World Benzo Awareness Day

Dear family, friends, and potential supporters,
Thank you for stopping by my fundraiser.
Hi, it’s Angela and Rafael Medalla from Hicksville, NY. For those who don’t know us, we are a husband and wife team who enjoy running and training together. This year, we would like to use our running for activism and fundraising for a very important, yet underrepresented, cause.
Rafael and Angela Medallawill be running the TCS New York City Marathon 2018. Our goal is not only to finish his first NYC Marathon but to also fundraise towards: raising awareness about prescribed benzodiazepine drug risks, harms and dangers. To do this, he needs your help.
For those who are unaware, benzodiazepines are the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. They are often prescribed for sleep & anxiety, but also for other reasons like tinnitus, muscle spasms and vertigo. Some brand names include: Valium, Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin. “Sleeping pills” like Ambien and Lunesta are similar.
These drugs should be prescribed for no longer than 2-4 weeks. Yet, medical providers continue to prescribe them for longer -- often without warning their patients of the risks. As a result, people are becoming physically dependent. This means they cannot stop taking the medication, even when they want to, without a long taper and debilitating withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes the withdrawal is severe. We know of many innocent victims of these drugs, who took them as prescribed, and were horribly damaged (suffering sometimes for many, many years and other times losing their lives due to suicide, the withdrawal too painful to endure) and we want to shine the light on this epidemic of medical harm. To learn more about the benzodiazepine problem go to w-bad.org
I am totally determined to bring awareness through my running that hopefully supports people moving towards a healthy and successful life, as opposed to down the devastating path of benzodiazepines.
Thank you in advance for encouragement and support. Please cheer me across the finish line of the TCS New York City Marathon 2018 Feet don’t fail me!
All funds raised are immediately donated to Holly Hardman of Gobbo Films, and director of the documentary-in-the-making “As Prescribed,” which is a film that will expose the decades-long scandal of benzodiazepine prescription, physical dependence and withdrawal. To learn more about the film and to watch the film’s trailer go here: asprescribedfilm.com
"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."
Thank you for any and all support!


http://w-bad.org/

http://w-bad.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/PRESSPACKETFINAL.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJZE6_z3-Tw