It’s officially the year of the horse… but remember to listen for zebra-hooves too!
Happy Lunar New Year!
As we welcome the year of the horse, remember to show some support for their stripey counterparts. As you may know, there is an old rhetoric often heard in medical school or nurse training ‘hear hooves… think horse not zebra’. This is the whole reason that the zebras (and hence stripes!) were adopted as a symbol by the ‘rare community’.
Show Your Stripes for Rare Disease NEXT WEEK
Rare Disease Day is on Saturday 28th February, so this year we are asking you to ‘Show Your Stripes’ all week by wearing stripey socks, whenever you can. Just remember to post pics on Insta or LinkedIn with #showyourstripes @medicsforrare. Since 2022, hundreds of people have taken part and I can assure you it means a great deal to the people we know living with rare conditions.
Why get involved?
Digging out stripey socks and popping them on may seem lighthearted or even silly but your support in doing this can have a huge impact on a patient population. People with rare conditions often feel overlooked, unbelieved, and ultimately invisible. This is a patient population the same size as those living with or after a diagnosis of cancer. A patient population that waits an average of five years for a final diagnosis. A patient population that report wanting to feel heard by healthcare professionals.
Go a (hoof) step further – Learn Your Stripes
To mark Rare Disease Day 2026, we have launched a new super-condensed mini training video. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete – less than the time taken to make a cuppa. We’d really appreciate YOUR help in sharing it with colleagues, clinical friends, fellow students, anyone you feel can make a difference to the lives of people living with rare conditions. Post online with the hashtag #learnyourstripes.
