Magdalena Gajda, Managing Editor of the Obesity section at Poradnikuzdrowie.pl became the first Polish laureate of the international LIVE ON patient award. GIVE ON. Her activity as the Ombudsman for Obesity Patients was honored with a prestigious award. The distinction is awarded to patients who, thanks to modern medical technologies, have regained their he alth and devote their new lives to social activities.
Technology for he alth
LIVE ON Award. GIVE ON. (LIVE and HELP) was established by Earl Bakken, an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist. In 1957, he developed the first battery-operated external pacemaker. Pacemakers at that time were large, heavy devices powered by electricity and required to be carried on special trolleys. The Bakken pacemaker was light, handy, easy to use, and most importantly, it guaranteed the safety of patients in the event of power outages. Encouraged by the success of the starter Earl Bakken, together with his brother-in-law Palmer Hermundslie, they founded a company called Medtronic in the state of Minnesota (USA). Currently, it is an international concern specializing in the creation of medical devices used to treat patients with diseases, including metabolic (e.g. insulin pumps for patients with grade 1 diabetes mellitus), cardiological (e.g. pacemakers), neurological (e.g. pacemakers for people with Parkinson's disease) and equipment for the surgical treatment of obesity, the so-called bariatric surgery. In 1989, Earl Bakken retired from his professional life and settled on his estate on the island of Kona in the Hawaii Archipelago. In 2013. created a Foundation that annually awards 12 distinctions to patients from all over the world who, thanks to modern medical technologies
Poland for the first time
The first Polish winner of the Earl Bakken award in the 2022 edition was Magdalena Gajda, Managing Editor of the OBESITY section at Poradnikuzdrowie.pl. Our friend was awarded for her social work. She is the founder and president of the Obesity Patients Foundation OD-WAGA, and at the request of the Polish Society for Obesity Research (PTBO), she is the Social Ombudsman for Obesity Patients' Rights and represents Poland in the Patient Council of the European Society for Research onObesity. Privately, Magdalena Gajda is a press and internet journalist specializing in he alth and social issues, as well as a public relations and CSR (corporate social responsibility) specialist. She received the press award of the Chief Labor Inspector for her educational activity for the integration of disabled people in the labor market. For 15 years, he has been cooperating with Polish non-governmental organizations working for the sick and disabled. Magdalena Gajda has been suffering from obesity since childhood. In 2010, after many unsuccessful attempts at conservative treatment of obesity, at a weight of 136 kg. underwent a gastric by-pass surgery. Currently, she weighs 78 kg. In 2013, at the request of PTBO experts, Gajda spoke with them for the first time before the Senate He alth Committee, drawing public attention to the phenomenon of discrimination and stigmatization of people with obesity in Poland. A few months later, a report appeared in which she made public her tragic memories related to the inhuman treatment of her as a person with obesity. In 2014. funded the OD-WAGA Foundation of People with Obesity from her own funds.
The goal is to create an obesity treatment system
The OD-WAGA Foundation is an expert and patient organization. It is substantively supported by specialists in obesity (obesity treatment) from PTBO and bariatric surgeons from the Society of Polish Surgeons. - Almost 30 percent. Poles suffer from obesity. It is over a dozen million people. It is impossible to help all the sick as individuals. That is why I decided that I would use my knowledge, experience and professional skills to create, in cooperation with specialists, an obesity treatment system in Poland that will be used by all patients. This is what the OD-WAGA Foundation was created for, says Magdalena Gajda. The OD-WAGA Foundation deals with the adaptation of Polish law to the needs of people with obesity. Thanks to the activities of the Foundation, including The Ombudsman for Patients' Rights monitors medical facilities in terms of their adaptation to diagnostic equipment, for the treatment and care of patients with third degree obesity, the so-called enormous. In 2016 The OD-WAGA Foundation and its experts also led to the separation of bariatric surgery from general surgery and the creation of clear rules for bariatric surgery reimbursement for over 500,000 people. patients with III degree obesity. The OD-WAGA Foundation also carries out educational campaigns: what is obesity disease, how is it treated with modern, safe methods, and is the first in Poland to conduct anti-discrimination workshops on counteracting discrimination and stigmatization of people suffering from obesity.
Gainsecond life and devote it to people
Earl Bakken Awards LIVE ON. GIVE ON. took place on January 13 this year. on the island of Kona in Hawaii (USA). It was accompanied by 4-day workshops for social activists and leaders of non-governmental organizations, conducted by specialists from all over the world. The trainings concerned, inter alia, he alth systems, cooperation with public institutions and he alth policy makers, education through social media, communication tools useful in the work of people involved in advocacy and watchdog activities for a given social group. - When I was 13, my school friends threw stones at me. They shouted that they were doing it because I was fat. Now I'm 46 years old, but I remember every stone that hit me in the back, stomach, head. All my life, people laughed at me and called me a pig just because I had more body fat on me than other people. My goal is simple. I would like obesity to be treated reliably like other diseases, and people with obesity to be treated with respect as other people - said Magdalena Gajda during the awards ceremony.
Apart from the Polish woman, in the Bakken Award 2022 edition they were also awarded : ( from the left side in the top row ) ● Hui Li- China - a poet and football player with a serious heart disease; he travels by bicycle all over China, writing down his memories giving strength to other people suffering from heart disease. ●Lindsay Davis- New York, USA - ballerina, who at the age of 17, after a long diagnosis, diagnosed with heart disease (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), Lindsay lives thanks to a pacemaker, and devotes herself to education is sudden cardiac arrest and the organization of heart screening in children. ●Jason Baker- New York, USA - a doctor with type 1 diabetes who works for diabetics in Uganda. ●Clarissa Solari- Montevideo, Urugway - with type 1 diabetes; is a diabetes educator; organizes holiday camps for children with diabetes and conducts trainings and lectures on diabetes prevention. ●Ismael Encinas- Mexico City, Mexico - a lawyer with Parkinson's disease who runs support groups for people with Parkinson's disease. ●Claire Cahill- Kilkenny, Ireland - a he alth visitor with heart disease (a pacemaker implanted), as a mother of a son with severe scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine) founded an organization in Ireland for parents and carers of children with this disease. ●Nathália Noschese- Sao Paulo, Brazil - a teenager with type 1 diabetes; organizes holiday campsfor children with diabetes and support groups; She has also created a cartoon for children with information on how to recognize diabetes and how to live with it. ●Lewis Hine- Havant, Great Britain - 16 years old after 13 operations on a brain tumor, with numerous neurological diseases; set up a portal for chronically ill children and adolescents in Great Britain where they can find their friends. ●Magdalena Gajda- Warsaw, Poland.
( from the left in the bottom row ) ●Mridula Kapil Bhargava- Delhi, India - a student with type 1 diabetes who conducts Educational activities for diabetics in India. ●Earl Bakken -Award founder ●Karla Altmayer(bottom) - Cicero, Illinois, USA - lawyer with vascular disease, which in Chicago fights to defend the rights of women victims of sexual violence and gender-based discrimination.Invisible in the photo : ●Austin Pinkerton- Pretoria, South Africa - with type 1 diabetes; Diabetes educator for children and adolescents in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
OD-WAGA Foundation