going through, folks. Pay attention.” You could save a lot
of pain, a lot of suffering for people. I think it’s great what
you’re doing.
Vicki Lawrence: Well, yes. I’m happy to do that–I’m
the face of hives, Gary. I’m the poster child for hives.
Gary Barg: So, now that we know the diagnosis, what
is the treatment?
Vicki Lawrence: The thing is you’re going to want to
find your allergist, you’re going to want him to take care
of you, to review your case, and put a treatment plan
together for you that works. But there are options out
there. It’s not a dead end; you will figure this out.
Gary Barg: You’re not alone, you’re not the first person
to go through it. And if you’re dealing with hives, you need
to pay attention to this.
Vicki Lawrence: No, you just have to find that allergist
that knows about this. And the moral of that story is it is
treatable, it’s not curable. I have CIU.
Gary Barg: So, the first thing you want to do is get
yourself to ciuandyou.com, and also get yourself to an
allergist.
Vicki Lawrence: Absolutely. Find the right allergist
and then get on that website and realize that you’re not
searching in vain.
Vicki Ann Lawrence is an Emmy Award winning actress,
comedian, and singer known for the many characters
she originated on CBS’s The Carol Burnett Show. One
such character Thelma Harper/Mama, played by Vicki,
was the central character of the television situation
comedy series Mama’s Family.
Gary Edward Barg Editor-in-Chief sat down with Vicki to
discuss among many other tings her personal story of
living with Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (CIU) and her role
as spokesperson of the CIU & You campaign, supported
by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and
made possible by Genentech and Novartis.
TODAY’S CAREGIVER MAGAZINE • CAREGIVER.COM 19
/ciuandyou.com