Chronic Illness Coalition Award of Courage
Courage – The quality of facing and overcoming dangerous or difficult
circumstances with resolve, perseverance and selflessness; to face
adversity with resolution and fortitude in spite of all opposing forces.
The Award of Courage will be awarded to an individual afflicted with a
chronic illness as well as a caregiver of a person(s) with a chronic illness.
Determining criteria is listed below and will be decided upon by a
nominating committee based on a 0-4 point system. Only members in good
standing with the CIC can make nominations. Monetary awards and
plaques will be presented during the Chronic Illness Coalition’s breakfast
meeting in January 2011.
Click on the links below for the application and criteria forms:
Award of Courage Application Guidelines
Caregiver Award of Courage Application
Award of Courage Selection Criteria
After viewing the attached form(s), click on the back browser to return to
the CIC website.
circumstances with resolve, perseverance and selflessness; to face
adversity with resolution and fortitude in spite of all opposing forces.
The Award of Courage will be awarded to an individual afflicted with a
chronic illness as well as a caregiver of a person(s) with a chronic illness.
Determining criteria is listed below and will be decided upon by a
nominating committee based on a 0-4 point system. Only members in good
standing with the CIC can make nominations. Monetary awards and
plaques will be presented during the Chronic Illness Coalition’s breakfast
meeting in January 2011.
Click on the links below for the application and criteria forms:
Award of Courage Application Guidelines
Caregiver Award of Courage Application
Award of Courage Selection Criteria
After viewing the attached form(s), click on the back browser to return to
the CIC website.
CHRONIC ILLNESS COALITION PRESENTS
AWARDS OF COURAGE AT ANNUAL BREAKFAST
(Southfield, MI) For 25 years, The Chronic Illness Coalition
(CIC) has advocated for persons living with chronic illness,
by educating health professionals, connecting patients and
caregivers to needed resources, striving to get health
resources to the uninsured, and funding ramps for
homebound persons with disabilities. CIC is comprised of
organizations which service persons with heart disease,
cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and a host of other diseases,
as well as health care professionals, agencies and vendors.
This past year the CIC inaugurated a new “Awards of Courage” Program. Each year one person with a
chronic illness and one family caregiver for a relative with chronic illness are being selected to receive an
award after screening candidates nominated by CIC member organizations. Each Award winner will have
demonstrated great resolve and courage and inspired others by their example. The 2009 Awards of
Courage recipients are Venus Turner (Award of Courage) and Adele Weisler (Caregiver Award of
Courage).
At the Awards breakfast on January 6, 2010, nominator Joanne Cruz, from Health Care Partners,
described how Mrs. Turner has been coping with diabetes for decades and more recently with lupus and
advanced kidney disease. Despite these burdens, she has filled her life with positive energy, serving
families as a home care nurse, and a devoted wife and mother. Her husband Mark stated that “five nights
a week, my wife goes for dialysis, and the next morning she gets up and goes to work to care for her
patients.” He also explained how she welcomed her late younger brother into her home when his kidneys
failed, and cared for him, despite her own conditions. Ms. Turner gave thanks to her family, her friends,
co-workers and to God for giving her the strength to carry on.
Ms. Weisler cared for her husband Harvey, diagnosed with dementia, for close to 10 years until his
sudden death from cancer this past fall. Nominator Dorothy Moon from the Brown Day Program spoke of
how Adele “fought like a pitbull” to see that he got the best care. Still working full time as a social worker,
she recently enrolled in nursing school in later life, to better understand Harvey’s conditions and
effectively advocate for him. Fighting back tears, she told the CIC audience that the Brown staff were her
“day angels,” while Sharon, her in-home caregiver, was her “night angel.” The support she got from the
day program, friends and son Larry, helped her “turn anger into gratitude.”
CIC Board member Peter Ostrow spoke about the need for society to recognize that 40 million caregivers
nationwide and millions more persons with chronic illnesses are “the unseen heroes among us” who
deserve to be honored and supported. He encouraged more people to join the CIC in expanding the
Awards of Courage in the years ahead.
AWARDS OF COURAGE AT ANNUAL BREAKFAST
(Southfield, MI) For 25 years, The Chronic Illness Coalition
(CIC) has advocated for persons living with chronic illness,
by educating health professionals, connecting patients and
caregivers to needed resources, striving to get health
resources to the uninsured, and funding ramps for
homebound persons with disabilities. CIC is comprised of
organizations which service persons with heart disease,
cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and a host of other diseases,
as well as health care professionals, agencies and vendors.
This past year the CIC inaugurated a new “Awards of Courage” Program. Each year one person with a
chronic illness and one family caregiver for a relative with chronic illness are being selected to receive an
award after screening candidates nominated by CIC member organizations. Each Award winner will have
demonstrated great resolve and courage and inspired others by their example. The 2009 Awards of
Courage recipients are Venus Turner (Award of Courage) and Adele Weisler (Caregiver Award of
Courage).
At the Awards breakfast on January 6, 2010, nominator Joanne Cruz, from Health Care Partners,
described how Mrs. Turner has been coping with diabetes for decades and more recently with lupus and
advanced kidney disease. Despite these burdens, she has filled her life with positive energy, serving
families as a home care nurse, and a devoted wife and mother. Her husband Mark stated that “five nights
a week, my wife goes for dialysis, and the next morning she gets up and goes to work to care for her
patients.” He also explained how she welcomed her late younger brother into her home when his kidneys
failed, and cared for him, despite her own conditions. Ms. Turner gave thanks to her family, her friends,
co-workers and to God for giving her the strength to carry on.
Ms. Weisler cared for her husband Harvey, diagnosed with dementia, for close to 10 years until his
sudden death from cancer this past fall. Nominator Dorothy Moon from the Brown Day Program spoke of
how Adele “fought like a pitbull” to see that he got the best care. Still working full time as a social worker,
she recently enrolled in nursing school in later life, to better understand Harvey’s conditions and
effectively advocate for him. Fighting back tears, she told the CIC audience that the Brown staff were her
“day angels,” while Sharon, her in-home caregiver, was her “night angel.” The support she got from the
day program, friends and son Larry, helped her “turn anger into gratitude.”
CIC Board member Peter Ostrow spoke about the need for society to recognize that 40 million caregivers
nationwide and millions more persons with chronic illnesses are “the unseen heroes among us” who
deserve to be honored and supported. He encouraged more people to join the CIC in expanding the
Awards of Courage in the years ahead.
| Venus Turner, RN (left) and Adele Weisler (right) 2009 CIC Award of Courage Recipients |