Google Alerts

When my family and I first started this mission I set up a "Google Alert" for the word Lemierre's Syndrome. This simply means anytime that word is posted on the internet I would get an email and a link to the website it was posted to. At first I would get maybe 1 or 2 emails every few weeks. MOST of the time it was junk and some sort of Spam. However, in the past 3 months I have received at least 1 a day. And in the email have been 3 links of 3 different websites that have posted something about Lemierre's. In the past it was 1 or 2 links at the most per email. I believe the word is really starting to spread! I have read 3 news articles and seen 2 stories in the News in the past 2 months. I think people are starting to open their eyes and see that it could be more then just viral. I do believe Dr. Centor has had a lot to do with this!!! A few people have posted comments on here stating they found our site after hearing his lecture. My plan is in March to send out another batch of letters to ER doctors! I'll let you know how it goes!
Thank you to everyone that has shared their story with me!
Love,
Tammy

So many more cases

I'm not sure if the word is finally getting out or what is going on but in 1 week I had at least 5 cases emailed to me and then today I found a news station that had a story on Leimerre's yesterday.
http://www.9news.com/seenon9news/article.aspx?storyid=131693&catid=509

There have been 2 cases here in St. Louis in the last few months.

Thank you to everyone that shares their story with us and helps us to continue in this battle!
I'm now a stay at home mom which I am very excited about for 2 great reasons!!!
One I get to stay at home and be the full time care giver to my 4 children (well 4 when the newest addition arrives hopefully next week) and two I get to spend more time in this battle and getting the word out about this disease.
I have pamphlets printed up all I have to do is start mailing them to those that have requested them. I would like to have another mailing go out in March for ER doctors. These seem to be the next set of Dr.s that tell the sick "It's viral go home and rest".
Thank you again to everyone!
Love,
Tammy

New article out!

Here is an article just printed Sat.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100102/NEWS01/1030375/

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years!
Love,
Tammy

Lots more cases

I have received at least 7 or 8 emails in the past 3 weeks of cases that are all around the US right now. I know that doesn't seem like a lot to some people reading this but that is only 7 or 8 cases of people who found our organization on the Internet! I know there are so many more out there. I receive google alerts for the word "Lemierre's", every time someone posts something about Lemierre's on the Internet. I get a email sent to me of the item that has the word Lemierre's in it. I usually only receive an email every few weeks however in the past week I have received an email everyday and there are 4 to 5 links of articles and other items discussing Lemierre's. 2 of the links I received where from family members stating how their loved one had passed away due to Lemierre's this happening in just the past few weeks. On one of the websites the person posting actually put our web address www.lemierresyndrome.com on the page so everyone could learn more about it!!! I have also received 2 emails from people saying their loved one had passed away in the past 3 to 4 months from this disease. That is 4 people that I have learned about in the past few weeks that have passed away! OUr thoughts and prayers are with all of those families! We know your pain and suffering all to well!
We sent out our first batch of letters to health care places starting with Urgent Cares in Sept. One of the ladies that emailed me had taken her loved one there and they passed away shortly after. It's really sad. The public is listening to us but the Health care people are not just there yet. But we won't give up! I plan on working on the next mailing to send out after the holidays.
To everyone that has contacted me Thank You again!!!
I may not be able to get back to everyone right away but we do appreciate your thoughts, prayers and sharing your stories with us!
Love,
Tammy

Pictures of our walk

If anyone has pictures they would like to share of our walk please send them to
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
I was unable to take any pictures and would love to post some on our sites!
Thank you!!!

Tammy

Our Walk and other information

I apologize I have not written anything on here about the walk we had Oct 17th. Unfortunately my family has gone through another horrible situation and lost another loved one. My Grandpa Hill passed away Tues, Oct 27. He left us way too soon.
He fell 2 months ago and hit his head. He was with us for 2 months after the fall but could no longer hold on. My grandpa is one of the strongest and most amazing men I know. I feel truly blessed to have had him in my life for 30 years. Now he can be with his 3 grandchildren including Justin! I know they welcomed him with open arms in Heaven!
Contributions to J.E.R. Foundation for Lemierre's Awareness Inc. www.lemierresyndrome.com appreciated.

The walk is coming up very soon!!

We will need about 25 volunteers to help make this a big success! The first and most important thing is word of mouth. We need to let everyone know that we are doing this! I would love to have a big crowd. The bigger the better! I have passed out flyers all over Eureka and everywhere I go. We are leaving them at gas stations, banks everywhere! We put up over 40 signs all around Eureka. We will be on Show Me St. Louis News Channel 5 Monday Oct 12th from 3 until 3:30! Help us pass the word around! We have some amazing raffle items and lunch will be provided for every walker that registers. There is no set donation in order to walk or receive lunch or any of the other free items we will have there. We will be walking around Down Town Eureka. There are lots of really nice stores in the area there! Anyone is more then welcome to stop and shop for awhile! Fred Bird will be there from 11 - 12!!! I have give aways from a few companies, we would love to have more companies support our cause! If interested please contact me asap! We are not asking for a fee to set up a table just items to donate to us for the walk.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us!
Love,
Tammy

Happy 19th Birthday Justin

I couldn't make it to the Cemetery today but I hope you got the gifts mom, dad, Chrissy and Jamie let off for you..
The Golf Tournament we had on Sat was a lot of fun! I hope all the golfers enjoyed themselves even though they did get a little wet! Jamie and Joey were soaked! ;0) I guess that means he was out side the cart a lot longer and sticks at golf! I can not wait to have the Walk here in 3 weeks! It's amazing all the love and support we have been receiving over the last year and half. I hope it continues in our fight! I have received many emails from people letting me know that they believe you and the other ones that have lost their life to this disease have been their child's guardian angle through their battle! We love you and miss you every day!
Love your biggest sister,
Tammy

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!!!

I have to give a great big Thank You to the following companies that have supported our cause and helped our Golf Tournament.

Hustler Conveyor Company for sponsoring a Team for our Tournament!!
http://www.hustler-conveyor.com/


Pasta House for donating 150 $5 off coupons!!!!
http://www.pastahouse.com/


Balloons Over the Rainbow for sponsoring a hole at the tournament!!
http://www.balloonsovertherainbow.com/


Pets & Company for donating a 3 day stay for a pet as a prize at the tournament and sponsoring a hole!!!
http://petsandcompany.net/


Cunnetto House of Pasta for donating 2 dinners for prizes at our tournament!!
http://www.cunetto.com/


U Gas for donating a Gas card for a prize in our tournament!!!
http://www.u-gas.com/


Pegg's Pizza for donating a free pizza as a prize for the tournament!!
http://peggsotb.com/


Golf Discount Superstore, South County for donating a Golf Umbrella as a prize for our tournament!!
http://www.golfdiscountsuperstore.com/golf/


Hager Company for making a donation to us to purchase items for the tournament!!!
http://www.hagerhinge.com/


And of Course Elaine Rosi for letting us be apart of this event!! Thank you Very much!!
http://www.rosiacademy.com/


And Sugar Creek Golf Course for letting us hold our event there and all you have done!

We couldn't have pulled it off with our all of you! I will have a longer lsit to post tomorrow. Thank you again!

Love Tammy

Another article!!

http://www.currentnewsmagazine.com/files/Download/mva.pdf


Lemierre Syndrome,
The Forgotten Disease,
Making a Comeback threatening our children’s lives
By Debby Kwiecien
Feature Writer

“When tragedy strikes you change,” said Tammy Valencia. “You look at things
differently.” Tammy’s talking about her 17-year-old brother, Justin Rodgers that passed away
May 12, 2008, the day after Mother’s Day. Justin was a junior at Eureka High School that year and he was getting ready to go to the prom when he began feeling ill. His mom took him to the doctor who checked for strep-throat and gave him a z-pac and told him to go home and
rest; he’d be fine. A few days later Justin was still sick; he had flu-like symptoms
and a bad case of sore throat. This time Mom took him to St. Anthony Hospital’s emergency room and they promptly transferred him to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. By the time
Justin was diagnosed a week later with lemierre syndrome he was on a respirator and in a drug induced coma, running a fever of 107. He began bleeding internally and was placed on an ECMO machine that filters and cleans the blood. Amonth after being hospitalized Justin passed away.
“The doctors think it may have been caused by either a fight that broke his nose or some dental work he’d recently had done,” said Tammy. “But they’re not really sure.” Lemierre Syndrome, the Forgotten Disease, is a fast acting illness with flu-like symptoms, a severe sore throat and high fever [106 or more]. The fusobacteria embeds itself into the jugular vein and when it begins breaking down it spreads into the rest of the body, through the bloodstream, wreaking irreversible havoc, especially on the lungs or kidneys. Prior to 1936 the mortality rate for lemierre syndrome was 96%; after the widespread use of penicillin the disease was virtually wiped out. According to Tammy there have been only 120 cases in the last 100 years; however, in the last 5 to 6 years it is estimated that there will be 1000 cases every 10 to 15 years and today the cases of lemierre’s syndrome have risen to 100 deaths out of 1000 documented cases.
What’s truly sad is that the disease is curable, if diagnosed quickly with a simple throat swab in the doctor’s office and treated accurately with a simple dose of penicillin. Before Justin passed away Tammy began asking questions. She started with her own children’s pediatrician. “He pulled out this huge medical book,” she said. “And, looked it up. There was only one short paragraph about it without much information.”
That spurred Tammy on to find out more and to start blogging [an online journal]
at www.lemierresyndromjrodgers.blogspot.com about what happened to
Justin. She strongly believes that because physicians have been cutting back on the
use of penicillin to treat their patients it is causing this disease to resurface. She and
her family also decided to start the Justin E. Rodgers Foundation for Lemierres
Awareness, Inc., [JRFLA] in order to get the word out to other families about this
life threatening disease that is totally curable. Visit www.lemierresyndrom.com for
more information about the disease.
Tammy has also made it her mission to contact every doctor, every hospital, and
every healthcare facility in the US with information about lemierre syndrome. She
has already mailed out 750 letters to emergent care facilities across the US. She is
on a mission to save lives and does not plan to stop until she has made as many
healthcare professionals aware of this as possible.
The JRFLA has teamed up with Elaine Rosi Academy for Children’s fifth annual
golf tournament to be held Sept. 26, 2009 at the Sugar Creek Golf Course. There
is a 7 a.m. shotgun start, 4-person scramble [$99.95 per golfer] with golf pro shop
awards, cash awarded for first place in multiple flights, prizes for longest drive and
closest to pin, $25,000 hole in one prize, unlimited beer, soda and water, complimentary
grilled lunch buffet, optional skins games for $5 per golfer, raffles and
50/50s. For more information or to sign up call Tammy at 314-566-4970.
JRFLA is also holding a walkathon at Lions Park in Eureka October 17 at 10
a.m. There will be hotdogs and hamburgers available for purchase, anyone is invited
to come and walk and there will be silicone bracelets for sale. Watch the
Current’s Community Calendar for more information. Or visit www.lemierresyndromjrodgers.
blogspot.com for updates.

1st Lemierre's Walk!!!!

Our first walk EVER will be in Eureka MO on Sat Oct 17th @ 10 am! Put it on your calendars now! ;0)
More details in the near future!
If you have an idea for something pertaining to our walk please email me @
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com
We will defiantly need Volunteers for this one! Thank you to everyone that has helped us!!

The first set of letters are going into the mail tomorrow to ALL of the Urgent Care Centers across the United States!
Next we will work on Physician's and Hospitals!
Thank you to everyone for their love and support!
We couldn't do this with out all of you!
Love,
Tammy

NEW Decals are in

I ordered new decals that say

"My son's Dr. had never
heard of Lemierre's. Has yours?
www.lemierresyndrome.com"

OR

"My daughter's Dr. had never heard
of Lemierre's. Has your?
www.lemierresyndrome.com"

If you would be interested in one of these decals for you car window or anywhere else please email me your name address and which one you would like and I will pop it in the mail to you.
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
THANK YOU!
Tammy Valencia

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!

I just have to type up a special "THANK YOU" to everyone that has helped & supported us! We could not continue this fight with out all of you!
I receive at least 5 to 6 emails a WEEK from mom's, dad's, aunt's, uncle's, brother's and sometimes the young people them self that have dealt with this disease! For those Dr.s who say this disease is still rare and only a one in a million change of getting I would like them to contact me. There is no way that is true with all of the emails and stories I receive.
We have received many donations from people all around the world and the people purchasing the ribbons, wrist bands and T shirts are a huge help to!!
We are just at the very beginning of our fight but it is a MUCH needed fight! I can't help but think that there are many more families that have lost their loved ones to this disease and do not even know it! It hides behind so many illnesses and takes so much to diagnose it is insane. You think it's 2009 they know about everything but they don't!
I want to Thank You to these companies that have either donated to us or helped us in any other way! FIRST ONE IS HIDDEN VALLEY in Eureka MO.
When Amity approached us to have the "J-Rod Jam" we were in shock! It turned out to be the best fundraiser I have ever been to! Everyone there especially Amity were amazing!
and at the J-Rod Jam helping us were the following companies:
Monster http://www.monsterenergy.com/
SOKA http://www.sokaskate.com/
Fox Creek Outfitters http://www.foxcreekstl.com/
US Cellular http://www.uscellular.com/
105.7 the point http://www.1057pointthepoint.com/
Z107.7 http://www.z1077.com/
And Kelly Corday with the amazing phone interview on the radio! http://www.y98.com/
Automotive Leasing Corporation also known as Ackerman Auto Plaza http://www.ackermanauto.com/

ALSO a BIG Thank you to Carousel Chocolates www.carousel-chocolates.com
This is my Uncle's company and all his sales from his AMAZING Chocolates goes to our Non Profit.

We have had some great donations for the Golf Tournament and I will list those companies as soon as I have all the information together! Thank you again to everyone!
Because of all the funding we have received so far we are going to start sending letters to EVERY Urgent Care and Doctor office in the United States. I know this disease is WORLD wide but we have to start small. If I take on the whole world I will get too over-whelmed. ;0)
Thank you to Brent!!!! Because of Brent Walquist with Beta Media Group in New York City we now have a Banner with our name and website on it to use at all of our events! Thank you Brent for your donation!
There are so many other people out there helping us Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Dr Robert Centor not only devotes his career to help teach Dr.s about this disease he also supports us as well! Thank you Dr. Centor http://www.medrants.com/ I hope one day we can meet in person!
Love, Tammy

Golf Tournament Sat Sept 26th

We have all the details for our Golf Tournament!!!

It will be held Sat Sept 26th @ 7:00am, (Shotgun Start) at the Sugar Creek Golf Course in Fenton MO.
There will be Golf Pro Awards, Cash Awards for 1st place in multiple flights, Prizes for longest drive & closest to pin, $25,000 hole in one prize, Unlimited Beer, Soda, Water, A Grilled lunch, Optional Skins game for $5 per golfer, Prize Raffle and 50/50 Raffle all of this for only $99.95.
I have uploaded the information sheet as well as the sign up sheet to the right of this post. Please right click on them and select print picture. Please pass around to every golfer you know. This will be lots of fun and you are helping 2 organizations!
If you would like more information please email me.
sunflwz2@yahoo.com

Thank you!!
Love, Tammy

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish all the fathers out there a "Happy Father's Day"! I hope every one has a great relaxing day!

We have a few events that we will begin working on for Sept. First is our first Lemierre's Walk! This will be sometime in the middle of Sept., I'm not 100% sure on the date yet. The next is a Golf Tournament we were asked to be a part of. This will be held Sept 26th at the Sugar Creek Golf Course located near Fenton. This is going to be a fun event for anyone that golfs. There will be great prizes!! Food and drinks included in the price to participate. There will be teams of 4 so if you and 3 your friends want to join in let me know! Or just you we can always pair you up with others. IF you would like a flyer for this event please email me @ sunflwz2@yahoo.com. I will post the flyer for this event on this site as soon as I have it ready. I will begin sending out letters for donations to local stores or businesses for items like bottle waters or anything else they would like to donate to us for these events. If you know of a business or you your self would like to donate please email me @ sunflwz2@yahoo.com. I will make a large banner with all of our supporters names on it. We appreciate everything everyone has done for this Corporation!
Love,
Tammy