What Has Happened to the GameOn Logo?

What has happened to the GameOn logo? I hear you all ask. Has it developed a bad case of the measles?
Well the interesting new colour scheme is because GameOn would like to help promote a semi nude calendar, produced by the organisation Polkadotgals, in order to raise funds to help with their ongoing campaign to increase awareness of a little understood illness called Fibromyalgia.
So to find out the connection between page 3 and Zoo model Danni Wells, championship 100m hurdler Sara McGreavy, a couple of Coventry City football players and our one and only Rasher, read on ........

www.polkadotgals.com
(due to nudity, we do not recommend this link for under 18 or from a work place)

When air-hostess and model Bianca Embley had an accident 10 years ago where a piece of breathing equipment fell on her, little did she know that her life would be changed forever. The accident brought on a debilitating illness called Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterised by, amongst other things, chronic widespread pain, chronic fatigue, hypersensitivity to pain and sleep disturbances. Also referred to as ‘the invisible Illness' suffers of Fibromyalgia can often show no outward signs of the constant pain that they are in. This constant pain, with no let up, often gives sufferers suicidal tendencies, purely just to escape from the pain. Up to 2 million people in the UK suffer from Fibromyalgia, although due to general lack of knowledge about the condition, and problems getting a clear diagnosis, this figure could be much higher. There is no cure for Fibromyalgia, it is just a case of managing the different symptoms as effectively as possible and trying to create the best quality of life for the sufferer.

After 10 years of struggling with the illness herself, Bianca created the Polkadotgals campaign to support the suffers of this chronic condition, and to raise general awareness of the condition. She realised that in order for Fibromyalgia to be recognised as a real condition, there needed to be a strong campaign within the media to draw attention to the plight of sufferers and to highlight the scale of the problem.

The Polkadotgals celebrity calendar 2009 has been shot by renowned London photographer Luke Varley. The calendar features very tastefully done pictures of glamour model Danni Wells, championship 100m hurdler Sara McGreavey and Coventry City footballers Michael Doyle and Elliott Ward together with some Fibromyalgia suffers. The calendar can be purchased by clicking on the following link. http://www.polkadotgals.com/merchandise.html 
(due to nudity, we do not recommend this link for under 18 or from a work place) 

 

And why is all this relevant to GameOn? .................. Because this is the illness that struck our beloved leader Rasher over 5 years ago. Some of the older members will remember Rasher before he was taken ill. He was a very active workaholic, who was always rushing around either looking after the children or running GameOn. He would often keep going for days on end on just adrenalin and a few hours sleep here and there. For Rasher, it was a mystery virus that caused the onset of Fibromyalgia. It came as a bit of a shock to all of us when we asked the doctor when he would get better, and we were told that he wouldn't.

Although he very rarely shows it, Rasher is in constant pain, mainly in the muscles in his arms and legs. Although he is able to walk, trying to walk any distance results in muscle shakes and severe muscle cramping. It would also completely wear him out, and leave the sort of aching and pain that most people would only experience after running a marathon. It is because of this that he took the decision to use a wheelchair to at least allow him to get about. I know a lot of you have experienced him disappearing half way through a conversation on MSN, or even while on the phone. This is because of the fatigue side of the illness. When the fatigue hits, all he can do is sleep. During particularly bad periods this can be for up to 18 hours a day. There are also some other unpleasant symptoms of the illness, including irritable bowel syndrome, upset stomach, sickness, short term memory loss and general disorientation, and problems regulating temperature (hot flushes, night sweats etc.). Most of the symptoms of this illness would be difficult to cope with on their own. Try to imagine what it is like when they all occur together. Not the mention the side effects from the cocktail of medication that he has to take every day.

Rasher has never wanted sympathy, He believes that all things in life happen for a reason. He pushes himself and tries to carry on with his life as best he can, both for his family and for the GameOn community. He has often said that it is the satisfaction he gets from running the community that helps to keep him going when he really feels like just giving up.

So, you can see why this cause is so close to our hearts. If, by buying the calendar, you can each make one more person aware of this illness, then we have made a big step forward to helping Bianca with her campaign, and provide the much needed support and recognition for suffers of this terrible condition.