Doing my part to help researchers

April 1, 2020 (Chapter 20 Advocacy in my book)

Yesterday I participated in an online interview with a research company in Boston. They were gathering information on people who are living with mild cognitive impairment. I try to share my experience as much as I could. I think that there was also a pharmaceutical company that was in the background while this interview was happening. They are trying to develop a new drug to help people with MCI. The interview lasted a little more than an hour and I felt like it went pretty well.

A short time after the interview was over, I received a nice e-mail from a person who I had been communicating with related to this interview but they were not the one who interviewed me. This is part of the e-mail that I received from them:

“Dear Cheryl,

Thank you so much for participating in an MCI Interview! We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to share your unique experiences living with MCI, while providing valuable feedback on the proposed clinical trial for MCI. The team has learned so much from you, and plans to utilize your suggestions to make improvements and to better address the needs of individuals with MCI.

As a thank you for your time, we have issued out a $50 gift card to you using this email address.

Once again, thank you all for a successful meeting and we truly appreciate your participation in an MCI Interview!

Warm regards and please stay safe,”

Unfortunately, I never seem to qualify for any drug trials going on because I don't have a caregiver. I will continue to do my best in advocating about MCI in order to help others understand what it is like.