While everyone agrees that moms are more than deserving of a day that celebrates them and all they do, for many people, including Bay Area-based Shamekka Marty, Mother’s Day can be difficult. Shamekka lost her mother to complications from lupus when she was just 21 years old. For years, she helped care for her mom and grandmother, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, showing her firsthand what life was like managing a chronic illness. So, in 2011, when Shamekka was diagnosed with lupus, scleroderma, mixed connective tissue disease, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, Reynaud’s and Sjogren’s syndrome, she felt challenged, but prepared – a battle-ready, chronic illness warrior.
Watch Video: Shamekka Talks About the Importance of Mothers and Health
Help spread the word by sharing Shamekka’s video and the #4GRxANTED Mother's Day posts in your social channels. Every like, share, and comment counts! Let's show our appreciation for the amazing moms and grandmas in our lives, and make a real impact on the health and wellbeing of those who need it most.
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🌺 For #MothersDay, we encourage you to record a #4GRxANTED video about your mom or grandmother, or a remembrance of your mom. For every video, like or comment generic Rx medicine will be donated to patients in need via @DirectReliefhttps://t.co/PoTUht8KOc pic.twitter.com/mERPWwIjl7
— 4GRxANTED (@4grxanted) May 5, 2023
Shamekka took on the role of patient advocate, creating a blog and active social media following; she wanted to use her experience to help others who live with chronic illnesses, like autoimmune disorders. Today, as a married mom of three kids, and having lost her own mom, Shamekka knows how critical it is to have access to accurate information and reliable healthcare, including life-saving medicines.
That’s why, with Mother’s Day coming up, she took time to record a video for the #4GRxANTED campaign to help facilitate donations of generic medicines to communities in need. Mother’s Day can be tough for me,
says Shamekka. You hear people talk about doing things with their mom, and I don’t have that opportunity anymore. But I can help others who are struggling with their health, and that helps me. Most of us have taken our moms for granted at some point, but hopefully, my work and this video will inspire people to shower their moms with love and let them know how they feel.
To recognize Mother’s Day, and as part of the broader social media campaign, #4GRxANTED, Shamekka has joined together with the community of advocates for generic medicines in reminding people everywhere not to take the generic medicines they rely on daily – and the savings they enjoy – for granted. Touching the health of millions of Americans, generic medicines account for nine out of every 10 prescriptions filled in the United States, yet they account for only 18 percent of drug spending and only 3 percent of overall health care spending.
To bring the role that generics play in Americans’ everyday lives to the forefront, the #4GRxANTED campaign asks people to record a video or share a story explaining who or what in their lives they take for granted but shouldn’t, and post on social media. Every video created, liked, or shared with the hashtag #4GRxANTED, will facilitate donations of generic medicines to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization that provides medical assistance to people affected by poverty or emergencies.
First introduced at AAM’s annual meeting in March 2023, the 4GRxANTED campaign, has already generated the creation of more than 75 videos, which has led to over 7,000 social media engagements, and over 130,000 video views.
#4GRxANTED’s goal is to drive broad awareness of long-term sustainability challenges impacting the industry and the hundreds of millions of patients it serves.
Learn more about the #4GRxANTED campaign: https://4grxanted.org/
Follow the #4GRxANTED campaign and social media channels: @4GRxANTED
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By Erica Klinger, Senior Director, Marketing
Published on May 10, 2023