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2003

2002

2004 MG AWARENESS SCREENING

The Melba “Bandy” Masters Memorial Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Screening was held at the Southwest Cancer Center, Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, September 18, 2004.

Dr. Sharon Nations and Dr. Jaya Trivedi of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Were Visiting Clinicians for our MG Screening

It was a privilege to have Dr. Sharon Nations and Dr. Jaya Trivedi return this year to conduct our MG Awareness Screening. Staff members of Dr. Bhupesh Dihenia, who serves on the Northwest Texas Chapter Medical Advisory Board, participated in our screening once again.  The services provided by this group of professionals greatly contributed to the success of this year's screening.

Myasthenia Gravis patients need to be educated on MG in order to better cope and manage their disease.  To provide this education to the patients of the Northwest Texas Chapter, we included a “lunch and learn” session.  All in attendance were able to learn about MG symptoms, diagnosis, and current treatment in Dr. Nations’ presentation during the luncheon.

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2003 Melba “Bandy” Masters Memorial Clinic Was Held Saturday, September 13, 2003 

Dr. Sharon Nations and Dr. Jaya Trivedi

of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Were Visiting Clinicians for this Clinic held

at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Those attending the Clinic heard an excellent presentation on

Myasthenia Gravis given by Sharon P. Nations, MD

MG Clinic was Relocated Last Year

to University Medical Center

In September 2001 we had the privilege of honoring Everett E. Masters for his dedication to the chapter and 40 years of free MG clinics for the diagnosis and treatment of MG.  This clinic was first held on November 14, 1961, in memory of Everett’s wife Melba who lost her battle with MG in February of 1961.  This clinic had been held each year at the Hi-Plains Hospital in Hale Center. The closing of Hi-Plains Hospital one month after our clinic last year brought about the end of one era and the beginning of another.

We are pleased to announce that the clinic was relocated to the University Medical Center in Lubbock and retained the designation of the Melba “Bandy“ Masters Memorial Myasthenia Gravis Clinic. University Medical Center is located at 602 Indiana Avenue and was easily accessible by those attending from both West Loop 289 and North Loop 289

The clinic was held in the  Outpatient Pavilion north of the Southwest Cancer Center and east of the Emergency Center.  See UMC Overhead View below.   Lunch was served at the McInturff Conference Center located on the 2nd floor directly above the Outpatient Pavilion.

For future reference directions to UMC are given here. (From West Loop 289, exit 4th St.  Go east to Indiana Ave.  From North Loop 289, exit Quaker Avenue, go south to 4th St., then east to Indiana Ave.  You can see UMC from the corner of 4th St. and Indiana Avenue).

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2002

The Northwest Texas Chapter is very grateful for the warm welcome we received from UMC and for the use of the Outpatient Pavilion for the 2002 clinic.  The lobby provided a comfortable area in which to receive the patients as they arrived and allowed the space needed for patients to gather in groups to visit with each other and chapter board members providing a support group atmosphere for the patients as they waited to see the physicians.  The exam rooms were very accessible to the lobby area as was the McInturff Conference Center where the "Lunch and Learn" session was held.

Drs. Sharon Nations and Dr. Jaya Trivedi of

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Were  Visiting Clinicians for our Clinic.

We were very privileged to have Dr. Nations and Dr. Trivedi share their vast MG experience and knowledge with our local patients.  Myasthenia Gravis patients need to be educated on MG in order to better cope and manage their disease.  To provide this education process to the patients of the Northwest Texas Chapter, we included a “Lunch and Learn” session during the clinic.  An excellent lunch was served by UMC to approximately 94 persons attending the clinic.  All who attended the "Lunch and Learn" session expressed how helpful Dr. Nations’ presentation was in giving them a greater understanding of Myasthenia Gravis.

Local Neurologist Bhupesh Dihenia and His Staff Assist with MG Clinic

We were also privileged to have Dr. Dihenia, Medical Advisor to the Northwest Texas Chapter, and 4 members of his staff to assist with our clinic this year.  Drs. Nations and Trivedi both praised the services provided by this group of professionals.

With Dr. Dihenia's assistance, 42 patients were seen during the clinic including 6 walk-in patients who had read about the clinic in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal on Thursday.  Click here to read this article online.  Three (3) additional patients had appointments but were unable to attend the clinic. There were patients from Lubbock and surrounding towns including Abernathy, Amarillo,  Amherst, Brownfield, Hale Center, Hereford,  Levelland, Littlefield, Lockney, Seminole, Slaton, Stinnett, and Whitharrel.  There were also patients from Abilene, Boerne, El Paso, Midland, and Waka, Texas; Clovis, New Mexico, and Raydon, Oklahoma. 

A number of patients who attended our clinic were diagnosed with "probable MG" and will follow up with Dr. Nations, Dr. Dihenia, or a neurologist in their local town for more extensive MG diagnostic tests.  It was determined that 5 of the patients who came seeking a diagnosis did not have MG.  Those patients expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to rule out MG and move on with their quest of finding a diagnosis.  They were very impressed with the clinic and also stated they would refer anyone they might come in contact with in the future who were experiencing MG symptoms to the Chapter for help.

This was a very successful clinic which not only lead to several being diagnosed with MG but also resulted in a  wealth of MG awareness being promoted throughout the chapter area.  Through the promotion of the clinic several  young persons under 25 with MG were located in our chapter area.  This has motivated the Chapter to provide even greater services directed more specific to children and younger persons with MG and to search more diligently for those in this age group in our chapter area who may not yet be diagnosed.

Following the annual clinic of 1999 when there had been only 20 follow-up patients and no newly diagnosed patients,  the Board considered discontinuing the clinic due to lack of turnout and lack of funds to cover the cost of the clinic.  Coleen Shinn, chairperson that year asked Everett Masters what he thought we ought to do.  Everett's response was that as long as there was a chance to diagnose even one MG patient, he thought that we should continue to have the clinic.  That ended the discussion and Board Members, Coleen Shinn, Marvin and Kathy Burnett, and Lajuana Miller committed themselves to the task of "reviving the clinic" out of respect for Everett's years of dedication to the clinic and the chapter.  Once again, Everett's vision made this clinic possible and will keep it going for many more years to come.  Interest from the Masters' Trust established by Everett when the clinic first began along with a donation from the Edie Brooks Memorial Fund and the Annual Walk-A-Thon will continue to provide the funds needed for this clinic.  And, Everett's vision will continue to lead to many MG patients being diagnosed through future Melba "Bandy" Masters Memorial Myasthenia Gravis Clinics in the years to come.

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