Helen Lawler, MS

Editor, Secretary

My mother started the family on vitamins when I was twelve. I kept taking vitamins regularly into my twenties – not multivitamins, but individual doses of A & D, B, C, E, and minerals like calcium and iron. I had mixed feelings about taking vitamins, because I was never sure that I needed as many as I was taking. Eventually, I stopped taking them altogether and it didn’t seem to make much difference. Now my Naturopathic Physician prescribes supplements based on extensive blood tests so I know I’m getting exactly what I need – not one – size fits all medicine.

Back in 1992, Leanne Wylet and I because concerned about what federal and/or state-controlled health care could do to freedom of choice. We read everything we could get our hands on, and shared insights with each other. We also ordered copies of actual legislation rather than rely on second-had information. The Clinton plan included jail terms for doctors and/or patients for treatments not authorized by a gatekeeper. Legislation passed – and later repealed – in the State of Washington would eventually have required all state residents to enroll in state-run (mostly managed-care) insurance plans. My five-year experience in editing a newsletter for interpreters is invaluable in working with the creation and production of PfAM quarterly newsletter The Patients’ Voice.