www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 10, 2016 | 38 Oakville-based ILC celebrates opening of new EDS care centre The Oakville-based ILC (Improving the Lives of Children and Families with Chronic Pain) Foundation is celebrating after recent news of a new Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) care centre opening in Toronto. The announcement was made during a Canadian Organization for Rare Diseases (CORD) reception at Queen's Park Feb. 29. "Minister (of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Eric) Hoskins spoke of the need to increase services to people living with less understood conditions," stated a media release issued by the ILC Foundation. Hoskins also released the EDS Leadership Panel Report, co-chaired by Dr. James Rutka, neurosurgeon at Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital and ILC medical adviser. The panel members who worked on the report included Dr. Juan Guzman, internist, syncope and autonomic disorders, McMaster University; Dr. Allan Gordon, neurology and pain, Mt. Sinai Health Systems; and Dr. Roberto Mendoza, clinical and metabolic genetics, Sick Kids -- all three are also members of the ILC medical advisory committee. EDS is a rare condition that is difficult to diagnose, treat and care for. It affects only one in every 5,000 people and is marked by the inability of the collagen in the body to hold itself together. Rebecca Mills, whose daughter Brooklyn was diagnosed with EDS, is a co-founding The ILC continues to work to build bridges of communication between the different facets of health and community-based care available for EDS and chronic pain in children and families. We believe the EDS Clinic in Toronto is a good first step.... ILC Foundation executive director Sandy Smeenk director of the ILC Foundation, along with its executive director Sandy Smeenk. "The ILC continues to work to build bridges of communication between the different facets of health and community-based care available for EDS and chronic pain in children and families," Smeenk stated in the release. "We believe the EDS Clinic in Toronto is a good first step. This connective tissue disorder has the ability to broaden the understanding of a broad group of chronic and rare conditions. It is a natural and appropriate extension to the ILC's annual CME accredited conference with McMaster University where the focus is `If You Can't Connect The Issues Think Connective Tissues.'" Sandy Smeenk is the executive director of the ILC (Improving the Lives of Children and Families with Chronic Pain) Foundation. The charity offers a peersupport network, one-on-one support and other partnership programs to those living with chronic pain disorders. | Oakville Beaver file photo Smeenk says she co-founded the organization with Mills after witnessing the struggles of the family and their daughter, Brooklyn, and realizing they weren't alone. "The brave and eloquent way Brooklyn Mills and Erika Crawford shared their stories publicly and with Minister Hoskins following MPP Michael Harris's press conference at Queen's Park on Oct. 28, 2015, further highlighted the need for focus on this rare disease," stated the release. "Attention has been given to the magnitude of the problem so that other children and families suffering with EDS can find the understanding and care they need." The decision to open an EDS clinic is in part a result of the tireless effort of the Crawford family to champion this cause by collecting more than 8,000 petition signatures, according to the ILC. ILC's mission is to help children across Canada suffering from all chronic pain disorders get the treatment they need, through its peer-support network, one-on-one-support and other partnership programs it has in communities. Visit www.theilcfoundation.org for more information on the ILC Foundation. More details on the new clinic and the full report are available online at http://goo.gl/ rk1OLB and http://goo.gl/R5dNDU, respectively. with GLUCOsmart Belly fat is a stubborn problem. No end of sit-ups and crunches will make it disappear. We know there is a connection between our expanding waistlines and our hormones. Insulin is a powerful hormone that, when in excess, causes belly fat along with an elevation in male hormones in women, causing facial hair growth and acne too. Thankfully, busting belly fat and normalizing insulin just got easier. 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