To introduce myself, I am a former journalist who jockeyed time between writing for newspapers and magazines with PR and social marketing. This is now my introduction to blogging. I hope I get this righ! I surprised myself when I decided to respond to Paula's call for "health" comments. But, today, a rare neurologicaly disorder dictates how I conduct my life. You see, I survived 60 years without any real health event. That ended. And boy did it end. An uneventful bout with chicken pox as a child erupted in a rare "disorder" that robbed me if my ability to write, read, walk and otherwise care for myself. A disorder similar to MS, Acute Demyelinating Encephalomyelis,or ADEM, stricks everyone differently 00 but always quickly. Sometimes, you are -- and remain -- totally disabled. That's the worst case scenario. I was fortunate. I can now read, write and walk -- albeit with some modifications. Thru this event, I learned that if anyone thinks physicians are god-like, are you wrong! Treatment is more like a Chinese menu --try one treatment from column A, if they doesn't work, try column B. Me? 13 brain lesions were discovered, but I was released from the hospital with no treatment other that advice to follow up for sleep apnea! That began my healty care odyssey -- 2 more hospitalization in 2 hospitals. Was it cancer? Was it MS? I don't know how many other things doctors considered. Even the "experts" couldn't agree on the diagnos. I took a chance. I bought into ADEM because if I had to be treated for something, ADEM seemed like the least scary choice. Fortunately, I was right. To make this 3-year odyssey short, I'm now an ADEM support group. It's not what I envisioned for my "retirement" years, but it certainly has its value! Barbara