WSJ on CFS: "Wave of New Disabilities Swamps School Budgets"

[mellster]

Agreed - but it also might help to keep in perspective how one felt about such illnesses when one was healthy. In my case, though I was always reasonably considerate (after spending time with and taking care of elderly and disabled during alternative service when I was 19), I must admit that I at least had doubts about people with constant chronic pain/exhaustion. The way our society works and also due to natural protective mechanisms ("this could never happen to me due to superior psyche") it is easy to join the 'dark' side and post hurtful comments without thinking, esp. as long as one never had been seriously ill. It's not worth stressing out over some people's inconsiderate comments, but it's certainly worth to spread awareness and engage in advocacy..

 

[slayadragon]

Here is a link to a copy of the text of the article.

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/?p=8115

 

[eric_s]

Good article, we are lucky we have the WSJ. It's alarming the numbers seem to be going up. And i understand the problems of schools, etc. having to deal with this. Btw, i don't think these things like video feeds, taping classes, home tutoring are available in Europe, at least i've never heard of something similar. I have no idea what you would do here if a child can't go to school anymore. So you still seem to be better off, doing a better job there.

 

[SilverbladeTE]

If ME is caused by an infectious organism which has not been recognized, has no vaccine or treatment, then it will INEVITABLY spread.

If it's some peculiar autoimmune reaction that may occur in suspectible indivduals due to genetics or specific exposures, then that too will increase, as we're using more and more exotic and highly toxicchemicals and have increasingly growing populations which also allow more disease transmission etc etc

personally I think ME's going ot be shown to be a "typical" immune path/system that a specific pathogen sets in motion which is then later triggered into an autoimmune syndrome by another stressing event later,
but other things can also trigger part of the same immune response system so pesticides may set off the immune response purely on their own but in different ways, or be a trigger for "overloading" the already pathogen-sensitized individual

and the vastly increasing vaccine schedule the pharma-corp scum want to push is surely not going to help.

Rates of autism and other problems are increasing still, they have sky rocketted and our governments sit around with their thumb up their ass in the usual "denial mode" probably stupified by the gigantic sums and efforts the pharma corps have donated/manouvered them with
"THERE IS NO SHARK IN THE WATER!".....*chomp! chomp!* Wanna bet, morons?


One of the reasons I utterly despise the Weasels, is because they have prevented kids from getting treatment, and forced them to endure this horror which as an adult I find like acid eating away at me...anyone who lets kids suffer unecessarily is lower than a snake's bunghole!

 

[slayadragon]

A WSJ blog post on the topic from Amy Docker Marcus.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/09...l-experience-to-sick-kids-learning-from-home/

 

[brainfan]

Hi folks. I don't have ME, but I do have MCS. I feel a strong sense of camaraderie with you folks as we're going through very similar experiences and I thank you for this website and the many informed and compassionate posts here. A couple of trivial little thoughts I have after reading the comments here:

There was a post asking people to read the evidences and then pass judgement. Sadly, I've dealt with far too many self-anointed "skeptics" who just pass by all of the information I provide and fall back on the somatization myth. The irony of course is that they don't "believe in" MCS/ME because of an alleged lack of physical evidences, yet they willingly embrace somatization despite the fact that it has a far worse problem with a lack of physical evidences. They also ignore the criteria required for a diagnosis of somatization disorder, such as the requirement that NO physical explanation can potentially explain the illness. This is not a legal sort of "beyond a reasonable doubt" type explanation; it's an explanation that works in theory to explain a condition, which our illnesses do have.

Another point is one of the language we use: I refrain from using the phrase "believe in" for those who recognize our conditions. That phrase suggests a mark of faith, such as "believing in" God, or alien abductions, or Santa Claus.

Lastly, I posted a comment of thanks in the above referenced Amy Docker Marcus' post. I think it's important to thank people like her who continue to fight in our corner in the face of the negative comments and press that's out there!

 

[slayadragon]

What I thought was interesting was the fact that only the people who were interviewed for the article (the parents of the girl and Sue Jackson) expressed complaints about it. (Their comments are listed today.) Apparently they were told that the focus of the article was going to different than it actually turned out.

Best, Lisa