Saturday, October 15, 2005

Welcome to CoSozo!

As the founder of CoSozo, I am honored that you are here and that life has made it possible for me to create this space. Most importantly I am deeply moved that CoSozo has already started to provide for and assist others.

I am not a medical doctor, nor am I a health professional. I am, however, a consumer with a deep, personal belief in living life fully and a tremendous desire to help people live better lives. I have had health concerns of my own and I have witnessed and experienced loved ones facing great personal physical loss or even losing their lives to health challenges. I know what it's like to spend endless hours researching a disease and possible treatments, trying to sift through the daunting amount of information that is in bits and pieces all over the web, in libraries and other sources. I've felt the desperation of not knowing where to turn for information or what to believe in the middle of a health crisis. And I've even felt anger, knowing that there is information out there somewhere that could help, and pain in the realization of my own limitations in trying to find that information.

Like so many of you, I do have loved ones who are facing a health challenge. Some of those loved ones are not only fighting for their own lives, they also have their own loved ones fighting for their lives as well. At some point in our lives, all of us will face a health challenge of some kind. For those of you who have already faced a health challenge, you understand the quiet desperation and terror of needing to make decisions while not always fully comprehending whether those decisions are the best to make. When those health challenges are potentially life-threatening, the desperation and confusion can be overwhelming.

I believe in my heart that there are two primary things that can prevent people from receiving all of the help they may require when facing a health crisis -- comprehensive information about their condition/treatment options and access to the people or facilities that can best serve them.

Information

There are many philosophies about health care and the best approach to take for treatment. CoSozo's position is to inform, to provide people with the benefits and risks of the available treatments and procedures, to make more easily available information that previously has not been easily found. We know that with any choice in life, particularly a choice that can impact personal health, individuals will make their own decisions. We want to help make those decisions as informed as possible.

There was a time in our world history that consumers simply took the advice of their doctors and followed the recommendation given. Today, we are in the information age. Consumers are more actively participating in informing and educating themselves about their own health and health care options than ever before. CoSozo is dedicated to enabling all people to have greater, easier access to the information that will allow them to make the best decisions for their health and well-being.

Access and Networks

One question that I have grappled with over time is, "What if there is a treatment or a facility in Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand or somewhere else in the world that could help but we just don't know about it?" This question can keep me up at night. It makes no sense to me that in this age of information an individual's life could be adversely impacted or someone could senselessly die simply because the information was not made available in time.

We at CoSozo are dedicated to building a global network with doctors, health care facilities, practitioners and health care professionals of all kinds. By networking with one another, we can better help all individuals find the care that is right for them. By discovering who the best doctors are in Florida or Guatemala or South Wales, by learning about what treatments are having success in China or Australia or California, we can open doors to people and help them have a better chance at healing.

Live Happily, Live Healthily, Live Fully

Health involves all facets of our lives, from our personal state of emotional and spiritual happiness to the physical condition of our own bodies. I believe that all people have the right to fully live – to live happily and healthily, to live lives that are beyond their wildest dreams. Whether your wildest dream is to live another day, to no longer be depressed, or to find a treatment that will allow you to become physically healthy again, my intention is to fill this website with information that can help you reach for those dreams. Living a happy, healthy and full life is our desire for all people.

In my office, I have a saying that I mounted many years ago that speaks to my vision of CoSozo not only today in its infancy but also in the years to come as CoSozo expands with its growing network of consumers and care providers. Mary Anne "Macy Bryce Lewis" Radmacher wrote this in 1999 and is entitled "May You Always Know..."

"May this be the place from which you launch your dreams.
May this be the castle from which you go forth & conquer
And return to celebrate & rest.
May this be the dance at which you learn to craft
A confidence & ease.
In these rooms may you discover the tools
To build your vision --
Or may we have the grace to seek that which you need
So your spirit may soar.
May you always know your family as your safe & good home."

Welcome to the CoSozo family. We hope that this virtual space in which you now find yourself brings you hope, helps you connect with information and individuals who can help you in your journey, and allows you to live a life that is happy, and healthy, and full of realized dreams.

~posted by Christine, 5:41 PM