Barb Rager-- thanks for a forthright and honest account of the feelings
that erupt when hopes are dashed so cruelly. We need to be reminded that
it IS our responsibility, and that being "educated"
includes both openness to considering new ideas and cautious skeptism until
they are proven.
SNIPPED
> I cried and cried for myself, and for the unwavering pain of an illness
>which can only degenerate to its hideous end. A pain which was breaking my
>heart with a force of vengeance in return for my momentary, delerious
>release. And I cried for all the vulnerable ones: the sufferers whose
>longing to shed this coat draws them towards any cloaked, skeletal figure
>standing in the ring of a street lamp, holding a coat hanger; and for their
>care givers whose own sense of defeat and helplessness opens them to the
>outrageous and pernicious promises of exploiters.
> Chronic illness is a journey fraught and ravaged with the evil of
>ignorance. We must proceed with caution. We have support groups of friends
>and medical teams. But essentially it is our own responsibility to educate
>and guide ourselves around the mirages that promise fulfillment to hopes and
>dreams, yet can lead us only deeper into despair. You see I did know. I
>knew from the moment I received the unsolited email to "Suzie". I knew
>something was wrong. The alert bell rang loud and clear in my head. I
>didn't want to hear it.
Camilla Flintermann, <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/camilla/one.htm My Home Page
" Knowing when to insist, and when to let be,
is,perhaps, a lifetime learning experience ."
--Mary McCurry
