Date sent:                Thu, 28 Nov 1996 10:12:55 -0500
Send reply to:    "Discussion of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,
Subject:               Observations

I've been reading and participating in this list for some time now, and
I'm starting to notice a trend. Has anyone else seen this?

Quite often a new member or recent sufferer will ask, in one form or
another, for help from the fund of expertise available here, and express
the hope, wish, or desire that the help be of such a nature that no
changes are needed to the life or work style which brought the sufferer
to us. Many say they cannot schedule time off to recover, so they want
to get better while working.

On the other hand, the responses of the sadder but wiser members all
have a common thread of how hard this CTDemon is to shake. They tell
horror stories of months and years of pain, torment, runarounds, and
uncaring bureaucracies. They mourn the lost abilities and say, in one
form or another, "if only I had known, I would have been smarter in
handling it".

I understand the desire of the new folks to find an easy way through
this problem. As some of our members have commented, we often place an
inordinate amount of trust in the miracles of modern medical technology.
There is a high expectation that well-educated and conscientious doctors
can pull us through anything. (Maybe they could. But there aren't enough
of them in the health care system of *any* country to do it.)

What I am trying to say, in my own circuitous fashion, is that the new
folks asking for experienced comment need to listen up! This is the
voice of experience. THERE IS NO EASY WAY!!! Make the changes now while
you can schedule them at your convenience, or have them forced upon you
by circumstances that were, but are no longer, within your control.

There are elements of your activities which have brought you sufficient
pain to be here. Without change, those elements will continue to move
you in the same direction, farther and farther from the reach of
recovery techniques. Stop NOW while you are only on the edge! Do not
persist in that which you know will destroy your life as you know it!

That is the common thread I see in the responses to your questions about
easy ways out of your present situation.

As far as scheduling time to recover, have you read any of the horror
stories about how people were forced in pain to take unplanned weeks,
months, and years away from jobs they enjoyed? Have you read the posts
which describe career changes and the problems of finding a new job when
your hands are merely ornamental appendages?

DO YOU WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU?? Learn from the wisdom of those who
have blazed the trail with their broken bodies and shattered lives. Or
join us in our 'personal appreciation' of this subject.

Those who will not learn from a study of history are doomed to repeat
it. This forum is here to warn you away from the hazards and pitfalls
which lie in wait for the unwary. Be smart. Make us feel that we have
helped save you from the disasters which could beset you.

As we in the USA celebrate today the feast of Thanksgiving, I am
thankful for the ability I still have of using a computer. I am thankful
for the sorehand family, from which I have learned so much. I am
thankful that I have a place I can go to ask questions and get
uncompromised answers with no conflict of interest. I am thankful for
the open and (sometimes heated) discussions which explore topics I
hadn't thought of. I am thankful that occasionally I can contribute
somewhat to this exchange.

And if we can save any of the new members from experiencing the "full
treatment" we have, I'll be thankful for that too.

Have a happy and a thankful holiday.

Craig