Michelle Obama in Cincinnati!

My sister and me in line.

Yesterday was an absolutely amazing experience! Getting to see Michelle Obama speak in person was phenomenal. She is more stunning in person than on TV; something I didn't know was possible!

The crowd waiting to go in.

The crowd was huge: 6,800 people! It was great because there were people from all different backgrounds and there were a lot of different views on issues even within the people who were there for this unifying event. It was really interesting, because even though we were all there for the same thing, everyone still wanted to be in their own groups: "African-Americans for Obama," "Women for Obama," "LGBT for Obama," "Latinos for Obama," "People of Faith for Obama," etc. It was almost like high school clicks all over again, except this time people were advertising what groups they were in.

Here are some photos of the event before Michelle took the stage:

We were so close!

Early voting started in OH yesterday!

Sherrod Brown, US Senator

Emily with her sign that the guy next to her ended up taking.
We had interactions with so many charming people...

One of our future leaders sitting with Dad.

The next generation of voters on Dad's shoulders!

This video isn't great, but this woman who is introducing Michelle Obama talked about her family's struggle with healthcare. Her son, standing next to her, was born with a liver problem and had a liver transplant at age 2. They had already reached his "lifetime cap" with their health insurance because of the transplant. When Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, they got to have affordable health insurance again! It was so great to hear their story and I love that she got to introduce the FLOTUS!

Michelle talked about so much! I wish I could have gotten it all. :) She told us why she loves Barack (Happy 20 Year Anniversary Today!!!), the reasons that it is so incredibly important to vote, and why Barack needs to be re-elected! Here is a clip about the great things he's done and why you need to re-elect this president. Listen carefully; the audio is terrible, but the message is great!

I loved watching her speak! She was so into it. :) Amazing experience.

This is the end of her speech. What a fantastic time we had! She is an inspiration and a great woman.

We were so close to getting to shake her hand!
This photo is with no zoom!

All in all, it was a great day! As you saw in yesterday's post, there were definitely some issues, but Michelle was absolutely perfect. :)

Here are some links both about her visit yesterday and about the campaign:
WCPO.com's Story About Her Visit
Huff Post's Story on FLOTUS's Visit and Why Ohio is So Important
Hamilton County, OH Voting Information
BarackObama.com

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Fibrobama

Good morning!

Yesterday was truly spectacular! My sister and I went to Eden Park in Cincinnati to watch Obama speak. We had a fantastic time; so much so, in fact, that I am going to be working on another page for my blog with photos and video of Obama I took, as well as news about him and a place to discuss it! It's going to be a huge part of the next six weeks' news, so it probably deserves its own page. Stay tuned over the next 24 hours for that page; I'll be working on it today!

As amazing as yesterday was, there were some serious consequences. I was under the impression that there would be chairs or benches or something for us to sit on. I was apparently mistaken. We were standing for hours on concrete steps once we got into the park. Before that, we were standing on the street outside because we were told that we had to take our camping chairs back to our car. All in all, we were standing or sitting on concrete for six hours.

As people were lining up to go into the park, there were volunteers taking people with walkers or canes into a different line. I asked one man if, since I have a chronic pain condition, I could get in that line, too. He said that it was only for people with apparatuses. I look completely healthy. So, this got me thinking: what does it take for a person with fibromyalgia to get the opportunity to get a chair? I started looking around online and chatted with a representative at americanmedical-id.com about it:

You are now chatting with 'Vanessa'

Vanessa: Thank you for visiting our website.  My name is Vanessa.  How may I help you?

you: Hi! I have fibromyalgia and was denied a seat yesterday at an event. I ended up standing for six hours and I am incapacitated today because of it. If I got a medical ID would that give me a shot at getting a chair next time?

Vanessa: That is awful to hear. I am sorry about that. Since all ID's are custom engraved we can have that info on any of the items

Vanessa: Have youhad a chance to browse the site? Do you see anything you like so far ?

you: Yes--I understand that I can get anything on it, I'm just wondering if people who haven't even heard of fibro will honor it if I show it to them.

Vanessa: I , unfortunately cannot answer that with certainty as everyone will react different to this information. Fibromyalgia is common and dont see why they would not honor it

you: Okay, thanks...I will talk to my fiancé about the IDs I like and I'll get back with you soon! :) Thank you so much for your help!

Vanessa: You are welcome.  

So maybe this is an answer! I asked on a fibromyalgia forum what other people do. I haven't gotten any responses yet, so I will update this later with their answers and ideas.

I think that my experience yesterday, though, is a reminder to all of us with chronic pain conditions, whether it be fibromyalia or CFS or anything else, that we need to take care of ourselves and choose what we do that is outside of our comfort zones. Any time we do anything that is out of routine for us, we feel it. We have to think ahead of everything we want to do, "Is this going to be worth it tomorrow when I can barely get out of bed?" Now, I feel like yesterday was 100% worth it, but I also wish I had been able to have a chair. This experience also throws into sharp relief that not everyone is educated on fibromyalgia and we need to continue to share what we go through every day with more people. 

Here are some good websites to go to if you would like to learn more about fibromyalgia:

US National Library of Medicine

Mayo Clinic

Web MD

Please raise awareness in your communities, whether it be in your neighborhoods or online. Fibromyalgia is real and needs to be made known. Maybe next time Obama is in town the "Fibrobama" fans will get a seat.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi