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DATE	12/08/2008
TIME	00:00 - 00:00
STATION	WTPL-FM (---)
LOCATION	Hillsboro, NH
PROGRAM	Bulldog Live!
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT

BRIAN TILTON, host:

If anybody was listening on Election Day you heard us talk to an astrologer who gave us readings on Barack Obama and John McCain. And this--this lady has been a friend of mine for a number of years, Linda Furiate. And she--she--she suffers from a condition called cervic--cervical dystonia. And she’s faced a number of challenges in her life, and even wrote a book and--about some of the challenges and overcoming adversity. Well, she has taken it another step further. And thanks to a national organization, she’s realizing a philanthropic dream come true to help some of those who wear the uniform. And joining us now is Linda.

Good afternoon. How are you today?

Ms. LINDA FURIATE (Astrologer): Brian, I’m doing great. How are you?

TILTON: Doing well, thanks. Congratulations on the work that we’re gonna talk about here.

Ms. FURIATE: Oh, thank you. It’s such an honor to win this award. So, all must go on.

TILTON: OK. Well, first of all let’s--let’s talk about the award that you did win.

Ms. FURIATE: Sure. A few months ago I found out about this essay contest that Allergan Incorporated was having called the Botox Dream Campaign. And basically, they wanted people who were suffering from cervical dystonia to write in an essay and talk about their experiences, you know, with cervical dystonia, the use of Botox, and how its impacted their lives and so forth. So, I decided that I was going to write my essay.

TILTON: And-and your essay--it was a long-shot because--here’s a national company, the makers of Botox, which is commonly known for its cosmetic treatments, but...

Ms. FURIATE: Correct.

TILTON: ...as you’ve found out, very helpful in dealing with the conditions like cervical dystonia.

Ms. FURIATE: Correct. Yeah, it’s been approved--I’m not sure the exact number of years, but it’s been approved for the use of cervical dystonia for close to 20 years. So, it’s been on the market for quite a while. But, you know, like you said, most of us just know Botox for its cosmetic purposes.

TILTON: Right. Now this has been used for cervical dystonia. And for those who are unaware as to even what that is, let’s describe that condition.

Ms. FURIATE: Sure. Cervical dystonia defined as a neurological movement disorder that is characterized by abnormal posturing and positioning of a certain parts of the body, like in my case it’s my neck. The most--probably--I guess for people to understand really what dystonia does and how it distorts the body, it’s very similar to Parkinson’s Disease in that, you know, it causes abnormal movement. But typically, dystonias are more focal where it just focuses on one area of the body.

TILTON: OK.

Ms. FURIATE: You know, you can have dystonia anywhere, in your hand, your neck, your leg, foot. I just happened to get it in--in my neck, which is really the most prevalent and prominent form of dystonia.

TILTON: Mm-hmm. And it’s a difficult condition to diagnose, as well.

Ms. FURIATE: It can be. It--you know, it’s interesting because I know people who have gone years, and years, and years and, you know, have been undiagnosed. And then, all of a sudden, you know, you meet the right doctor and they can just look at you and say, ‘Oh, yeah, you have dystonia,’ or ‘You have cervical dystonia.’ So, it’s really about, you know, doing--you know--getting out there and doing your homework and finding out, you know, really what--what type of doctor, you know, diagnoses this type of thing. But it’s hard as a patient, of course...

TILTON: Mm-hmm.

Ms. FURIATE: ...you know--to figure it out when you’re suffering, and your body’s twisted, and you’re in spasm. You know, you’re going from doctor, to doctor, to doctor to try to figure it out. But, you know, I was very lucky I was diagnosed within--probably just a few months of actually developing my symptoms.

TILTON: And it was at a VA facility that this doctor found that, right?

Ms. FURIATE: Well, actually my--I was diagnosed about 12 or 13 years ago. And it was just recently within the last year or so that I started getting Botox injections at our local Veterans Administration Hospital.

TILTON: OK.

Ms. FURIATE: That--you know, as being a prior military person myself--I served in the Air Force--you know, I qualified to obtain, you know, the VA benefits. And, you know, when I lost my job I lost my health insurance. So, you know, I decided, ‘Hey, why not lets go to the VA and--for medical treatments?’ And, you know, that came to pass that I eventually started getting treatment for my cervical dystonia, and then the doctor recommended these Botox injections.

TILTON: And you must have been thinking, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’

Ms. FURIATE: Well, I was familiar with Botox because I had used it years prior when I first developed cervical dystonia. And it just really wasn’t an effective treatment plan for me. And I think part of that was just because, you know, the dosage wasn’t, you know, enough or proper, or maybe it was the chemistry that I was having with the doctor. It could be a number of different things. But, you know--you know--when I started getting my Botox injections, actually close to Veterans Day last year, of ‘07, and, you know, I hit it off with my doctor, you know, he really understands the condition and my body and Botox. So, you know, with that combination it really helped me this time around.

TILTON: And--

Ms. FURIATE: It’s been a lifesaver.

TILTON: Yeah. I--I--I can only imagine. Now, so what happened is you later found out about this essay contest by the makers of Botox, and you had written to them. And what did the essay consist of? And what was the--the--well, when you submitted the essay you knew that you were going for some kind of a grant or a prize?

Ms. FURIATE: Correct. I knew that the--what was going to happen with Allergan, who is the maker of Botox, they were awarding four people a $10,000 grant to donate to their favorite charity. And they were picking people from each region in the country, you know, north, west, east, south kind of thing.

TILTON: Mm-hmm.

Ms. FURIATE: So, I--you know, I won the eastern region. And when I wrote in my essay--you know, my essay really consisted of my daily struggles with cervical dystonia and, you know, how Botox impacted my life, how it improved my life and that sort of thing. And then talked about where I wanted to donate my money. And in my case, you know, being a prior veteran myself, and then, you know, just being very empathetic to, you know, our war heroes and so forth, I decided to donate my $10,000 grant to the Bethesda Naval Hospital right outside of Washington.

TILTON: Excellent. And that money can go a long way to treating a number of the people coming back from the war with very severe injuries.

Ms. FURIATE: Exactly. And I--you know, I want the money to be used for things that will impact their lives even long after they’re out of the hospital. You know, something--you know, that’s touchy feely, you know, makes them feel good and kind of remember, you know, I guess their stay at the hospital, or their treatment, or days in the military, whatever it might be. So, you know, I didn’t want the money just to go to a piece of equipment, but, you know, like I said, to be more touchy feely.

TILTON: Actually good. And now, some of the people that you’re--you would like to see helped by this--what are some of the conditions that they’re suffering from?

Ms. FURIATE: You know, as far as in the military--the military people?

TILTON: Yes. At Bethesda Naval Hospital in particular.

Ms. FURIATE: Sure. It can really be anything. I mean I think when you loose a limb, that’s probably got to be one of the hardest things...

TILTON: Mm-hmm.

Ms. FURIATE: ...to do, because, you know, it’s just a whole different mindset and change of, you know, perspective on how you live your life and go about, you know, doing your life. So, I mean I think that would be one.

You know, other ones maybe, you know, someone who has suffered traumatic brain injury, you know, where they just don’t have the same cognitive skills and whatnot that they may have had prior to their injury.

TILTON: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I know there’s been a number of studies and treatments related to that, as well. So--so your $10,000 grant going to Bethesda Naval Hospital to help our veterans, you know, who’ve returned with various injuries, disabilities. And we hope that your work can go a very long way there.

Ms. FURIATE: I hope so. You know, I just think it’s really important to support our troops. This is a wonderful time of year to be giving. And, you know--so I’m just very honored and very thankful that I won the award and can support people with cervical dystonia and just, you know create some awareness about the condition, you know, promote our veterans, promote, you know, the Bethesda Naval Hospital. You know--I don’t want to say promote Allergan, but they are the ones that...

TILTON: Mm-hmm.

Ms. FURIATE: ...you know, are don--you know, providing this philanthropic dream, not only for myself, but I think for individuals who actually, you know, are receiving the benefits of it.

TILTON: Yeah. Yeah. So--well, Linda--well, Linda congratulations, because you’re one of the four in the country who received this award. And do you know anything about the other people that received the award?

Ms. FURIATE: I did. And also comment on the last area--you know, I also want to thank VA, for, you know, treating me, as well, and my doctor, who did such a wonderful job.

But to answer this question, you know, the three people they were all women, ironically. Although cervical dystonia does effect women more so than men. And I did have an opportunity to meet the other three women when I was--we were all invited to attend a function at the--their head--at Allergan’s headquarters in Irvine California about a month ago.

And they brought us out and they honored us. You know, they provided, you know--we had like an honorary dinner type thing. And then we were recognized at their company annual meeting--or quarterly meeting, actually--to just say, you know, we’re the winners of this contest. You know, then it was a great opportunity to just spend a few hours with each of the women, as well, who were just as dynamic, you know, and have suffered with cervical dystonia anywhere from two to 20 years. So...

TILTON: Mmm.

Ms. FURIATE: ..it was kind of nice just to see their struggles, as well, and to know that, you know, we’re not alone in this.

TILTON: No. No. Exactly. So, Linda, thank you very much. And good work on your behalf for our veterans, as well. And thank you for your service to our country, too.

Ms. FURIATE: Well, you’re welcome. And, you know, anything I can do to help out, you know I hope to be there.

TILTON: All right. Thank you, Linda. We’ll chat again.

Ms. FURIATE: You’re welcome. Enjoy your holidays.

TILTON: All right. You, too. Thanks. Bye-bye.

Ms. FURIATE: Bye.

TILTON: 1-866-823-1077. That was Linda Furiate and--friend of mine. And, again, $10,000 grant that she was able to secure from Botox Dreams, going to the Bethesda Naval Center to help our wounded veterans who are suffering with dystonia, as well as other debilitating injuries.

And one of the people involved with this is Rem Murray, who played for the National Hockey League for nine years, with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and the Nashville Predators. So, a lot of people involved with this. And Ford got these grants to help fulfill their philanthropic dreams. So, if you didn’t know that Botox could be used for other things other than just to make yourself look pretty, well, there you go.