Cynthia Cervantes

13 Year Old with Scleroderma Chosen to Testify Before Congress, March 13, 2008

Inspiring hope wherever she goes and aiming to dispel medical misconceptions, 13-year-old Cynthia Cervantes has become a national advocate for many people more than twice her age who struggle with a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma. While scleroderma typically strikes people between the ages of 25 and 45, it hit Cynthia at age 11. Cynthia was featured in the "My Space" section of the September 2007 "Scleroderma VOICE" magazine. She was diagnosed in 2006 and she and her family have become very active with their local chapter.

Rep. David Obey (Wis.)

We are proud to announce that the Foundation has received an invitation from Representative David Obey (Wisconsin, Chair of House Appropriations Committee) to testify before the House Labor-HHS-Education Sub-Committee on March 13, 2008. Thanks to the hard work of our Advocacy Committee, many volunteer advocates and our advocacy firm, Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington, we are one of the few organizations given the opportunity to testify on the 13th.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (Calif.)

Representative Linda Sanchez (California) was instrumental in pushing this forward and we extend our sincerest appreciation to her and her team. Many other congressional offices also sent letters to Representative Obey’s office, including Representatives Tierney and Olver from Massachusetts, urging them to allow the Scleroderma Foundation to testify before the sub-committee.

Representatives from the Southern California chapter, our advocacy committee, and the national office will be attending as well. We will be given the opportunity to provide additional written testimony about the Foundation and scleroderma, in which we will request that funding for NIH be increased with scleroderma specific recommendations to be included in the HHS funding bill.

This is an exciting opportunity to testify before the committee, increase awareness, and further our cause. In addition to increasing awareness and communicating our message to Congress, we are looking forward to the many opportunities for public awareness and media coverage that will be provided. To that end, we are working closely with our public relations agency, Makovsky & Company, to capitalize on media opportunities this presents.