A Lifetime in 27 Years
The Invisible Disabilities Association is excited to announce their National ID Initiative in this Facebook Live presentation. This has been a passion of mine and Wayne’s for many years!
Hi Friends! We have exciting news! IDA will be broadcasting the 2018 “Be the Voice” Awards Gala tonight, LIVE! Right here on Facebook, October 19th at 6:45 PT / 9:45 ET.
We understand that for most people living with invisible disabilities, travelling to this event is not possible. So, IDA is bringing the evening to you!
Since 2008, the IDA Team has provided videos of the Award Galas on YouTube so that people around the globe could watch and share in the evening’s awareness, awards, special guest speakers and entertainment! IDA has also provided partner tickets (as available) to many people living with invisible disabilities, who otherwise would not be able to attend!
However, for the first time this year, IDA is extremely excited to bring the evening LIVE to you, for all to enjoy!
Come as our guests! Compliments of IDA! Read more in the IDA post! See you there!
Be the Voice Part One: https://www.facebook.com/InvisibleDisabilities/videos/331493710731521/
<3 Sherri
Facebook frames to bring awarenessI made some new frames for people on Facebook to use on their profile photos to raise awareness about the horrible poaching of our beautiful elephants!
Lots of people are finding them and using them on their profile photos on Facebook and other social media! The awareness is getting out!
Not only are these adults dying, the babies are left orphaned out in the wild!
I cannot believe these majestic, loving, intelligent creatures are being murdered so people can have ivory trinkets. It DISGUSTS ME!
And it is throwing off the whole entire community of elephant living, causing the young male bulls who survive to become threats to villages in Africa, because they were not raised by their mothers and because there are not enough elephants for them to mate with. The villagers are killing them as well.
We can all do something to help stop the poaching of our precious animals! Here are the groups I have supported in the past year. They raise money for conservation, work to stop poaching and/or rescue elephants. I hope you are able to join me in supporting one or more of these great organizations!
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
In the past year, I have also supported other animal organizations:
The new Invisible Disabilities Facebook Frames I designed are out!
The ones I made for the 2017 Invisible Disabilities Week were a hit! Over 6,500 people used them on their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Check it out! I made one for friends and family, too! http://FBFrames.MyIDA.org
Follow the Invisible Disabilities Association on Facebook!
For several years, I have been wanted to design some sort of ID Cards with a Lanyard and Card Holder. I wanted something that I and millions of others living with invisible disabilities could wear to doctor appointments, the grocery store or on the bus.
The card would say, “I Live With An Invisible Disability” on the front. And the cards that could be handed out would share, what is an invisible disability.”
This would give a visual to people living with debilitating conditions, in the hopes that we would be able to get better help in the stores and possibly a seat on the bus when all the seats are taken. It would give us a chance to bring awareness and education to the people we met, without having to expend the energy to explain to people what is an invisible disability.
Finally, I put a pencil to it and showed it to my hubby, Wayne, founder and president of the Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA). Wayne loved the idea, but he wanted to go a step further. He suggested instead of just having the badge on the end of the lanyard, to actually have a wallet for the cards.
I thought this was a perfect way to also allow people to carry their insurance card, credit card, cash and pens when they are going to a doctor’s office or grocery store! This way, when I have an appointment, I don’t have to carry my whole purse, I just put my essentials into the ID Wallet and I have my hands free to use my cane or crutches. Voila!
In September 2017, the ID Wallets were launched for the Invisible Disabilities Association’s Invisible Disabilities Week! It was a great addition to the IDA Store, along with Katie Maskey’s new IDA Lapel Pin!
Read more about both items, as well as the Invisible No More Glow-in-the-Dark Wristbands. Order from the IDA Store. All proceeds go to help support IDA’s work around the world!
This year’s 2017 Invisible Disabilities Week was a huge success! The week was founded and declared by the Invisible Disabilities Association in 2014, by my hubby Wayne Connell.
2017 Invisible Disabilities Week Team: Sherri, Cassandra, Suzanne and Katie
Since I live with debilitating illness every day, I decided to volunteer for this week. I create all the activities for the week, with the MEME’s for people to share and participate (I was an art major before I switched to theater).
This year, I also created three Facebook Frames which were extremely popular. Over 6,500 people used the frames on their Facebook Profile Photos and many of them posted these photos on their other social media platforms! It was GREAT to see people so excited to be a part of the week!
I am so thankful to have had a wonderful IDW Team helping me get the word out and interact with the attendees this year! There is no way I could have done this alone. Thank you, Suzanne, Katie and Cassandra!
People from all over the world were sharing their stories, awareness endeavors, fur babies, service dogs, favorite people, places and more on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
There were several posts on the Invisible Disabilities Association’s Facebook Page that had hundreds of comments and on Instagram and Twitter, colleges, groups and businesses were participating in the week!
Wayne Connell, IDA founder and president had two television interviews during Invisible Disabilities Week, where he was able to share about millions living with illness, pain, injury and disability. It was an amazing opportunity to reach the hearts of the audience and bring awareness to friends, family, doctors, neighbors and society at large.
You can see the television interview on KUSA-TV 9, Colorado and Company with Denise Plante:
A second television interview was featured on FOX31 Denver KDVR-TV, Colorado’s Own Channel 2 KWGN-TV, Daybreak with Natalie Tysdal:
Wayne also was a guest speaker for two corporations, bringing education and awareness to their employees. Wayne’s invisible disabilities presentations at Accenture and TIAA were very well received and Wayne was honored and grateful for the invitation and opportunity!
The 2017 IDA Awards Gala,”Laugh Out Loud” in Denver on October 21st was a spectacular evening!
We thoroughly enjoyed our hilarious Comedian, Sam Adams as our Headliner and the sensational, Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, Neurohumorist and Hall of Fame Speaker as our Master of Ceremonies.
It was truly an evening full of inspiring stories, touching presentations and lighthearted fun, bringing awareness to millions of people living with invisible disabilities. We had the privilege of honoring several incredible individuals and organizations who are making a difference in the world for people living with disabilities. Doctors, nurses, friends and family were walking away saying, “Wow! I didn’t get it until tonight!”
As you may have noticed, we had a 70’s theme for those who dared to get groovy! … And they did! Attendees had a blast dressing in bell-bottoms, mini-skirts and disco shirts! The laughter and fun was contagious, as people mingled, danced and met new friends!
We would like to say thank you to all of our amazing sponsors and attendees who joined us for this wonderful night! We are grateful for your love and compassion for people living with invisible disabilities. And thank you to all of our special guests, chairpersons, gala committee and volunteers for working hard to make this an incredible night, none will soon forget!
All in all, it was a fantastic week of awareness, education, sharing and friendships! See you all next year! www.InvisibleDisabilitiesWeek.org
Hi Everyone!
I have some new MEME’s that are being published by the Invisible Disabilities Association on Social Media! Watch for them on IDA’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Check them out friends! Like them and share them! Wahoo!
Sherri
After a life of shackles for 50 years, Raju was rescued by Wildlife SOS
Raju lived for 50 years in spiked shackles, being fed paper and plastic trash. I am an empathetic person and bawled when I heard his story. I will never understand the cruelty of people!
When the rescuers showed up to take off his shackles and release him, he cried tears down his face! Raju has been free for two years and I now cry tears of joy right along with him!
I am thankful for Wildlife S.O.S for taking a stand and rescuing this incredible creature, who has more compassion, intelligence and love than most humans these days!
It is a very expensive, legal battle to confiscate animals from torturous lives. Please consider donating to them or another rescue or conservation group. Those of us with hearts for what is right, need to give to those who are working so hard to make a huge difference!
Here are a few more great groups I like:
MAY IS LYME DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH!
Wow! I am in awe of this most excellent PSA created by the Lyme is Hell campaign! This video illustrates in a very illuminating and impacting way that Lyme devastates and destroys lives for months, years and even decades!
I got Lyme at the age of 14, from a tick bite. I immediately started having chronic headaches and infections. At 19, I started having balance issues and paralysis. By 27, I was paralyzed from the ribs down and so sick I could hardly move. I lost my career, house, horse and most of my friends. I went from singing and dancing in musicals, acting in commercials and working as an accounts manager to being unable to care for my daily needs.
People need to know about Lyme Disease, because most of the time, it is not caught in regular testing when trying to find a person’s diagnosis. For me, it took 14 years for me to get a diagnosis. What’s more, way too often, people are diagnosed with something else, even though they actually have Lyme. Catching it in the early stage is imperative to successful treatment. See this great Lyme Resource Page!
Lyme is Hell PSA:
Watch all of Sherri’s Videos from Silly Sherri Productions!
Read Sherri’s Lyme Story!
Read more about Sherri’s Lyme Awareness!
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♡ Sherri
Sherri’s Interview with HuffPost LIVE from Huffington Post: Read full story.
Sherri’s Interview with WIRN Internet Radio:
Sherri Speaks at the Invisible Disabilities Association Gala:
Additional Videos from Sherri:
Lyme Disease Movie Trailer, Under Our Skin:
Lyme Disease Awareness Photos from Sherri:
MAY IS ENVIRONMENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS MONTH!
Many may not consider themselves to have an Environmental Illness, but everyone is affected by chemicals. Moreover, everyone is at risk and millions are affected, but not all make the connection.
When we think of exposures to chemicals, we often think of a hazmat situation or “sick building syndrome.” However, an Environmental Illness such as a Chemical Injury can occur through a large, sudden exposure or a small, gradual exposure to chemicals or mold.
We may be aware of the obvious offenders in our environment, such as smoke, exhaust, paint or even new carpets. Nevertheless, we often don’t realize the 
affects of every day cleaning products, as well as personal care products that contain synthetic fragrances made up of neuro-toxic chemicals.
For example, these are chemically fragranced products such as perfume, laundry detergent, fabric softener, air fresheners, deodorants, lotions, shampoo’s, etc.
In a 2010 study, in 25 standard products, an average of 17 VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) were emitted; many of which are “regulated as a toxic/hazardous chemical” under 1-7 laws.
About 15% of the population knowing lives with Chemical Sensitivities to the chemical fragrances in these products (1999 Study, Kreutzer). Some of the symptoms reported are difficulty breathing, vertigo, migraines, loss of consciousness, memory loss, seizures and more.
About 38% of the population reports some sort of “adverse health affect” when exposed to fragranced products (Exposure Assessment, Steinemann) and it is suspected that many more are experiencing symptoms, but have not made the connection. Sadly, for millions of people, mild to serious reactions can cause isolation from public, friends, family, special events and more.
I have lived with Chemical Injury due to the use of everyday products such as perfume, air fresheners, body sprays and fragranced laundry products since 1996. I started out having vertigo and migraines from strong perfumes and exposure to the cleaning products isle in the store.
Unfortunately, I continued to use other products I didn’t think I was reacting to. Thus, I became more and more reactive to more products until I ended up isolated in my home, unable to attend church, family dinners or step into a store.
As if that were not bad enough, people cannot come to visit me unless they do not use any chemically fragranced products, nor do they have a newer car or have walked through a store. It has been devastating!
These neuro-toxic chemicals can affect us all, whether we notice immediate reactions or not. My story is not rare. So, I am here to warn people that this could happen to anyone!
Again, Environmental Illness often occurs through exposure and use of every day cleaning and personal products. Therefore, it is vital that we clear our homes and bodies of these offenders, before we develop reactions to them that are debilitating and cause a person to be isolated from the world and those they love.
As a result, I implore everyone to take a look at the products we use in our homes and on our bodies. We can start replacing these products with natural and fragrance free alternatives. After doing this, most experience a moderate or huge change in how they feel, whether they are healthy or whether they are dealing with illness.
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♡ Sherri
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