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With Heather Yaskiw Foisy, Patient | Advocate | Author
I'm The Biggest Helper With Momma's Autoimmune Disease
This wonderful picture book for children and adults alike introduces the complex world of autoimmune diseases in a compassionate and easy to learn way.
The book features a touching story of all the ways a child can help a mother who has an illness. You’ll be swept away by the charming and heartwarming rhymes about the moments shared by a helpful son to an ill mother.
The story begins with the son who teaches the readers about autoimmune diseases and how they work in the body. He explains how his mother's illnesses (Sjogren’s and Lupus) cause pain, but you can’t always see it. This book explains invisible illnesses in a way a young child can understand.
The son goes on to teach readers about how he’s “The Biggest Helper”, and provides examples of how he helps his momma when she is having a hard day.
Excerpt from the book:
I’m the biggest helper
And there’s lots that I can do
To help my momma when she’s sick
So she doesn’t feel so blue
Inspired by the author's 4 year old son, who became her biggest helper. I’m The Biggest Helper is the perfect book for any parent who lives with Sjogren’s, Lupus or any other autoimmune disease.
Giving Back To The Autoimmune Disease Community
We are passionate about giving back to the chronic illness community.
When you purchase one of our books, know that you are helping the invisible illness community at large.
We have partnered with various charities. When you purchase on of our books, money will be donated back to those charities.
Leslie P. Laing
President,
Sjogren's Society of Canada
Through the eyes of a child, and in his role as the biggest helper, young Phoenix explains some of the mysteries of the relatively invisible Sjögren's disease.
Leanne Mielczarek
Executive Director,
Lupus Canada
Autoimmune diseases like lupus are not easily understood and can be scary for young children. Through this form of storytelling, Heather has educated the reader as to the impact lupus may have on a family through a fun, understandable and relatable way.
Mary McNiel
Vice President,
Sjogren's Society of Canada
It's not easy to educate young school aged children about invisible autoimmune diseases. This book manages to do all that in a fun, understandable and uplifting story with rhymes and color illustrations.
About Heather And Her Autoimmune Diseases
Heather was diagnosed with Sjogren’s, a systemic autoimmune disease, at the age of 26. She continued to live a normal life and did so successfully by getting married, having a child, built a successful career and traveled the world.
In 2017 the Sjogren’s went into a major flare, causing disability, at that time she was also diagnosed with Lupus.
Since then Heather has reduced her work hours to spend time healing.
Heather enjoys giving back to the autoimmune disease and chronic illness communities.
She has done so by volunteering as the Calgary Support Group Leader for the Sjogren’s Society of Canada, she started this website which is dedicated to educating and empowering Sjogren’s patients, and has written this book to help describe how wonderful it is to have a helper like her young son.
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