Hello Janet,

funny ol' world, isn't it? I've been "nomail" for eight months, and three (3) days after my (silent) come-back you find one of my old posts and comment it.  :-)

I think  your letter needs no further comment, you sum it up quite nicely. A lot of things have happened to me in the past months, but I'll get back to you all on that point later. 

Take care!
/John  (31 now, 26 diagnosed PD, 18 onset PD)


From: "janet paterson" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2000 5:53 AM
>
>      when i was diagnosed 10 years ago
>      i knew zilch about pd
>      [john - that's canadian for nada]
> 
>      due to that ignorance
>      my reaction to the words of the diagnosis
>      was sheer terror
snip...
>      ten years later
>      my life has changed radically
>      only part of that is due to my health circumstances
>      most of it is because my priorities have changed radically
snip...
>      i could be hit by a truck tomorrow
>      and what good would all that worry and fear about pd
>      [or about anything else]
>      have done me?
> 
>      none at all
>      and what's worse
>      it would have soured me to
>      whatever gifts life had offered me
>      in the interim
snip...
>      i cannot predict the future
>      that's been made pretty clear to me over the past 20 years
snip...
>      receiving news
>      about a chronic illness
>      is something that has to be grieved
>      it has to be worked through as part of the acceptance process
> 
>      maybe that terror that i felt
>      was a catalyst to my later enlightenment?