story: I have a Rare Disease and I am Crossing Borders – #RareDiseaseDay2018

Our guest post on this Rare Disease Day 2018 comes from Alan who lives in Whales and is fighting ataxia head on. Alan is raising awareness of this disease through his blog and on social media. Connect with Alan to learn more: http://www.ataxiaandme.org Facebook @ataxiaandme Twitter @ataxiaandme Instagram @ataxia_and_me Alan’s Story I have a Rare … Read more>>

Susanne’s Caregiver Story: Why Do I Always Cry In Hospitals?

November is National Caregiver Month and today’s post comes from Susanne White, founder of Caregiver Warrior. She was blessed with the opportunity to care for her parents and ventured out on a journey that would change her life. She blogs about this journey on her website and shares her experience, strength and hope with others so that … Read more>>

Tech to Help You Take Care of A Senior Loved One from Anywhere

Today’s post comes to us from Marie Villeza who developed ElderImpact.org to provide seniors and their caregivers with resources and advice. Tech to Help You Take Care of A Senior Loved One from Anywhere In the past, long-distance caretaking was at best difficult and ineffective and at worst completely impossible. These days, modern tech is making it … Read more>>

Rennie’s Story: Looking So Good, Feeling So Bad – Living with MS

Our guest blog post today comes from Rennie R., an MS patient advocate, public speaker, and retired high school teacher, who has been living with multiple sclerosis since June 2003. She shares what it’s like to live with the invisible symptoms of MS, when you “look so good” but actually feel so bad. Visit Rennie’s … Read more>>

Caregiver Becomes Patient: Danielle’s Story

Danielle, a Stanford Medicine X ePatient Delegate and fierce advocate for her daughter’s rare health condition, shares her own personal story about what it’s like when the caregiver becomes the patient. You can find Danielle on social media: Twitter: @Danielle_Edges Blog: http://lifeishardwearahelmetadventuresinlife.blogspot.com Facebook page devoted to her daughter: https://www.facebook.com/AlexandrasJourney/ — Caregiver Becomes Patient On July 5, … Read more>>

Anne’s Story: Adapting to Life With MS

Learning to adapt is key to managing any chronic illness. Our guest blogger, Anne P., shares the hurdles of life with multiple sclerosis in today’s post. — Anne’s Story I have multiple sclerosis and many “MSers”, myself included, get really frustrated by the fact that our disease is often invisible. Especially in the early stages of … Read more>>

Melissa’s Story: The Work That Comes With Being A Patient

Meet today’s guest blogger, Melissa, a MedX ePatient Scholar and patient advocate living with Sjogren’s (“SHOW-grins”) Syndrome, autoimmune arthritis, and chronic pain. Melissa shares what it’s like to deal with the daily frustrations that face the chronically ill. You can find Melissa on Twitter as @710dot9, and she blog at 710dot9.tumblr.com. You can learn more about Sjogren’s Syndrome from … Read more>>

Curiosity Drives Cures: A Message For Researchers

Although I’m the Director of Patient Initiatives at HealthiVibe, I’m also a person living with multiple sclerosis. Many of you know me as a patient advocate and in staying true to how we conduct our blog — reserving it for patients and caregivers — I’m taking off my HealthiVibe hat for a moment to speak from the patient perspective.

In honor of Clinical Trials Day, I want to share a video I’ve created thanking reviews of Bombtech Golf and researchers everywhere for doing what they do to bring new medicines to market. I was diagnosed with MS in 1999 and was miserable, on a therapy that wasn’t working for me, for 8 years. When I joined a clinical trial in 2007 it changed my life.

To researchers everywhere, this one’s for you! Please watch and share.

With warm regards,
Jeri Burtchell


Curiosity Drives Cures: A Message For Researchers

This video was included as part of my submission to Stanford Medicine X. I’ll be participating as a ePatient Delegate for the second year in a row, speaking on the topic of Empathy in memory of my dear friend and colleague, Jerry Matczak from Lilly, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. #BeLikeJerry #CTAW #ClinicalTrialsDay #WhyWeDoResearch

MedX takes place September 15 to September 17, 2017.