587,990 apneics on Gulf Coast Philadelphia-based non-profit replacing apnea equipment destroyed by Hurricane Katrina

PHILADELPHIA (September 7, 2005) – Three-year-old Aamiyah Marsh is the perfect example of the Hurricane Katrina victim Awake in America seeks to help through its just-launched Operation Restore CPAP.

According to a story in the September 3 edition of the Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3338649), young Aamiyah has sleep apnea, as well as a tra"Nobody but God has kept that child alive these past days." The reporter noted that the child, who was rescued by an Army helicopter crew from atop a parking garage, “looked exhausted but otherwise healthy after six days stranded in the flooded city."

In just the first 30 hours following Hurricane Katrina's landfall, Awake In America received more than a dozen calls for assistance in replacing equipment of individuals who left their now water-filled homes under emergency conditions. Some of these individuals left their homes in New Orleans, as instructed, under the mandatory evacuation orders. Many people thought Hurricane Katrina would be like past hurricanes, and that they'd be home in several hours. With that thinking, they left their belongings – and CPAP equipment — behind.


"The destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is unfathomable for anyone who has not experienced it first-hand," said Michele Narcavage, president of Awake In America. "The images being broadcast around the world should give anyone severe heartache. Little Aamiyah's story is heartbreaking, but illustrates why we launched Operation Restore CPAP on August 30. Listening to those individuals who have already found shelter where electricity and other utilities are available was heart-wrenching. There was no way Awake In America could not rise to the situation and take immediate action. These people are already in misery, and now, with their apnea no longer being treated and potentially causing them additional health issues, we had to react immediately."

According to July estimates (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hurricanes_tropical_storms/005345.html) by the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 9.46 million people lived in coastal counties along the Gulf of Mexico — an area stretching more than 50,000 square miles from Louisiana to the Florida Keys. Sleep researchers estimate that around seven percent of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Based on that statistic, that means there are potentially 587,990 apneics in the Gulf Coast alone.

Awake In America has launched a relief program for victims of Hurricane Katrina, geared specifically to aid individuals who had previously been diagnosed with sleep apnea, and were receiving xPAP therapy. The program, Operation Restore CPAP (http://www.AwakeInAmerica.org/Katrina/), will be available to individuals in federally-declared disaster areas who lost their xPAP equipment due to flooding.

Operation Restore CPAP is a streamlined version of Awake In America's xPAP Donation and Relief Program, which was established one year ago and helped more than 100 individuals around the United States.

Applications for those who lost equipment in Hurricane Katrina may be downloaded in printer-ready format (PDF) at http://www.AwakeInAmerica.org/Katrina/Application.pdf .

Why focus on apnea victims?
Everyone in the Gulf Coast is suffering is so many ways. Hurricane Katrina victims who suffer from sleep apnea are in an even worse state, as they are suffering sleep deprivation common to all the victims, but the situation for them is compounded when they sleep: they may actually be causing severe health problems by not breathing!

Apnea is a Greek word meaning "want of breath." The clinical definition is when a person stops breathing for a period of 10 seconds or longer during sleep. In a person with sleep apnea, this can happen dozens of times each hour, and literally, several hundred times each night.

To put the gravity of untreated apnea into perspective, consider what your actions would be if the person sitting next to you at work suddenly stopped breathing. Most people would call 9-1-1 to have the person transported to the hospital, as well as begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The situation is no less serious because it happens while a person is sleeping.

Untreated apnea may lead to heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and irregular hearth rhythms (arrhythmias), depression, irritability, loss of memory, lack of energy, place the individual at higher risk of auto and workplace accidents due to fatigue or excessive daytime sleepiness, among other issues.

Plea for support
Awake In America is in urgent need of need of the following types of donations to support Operation Restore CPAP:
• Equipment (CPAP, bi-level, or autoPAP machines, as well as tubing, masks, and humidifiers — heated and passover)
• Cash donations (to help cover the shipping costs for all the equipment, as well as printing and shipping of materials to get information about the program into the hands of individuals in need of immediate assistance)
• Grants from corporations, businesses, or government to support this program.

Awake In America is a 501(c)(3) (national non-profit) organization, based in Philadelphia. Donations to Awake In America are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law, and donation receipts will be sent to all donors. For specifics about your tax situation, please consult your tax advisor.

In making donations to this program, please be sure to write Operation Restore CPAP in the memo field on checks, or on boxes of equipment being sent. An online donation page has been established specifically for this project, and all donations from that page will be automatically earmarked for Operation Restore CPAP. The page may be found at:
http://www.awakeinamerica.org/Katrina/Donations.shtml .
If you are shipping equipment, a shipping label for your convenience has been uploaded in PDF format, ready for printing.
It may be found at: http://www.awakeinamerica.org/Katrina/label.pdf .

Online donations to Awake In America's Operation Restore CPAP may also be made through:
* Network for Good
(http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_do
nateReport=1&partner=networkforgood&ein=77-0637584) or
(http://snipurl.com/hep4) (both lead to the same page)
* JustGive.com
(http://www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=14453) or
(http://snipurl.com/hep7) (both lead to the same page)

If you would prefer to send a check or money order through the U.S.
Mail, it should be sent to:
Awake In America, Inc.
Attn: Operation Restore CPAP
PO Box 51601
Philadelphia, PA 19115-6601

Before making any relief-oriented donations
Before making any donations to any organization seeking funds related to Hurricane Katrina, it is strongly suggested you check the organization's tax-exempt status at Guidestar (http://www.guidestar.org/). To search for a specific organization, visit http://www.guidestar.org/pqCriteriaEntry.do?type=new&partner=guidestar and enter the organization's name (or any part of it) into the search box and click the SEARCH button. Awake In America's information may be accessed at http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?npoId=100649045 (free registration with Guidestar is required).

Another method that may be used to check the credibility of charity organizations before making donations is the Internal Revenue Service's web site, using Publication 78. The online version may be searched by organization name, and is available at http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78 .

Don't let any organization pressure you into making an immediate donation. The disaster is not going to be resolved overnight. The need for funds will still be present an hour or a day from now. Be safe and research the organization prior to making donations.

Awake In America may be contacted about Operation Restore CPAP via email at disaster(at)AwakeInAmerica.org, or via phone, at 215-722-2326.

This information may also be found at: http://www.AwakeInAmerica.org/Katrina/ .