Help EGAN Medical Equipment, MDA Cure ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)

A Letter and Call-to-Action From EGAN Medical CEO Peter Egan

By: EGAN Medical CEO Peter Egan
First, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our loyal customers for your unwavering support since we launched as a shoestring start-up in January of 2011. It is because of you that I have the privilege of writing this letter today.

The reason I am writing this blog today is because effective this coming Thursday, May 20, 2013 at 12:00 noon, I am going to jail. According to my arresting officers with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, my crime is having a big heart, and to that I plead no contest.

Steve Gleason Blocks the Punt that Breathed Life Back into New Orleans

For the second consecutive year, EGAN Medical will be participating in the MDA's annual "Covington Lock-Up" event, in which local CEO's from in and around the Covington, Louisiana area are "arrested", and must "post bail" in order to regain their freedom. Of course, I'm not REALLY being arrested, but the bail money that is raised is earmarked for research to "Strike-Out ALS". By that, of course the MDA is referring to research geared toward finding a cure for this debilitating illness that has touched me on a very personal level when I learned of former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason's diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS.
** DONATE HERE: Help EGAN Medical CEO Post Bail for ALS **
I know the impact Steve Gleason had on me personally. I lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. I lost my uninsured home, my business, and an approximately $5 million contract with the Planet Beach Corporation scheduled to be signed the day the levees broke.
When he (Gleason) blocked that punt versus the Atlanta Falcons in the first game to be played inside the now-dubbed Mercedes Benz Superdome following Katrina, in an instant, a million people whose lives had been turned upside down were given hope for the first time in over a year. We (New Orleanians) hate the Falcons, which made it all-the-more significant. For the first time in a year-plus we had something to be proud of.
Hearing that man state during an interview in the days leading up to this season's Super Bowl (during which we provided a piece of medical equipment for a guest of Mr. Gleason who also suffers from ALS) that the worst part about ALS is "having to have someone else wash my genitals" broke my heart and literally brought me to tears as the press corps was chuckling.
That man did so much for so many. To see a man my age dying, and rapidly at that -- someone who helped me muster the strength to pick myself up by the bootstraps and stop feeling sorry for myself -- really tugs at my heartstrings.
While I have yet to replicate the business success I experienced pre-Katrina when e-commerce was in its earliest of phases and I was one of a select few who had mastered the craft that early on in its development, I am happy; and more importantly God has provided for me that which I need and much of what I want.
ALS is a terrible disease, and its one for which I have a personal incentive to do my part to help find a cure.
I certainly expect nothing from anyone, but every dollar counts, and if you've been blessed to be in a position to help whatever the extent, it is greatly appreciated - not only by me but more importantly by all those less fortunate than ourselves who actually have to die painful deaths in which their bodies deteriorate until they can no longer function.
EGAN Medical is not in this for publicity. We're overwhelmed amidst a move and really aren't in the best position to be pursuing fundraising opportunities aside from for-profit endeavors. That said, this cause is so important that I feel compelled to do everything within my power as well as that of my company to help the Muscular Dystrophy Association do all it can to find a cure for the disease sooner rather than later.
As an aside, EGAN Medical was privileged to have had the opportunity to deliver a sliding transfer bench to Easter Seals of Louisiana, who was working to accommodate a Super Bowl guest of Mr. Gleason earlier this year with the Super Bowl in New Orleans. The guest also suffers from ALS, and we were honored to be able to provide it with same-day delivery, charging only that which we paid for the item (we regularly donate to Easter Seals, and this was a particularly high-end item that at the time we were not able to outright donate).
Thankfully, we've grown considerably since then, and are in a far better position now to make large donations, hence our commitment to match all donations by anyone outside the company dollar-for-dollar (up to $1,000). We're eager to contribute as much as we can, and we'll need your help in order to do so.
It matters not if your budget affords you the ability to donate $1 or $100, every dollar counts, and every dollar up to $1,000 will be matched by EGAN Medical Equipment, Inc.
Please carefully consider my plea, and if you've been blessed with the wherewithal to help cure this dreadful disease, please reach into your pocketbook and donate whatever amount your budget allows.
While we certainly have no expectations on an individual basis, but we are hoping to raise at least $1,000 within the next three days, so time is of the essence.
If you are in a position to give, you have my utmost assurances that we'll match dollar-for-dollar your donation, and it could not possibly go to a better cause than helping ensure that one day (preferably sooner rather than later), good men like Steve Gleason and all others suffering from this terrible and terminal illness will have hope that their diagnosis may not necessarily mean an imminent, painful and cruel death --- a death that claims the lives of young and old alike without discrimination.
Again, no expectations, but much gratitude for anything that anyone reading this can afford to do.
Sincerely and Best Regards,
Peter Egan

EGAN Medical Equipment, INC
President, CEO
To donate and help find a cure for ALS, please visit the following URL: (http://)www2.mda.org/site/TR?px=1795931&fr_id=5921&pg=personal

EGAN Medical Meets It's You Babe --- In Person

EGAN Medical CEO Has Dinner With It's You Babe Founders at Dickie Brennan's in New Orleans

On Saturday, May 04, 2013, Peter Egan and Katherine Henderson of EGAN Medical had the honor and privilege of hosting Chris and Darrell Seering of It's You Babe, LLC for a dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse in downtown New Orleans.

And an honor it was indeed. In Peter's 31 years, he recanted the following day, he'd met very few individuals much less couples in possession of the combination of class, kindness, friendliness, intellect and wit.

Katherine and Peter couldn't help but discuss on the drive back to Long Beach their shared impression that they had a fair amount in common with the Seerings, and wouldn't be altogether shocked if they were to bear a striking resemblance to the Seerings 20 years from now, provided the good Lord helps keep the two of them together for that long.

If they (Katie and Peter) are lucky, they'll be in a position similar to Chris and Darrell 20 years from now (and not just from the standpoint of business).

They are a couple that are very much along the lines of what Peter and Katie aspire to become over time.

Peter was very clear that he really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with them for a few hours. There was so much to talk about on so many levels, some related to business, some not. 

From Left: Katherine Henderson, Chris Seering, Darrell Seering and Peter Egan

It was one of those meetings where although you're meeting someone for the first time, it feels like you've known them for years and are merely catching up. 

They were exactly as he (Peter) envisioned them, and he said afterward that could not have been any more impressed with the two of them, their intellect as individuals and as a couple, and the manner in which they present themselves.

After spending just a few short hours with these upstanding entrepreneurs, it is easy to see how they manage to produce the world's premiere maternity support, not to mention the world's premiere compression therapy garment indicated for vulvar varicosities (a product called the V2 Supporter).

The maternity support is known as the Prenatal Cradle, and there is also an adjustable version (linked to in previous paragraph) called the Best Cradle.
 
All-in-all, it was a pleasure and honor to have been given the opportunity to host such an admirable couple for a dinner at one of the city (and world's) finest dining establishments. Everyone in the EGAN Medical family was thrilled that Katie and Peter not only got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Seering, but take them to dinner in a city known for its cuisine. Even those who did not attend were excited for Peter and Katie.

After spending a few hours with them, Peter said he understood why his initial 'gut instinct' telling him to invest into the It's You Babe line of products was so powerful that he acted upon it with almost no data to support the decision. Obviously, it's worked out well so far, and should that change at any point it certainly won't be for lack of effort.