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Simply click HERE provides AAT Deficiency Testing. This AAT Deficiency Testing is a COMPLETE CONFIDENCIAL TESTING SERVICE and WITHOUT COST TO YOU. Please read the detail at: AAT Deficiency Detection Center |
The Alpha-1 Patients and Family Patricia Ann Slavin My name is Patricia Ann Slavin, (Pat) and I am a 63-year-old, twice-divorced mother of two grown sons. Unfortunately, there are no grandchildren, yet. I am a (LCSW), Licensed Clinical Social Worker, currently employed by Region Ten Community Service Board, as the (TANF/VIEW) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare Program Manager. I am located at the Albemarle Country Department of Social Services (ACDSS), and I assess/treat clients' barriers to go back to work: learning needs, medical barriers, emotional mental status, and any substance abuse or domestic violence issues. Our job readiness, developmental and skills training program allows the clients to begin to reach their potential. In addition, I opened my private practice in Charlottesville, VA in June of 2004, where in individual therapy I focus on the following mental health issues: anger management, anxiety, chronic illness, depression, grief, personality disorders, (PTSD) post-traumatic syndrome disorder, and chemical dependency. Prior to my second marriage and my Alpha-1 diagnoses in 1986, I worked as an interior decorator for Sears, Roebuck and Company for 18 years. After receiving the news of my lung disease and the initial denial, shock and anger, had worn off, I went into retirement and began researching recovery avenues. In 1988, I became part of a protocol study, for the drug Prolastin by Bayer, at the (NIH) National Institute of Health at Bethesda, Maryland. As part of the voluntary study, my only request involved the timing of placement on a lung transplant list, as I felt that was my best option for long-term recovery. Due in part to the emotional toll of the devastating news of the possible consequences of the illness, my second marriage ended in a divorce by the end of 1989. In the October of 1991, doctors at NIH advised me to return home and undergo an evaluation for a lung transplant at the (UVA), University of Virginia Medical Center. After waiting 14 months, on June 12, 1993, I received a left single lung transplant. Returning home 18 days later, I started the recovery process of mind, body and spirit. Prior to the lung transplant, I had been actively involved in both a physical rehabilitation program and the lung-transplant support group, which I continued for a little over a year post transplant. I was also involved with two spiritual groups. I learned from what I read and heard from other transplant recipients that my body needed time to recover from the operation. I found that time invaluable in helping me transition from being chronically ill to being emotionally well and physically healthy, again. A little over a year out of surgery, it became apparent that I was now going to live and needed to get on with the new life I wanted to create. I decided I wanted to be a social worker and work with people awaiting transplants. So at the age of 54, and having been out of for the school for 35 years, I started college as a freshman at (PVCC), Piedmont Valley Community College in Charlottesville, VA. It was not easy but I managed to complete my (AGS), Associates in General Studies Degree in 1997 with a lot of tutoring. I, then attended (VCU), Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, where I completed my (BSW), Bachelors in Social Work in 1999 and my (MSW), Masters in Social Work in 2000) in one-year. After returning home from school and going back into the job market, I found that the getting a job as a transplant social worker was not in the cards. However, (RTCSB), Region Ten Community Services Board, hired me in November of 2000. I, then, completed a two year supervised internship and passed my LCSW licensure exam in March 2003. Between November 2000 and October 2004, I worked as a mental health specialist and substance abuse clinician, doing individual therapy and facilitating the (WIOP) Women's Intensive Outpatient Program for RTCSB. When Ann Marie Benzinger, with the Alpha-1 Advocacy, approached me, about the possibility of doing this program, I was excited and appreciative of the opportunity to help others. Looking forward to hearing from you, Wednesday evenings, 8-9 pm, on ASK PAT!! see you in therapy!
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