Indeed - all of us fall into a category that many sub groups are very active raising awareness for....

as others mentioned - neruopathy is secondary to so many illnesses - and its the main illness that gets the attention....

however for example, Johnny Cash also had autonomic neuropathy (gastroparesis) and the gastroparesis group - started with small group of people in this country - made sure that this was known to the press and fans and also explained the disorder that was at first cause diabetes....

whenever a patient passes away from amyloidosis - which is even smaller number number of people (estimated 8 in a million) - the cause of death in the past has usually been put down as "heart failure" or which organ was afflicted the most - or put in the paper as a "rare blood disorder"..,. now family members are making sure that it is put down as the primary cause of death - and yes, its attacks the nerves and causes severe PN, attacks the autonomic nervous system, etc... (and ever notice how often it is mentioned on "House"?)

Those on IVIG have advocates fighting for this drug - (auto-immune neruopathy)

I think ribbons or pins are great - people can ask us about them - to maybe be a catch all to people to ask us what the heck? But also, its important for us to be active in the neruopathy groups to raise general awareness - raise funds for research - etc. with groups like the Neuropathy Action Foundation.... again, since this illness can be so disease specific - an unbrella organization is key.....

One person, no matter who we are, can make a difference - as evidenced by these smaller groups - and I truly hope we all can find a way to participate.....