Northern California doctor creates directory to connect people living with hidden disabilities
DAVIS — One Northern California doctor is looking to connect people living with hidden disabilities and illnesses with each other.
Dr. Rebecca Lobo came up with the idea recently while preparing for a Sjogren's summit. The idea is that those suffering from the disease have a hard enough time dealing with illness, much less marketing their product or business.
Lobo said that opening up about her Sjogren's diagnosis and developing her skincare line made her realize that "business and how you do business is not really set up for people with hidden disabilities."
She said physical or financial limitations impact one's ability to get their business off the ground.
"What I noticed is that on my journey, I had to really scrounge to find resources to help me," she noted.
So she created a guide for small business owners like herself called the "HIDDEN" directory," which stands for The Hidden Illness and Disability Directory of Entrepreneurs and Nurturers.
"If you have a hidden illness or a disability and you are looking for support, all the services and products offered by other people in the community are in one place so you don't have to expend a bunch of energy to find those people," Lobo said.
Dr. Susan Masterson was one of the first vendors. She, too, has Sjogren's. She said realizing she had the disease was a gift.
Masterson slowed down and left her full-time job as a psychologist to consult others with hidden diseases. She has written books and offers instruction on lifestyle and nutrition for those suffering from auto-immune diseases.
"So if you can start feeling like you have something in your control, finally then it starts to snowball," she said. "And you start to get better at taking care of yourself and you start to feel rewarded by taking good care of yourself."
Masterson is elated to join the directory.
"We don't have big advertising budgets and we want to work," she said. "We want to contribute."
She knows there is strength in numbers and knowing support is a click away. Lobo invites the public to join the directory and shop there.