The following is a letter that has been and is being sent to individuals and families concerning Medical Information:
<Date>
Dear XXX:
I'm writing this letter as part of the Giering Family Trees Project. I hope this letter finds you and your family in the best of health. It is about health that I'm writing. The following is quoted from the mission/goals statement found on the home page of the Giering Family Trees Web Site:
This Letter requests Medical information about your ancestors.
In this day and age, when one visits a physician, one of the questions almost always asked is: "Is there a history of XXX in your family?". Most of the time the response is "I don't know". The main reason for this lack of knowledge is that, when one dies, medical information (except for the EXACT and direct cause of death - on the death certificate) is lost or at least filed so far away as to make it impossible to locate.
A few years ago, in two separate conversations with second cousins (my Grandmother had two sisters), I happened to mention that I am diabetic. In each instance the cousin indicated that his Grandmother was also diabetic. When I asked how he knew, he indicated that he remembered, as a boy, his Grandmother giving herself insulin injections. These incidents indicated to me that a lot of medical information might reside in the memories of currently living people. Hence my mission and this letter!
I realize that we are all not medical practitioners, but each of us MAY have some information that relates to our ancestors medical history - even occupation (asbestos) and/or Military (Agent Orange) information could conceivably be of help to Future Generations. By Future Generations, I mean those beyond current children or grandchildren, those that are two or three further generations when medical science will have identified additional (beyond the present) hereditary relationships.
I have promised in the past and continue to honor individual's desire for privacy. As a result, I am not asking for any personal medical information, only that about your ancestors. Of course, if you wish to furnish ANY information, I will record it for posterity.
In the name of future generations, I thank you for any information you submit.
Signed