LaserMyEye

[Rebecca Petris]

Dear all:

Because of my husband's deteriorating health (he has a degenerative brain disorder and has declined rapidly this year), I'm trying to eliminate non-essential activities from my life so that I will be better able to care for him at home. This includes resigning as executive director of LaserMyEye, a small nonprofit I founded back in 2004. Some few of you who are members of both DryEyeTalk and the LaserMyEye bulletin board (D'Eyealogues) are already aware of this.

LaserMyEye urgently needs to find people to fill out the Board of Directors. Mary Kenny Badami, who has served on the board since inception and also served as moderator on D'Eyealogues for a very long time, is also hoping to step down when a suitable replacement can be found. This leaves our beloved DianaT all on her lonesome, and our bylaws and state law require us to have a minimum of 3.

We will be holding a board meeting on the 4th of November to vote on new directors. We've had some interest from two or three people and we really want to invite more people to step up to be considered if possible. The duties are minimal. If the whole idea of serving on a board sounds intimidating, it really, really, really isn't in practice. It's been a very-low-budget, low-activity, low-profile organization for quite some time now and just keeping itself and the website and bulletin board running are pretty much all there is to it. Every now and then we have to hang out a hat to collect some nickels and dimes to pay web-related and legal expenses. For more details, please see this thread on D'Eyealogues. Of course, getting someone to fill my shoes as director is the most difficult part, but I am hoping someone somewhere will raise their hand as I think it would be a shame to have to shut it down after all this time.

So... if there is anyone here who has had refractive surgery (which is a requirement of LME's bylaws for board members), and feels like they are emotionally and physically in a place where involvement in this would not be harmful to them, and has a little time to chip in now and then... we would really, really like to hear from you. If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact me, Mary or Diana.

Thanks to all in advance for reading this and considering whether you might be able to help.



p.s. On a personal note, this has been a tough year for me. Very, very tough. I really appreciate the understanding and patience people have showed when I've been slow to respond on emails & PMs. Unfortunately it's also taken a toll on the dry eye shop and I'm afraid my customer service has been anything but stellar the last few months especially. I'm trying to fix it and in the meantime I sure appreciate your understanding.

[Guest]

I'm sorry I have been a little derelict in my duties on LME of late.

Have been a little snowed under.

Is there any restriction that the Board need to reside in the US.

It is not really a job I was looking for but I am also not prepared to do nothing and let LME become a distant memory, as DEZ and in the early days LME helped me through a pretty dark place - well at least the members did.

If you are short for numbers please let me know. I'm sure that with the pregnant Ms T we could make a good board - if nothing else, the punctal pub after a meeting could be a real hoot.

Regards

Ian

[Julie1]

Rebecca,

I am so sorry to hear of your husband's health problems and can only begin to imagine the toll it's taken on you and your family. I am thinking and praying for you and your family and hope that you can find some peace and comfort during this time.

While I am not able to help out with LaserMyEye as I've never had Lasik surgery, I would be willing to help out in other small ways on the Dry Eye Zone if you need assistance. Please don't feel as if you need to respond to this post (I know that you are busy enough), but keep me in mind if I can help you in any way.

I (as do many others) appreciate all that you have done for us here at the Dry Eye Zone and am so grateful for the products in the Dry Eye Shop. I don't know where I would be if it had not been for you, this website, and Dr. Holly's drops. I feel like I got my life back.

Thanks again,
Julie

[odydnas]

Hi Rebecca,

I am sorry to hear about your husband's health problems and am keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.

I cannot help out with LaserMyEye as I have never had Lasik. However, I am open to help out with DryEyeZone and DryEyeShop to ease the burden on you. Feel free to respond to this post or PM me for assistance.

[dianat]

I move that board members of LME, Inc. need not have experienced refractive surgery. Nomination by a current board member and an understanding of the ramifications of such surgery should be qualification enough.

er, did that sound official enough?

[rubyslippers]

My husband also has a degenerative brain disease (Parkinson's) and was diagnosed 5 years ago. My prayers are with you.