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On September 2, 2005 we received a phone call saying in essence, our daughter Cammy‘s heart was not beating, and she was on her way to Erlanger hospital by way of ambulance. While we huddled with close friends and family in prayer, we were given the devastating news that she was gone.
How does something like this happen to a vibrant 26 year old young woman? How do you reconcile just two days prior taking a long walk with someone who expressed her dreams for the future who appeared healthy and happy. Well, I can only state that eating disorders are deadly.
She suffered from all three of the eating disorders (defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders #4). She had binge eating disorder in high school, where she ate in excess in private. During her freshmen year in college she turned to bulimia to rid herself of her excess high school weight. She could eat large amounts of food and then purge by way of vomiting. She was also pairing her bulimia with anorexia which can often be the case. This behavior took its toll when in her junior year of college she went into cardiac arrest, and we almost lost her for the first time. We learned when you purge you rid yourself of essential electrolytes that control the beating of the heart and thus causing it to shut down.
We sent her for treatment to Arizona to save her life, and to hopefully help her overcome her E.D. When she left after almost three months we thought she had it beaten. Unfortunately, there were additional life threatening instances that followed. Eating Disorders seemed to control her in such a way that nothing seemed to help. After many years of therapy and finding the true love of her life we thought she was finally on the road to recovery. This proved not to be the case. We are not sure to this day what exactly caused her final cardiac failure, but for sure it was a result of her eating disorders.
To honor her memory Ashley Yates (her closest friend) and I (Jan Robinson, Cammy’s Mother) founded the Mary Cameron Robinson (MCR) Foundation for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. It would have been so helpful to me had there been a source like this when Cammy was struggling. There is so much to learn about this disease and the earlier it is treated the better the chance of survival. Denying it will not cause it to go away. We must educate ourselves to be aware of the behaviors and to intervene as soon as possible. This is absolutely crucial. Cammy would be so proud to know her death was not in vain and she lives on with this foundation.
MCR’S Mission Statement
The mission of the MCR Foundation is to provide resources for people who are affected by eating disorders in the Greater Chattanooga Tri-State area. The Foundation is committed to a holistic approach encompassing physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well being.
MCR will do this by:
• Providing education and multi-media resources
• Promoting awareness and developing prevention strategies
• Providing support systems
• Conducting research for community needs
• Promoting a healthy lifestyle and a appropriate self image
• Serve as a resource for referrals for counseling and treatment
MCR’S Vision
The MCR Foundation will be a comprehensive non-profit center in the Chattanooga Tri-State area for education concerning prevention early diagnosis and treatment of individuals and families affected by eating disorders, focusing on healing the mind, body, and spirit.
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Hope in Bloom provides the beauty of nature for breast cancer patients living in Massachusetts. The all-volunteer non-profit plants indoor, outdoor patio and in-ground vegetable or flower gardens at the homes of people in active treatment for the disease. Gardens deliver their own special brand of medicine and recipients enjoy the benefits as they look toward the future.
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The Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan is the go-to source for mental health awareness and education. Our mission is to create communities that have good mental health by inspiring people to recognize, understand, accept, and take action.
Our leading program:
be nice. is a mental health education program for schools, businesses, faith congregations, and communities. The be nice. Action Plan to notice, invite, challenge and empower is proven to change, improve, and save lives. Learn more by Taking the Pledge on www.benice.org.
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A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation is dedicated to fighting lung cancer by funding innovative research, educating the public for improved disease awareness, and supporting patients and caregivers on the path to survivorship.
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Founded in 2002, For Grace’s main goal is to increase awareness and promote education of the gender disparity women experience in the assessment and treatment of their pain.
We believe empowering women to be better consumers for their pain management care, sensitizing the general public to gender pain disparities and enlightening public policy makers about pain as a major health issue will improve life outcomes for all women in chronic pain.
Also, we see increased medical research about the differences in how men and women experience pain as part of the answer to alleviating the toll of human suffering. We believe medical research will pave the way for gender-specific therapies that will better manage persistent pain.
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The mission of the Breast Cancer Alliance is to improve survival rates and quality of life for those impacted by breast cancer through better prevention, early detection, treatment and cure. To promote these goals we invest in innovation research, breast surgery fellowships, regional education, dignified support and screening for the underserved.
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Hope For Widows Foundation is a philanthropic, charitable giving organization developed by widowed women that strives to offset the financial challenges of and build community among widowed women worldwide. Our vision is to create a strong network of widows. We seek to empower our members through shared experience.
Through our private online support, grief awareness initiatives, resources, incentives and financial support we serve to offer caring advocacy and connection through the entire grieving process.
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We are the foremost eating disorders nonprofit organization in New England. We provide education about eating disorders and their underlying causes to develop a compassionate community that promotes hopefulness and supports healing. We offer a variety of services to support individuals and loved ones through the various stages of their journey. Through our network of Treatment Providers and Treatment Centers we connect clients with the best care for their needs. MEDA is the first step toward awareness and healing.
Our Mission: To HEAL, EDUCATE and EMPOWER our community to support the people, families and other community members impacted by eating disorders, to stop the spread of eating disorders through educational awareness and early detection, and to promote greater acceptance of all body types.
Our Vision: We envision a community without eating disorders that promotes a positive body culture.
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The Mental Health Helpline provides information about mental health services in Ontario Canada. We are funded by the Government of Ontario.
Our service is live answer 24/7, confidential and free.
Wanting to connect with us on the run? App Coming Soon
Information is the first step.
A helpful Information and Referral Specialist will answer your call, email or web chat 24/7. Our service is free and confidential.
We can:
provide information about counselling services and supports in your community
listen, offer support and provide strategies to help you meet your goals
provide basic education about mental illness
Credible, Professional, Reliable
The Mental Health Helpline is a service of ConnexOntario, a free and confidential health service information organization funded by the Ontario Government.
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Parenting Safe Children empowers adults to keep children safe from sexual abuse. We educate parents and professionals through the Parenting Safe Children Workshop (online and in- person), where participants learn what makes children vulnerable to sexual abuse; how to talk with schools, sports programs, day care and places of faith about child safety; and what body- safety rules to teach children.
Feather Berkower, LCSW, has been a leader in child sexual abuse prevention since 1985. Using a community-based approach, she has trained over 150,000 school children, parents, and professionals. Feather makes a difficult topic less scary, and consistently impresses audiences with her knowledge, commitment, and warmth. Feather is also the co-author of Off Limits, a parenting book with easy-to-follow guidelines for making children, homes, and communities off limits to child sexual abusers.
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