LESSON LEARNED

A rant perhaps... a mild rant.....Well you have been forewarned. Read on at your own risk.

Yesterday I was so happy that my letter to the editor about Trigeminal Neuralgia was finally published. Since I don't get the real paper, a phone call from a neighbor confirmed that my voice was heard. Then about 1:30 we received a very strange phone message from Jen saying "Mom, why did they give your letter such an odd heading?" I was immediately curious, ODD how odd is odd? I tried to call her back to find out, she was busy with a student and would call me back. I got really busy with early garage sale customers, and was stuck on the phone most of the night, answering questions. So when Far Guy finally read me the heading...I just wanted to run wildly through the woods, pulling my hair out and perhaps impaling myself on some wayward branch. That would have taken my last ounce of energy..but I did think about sticking my head in the toilet and flushing. Far Guy said "You must promise me that you will NEVER write a letter to the editor ever again" reluctantly I promised to stick to blogging instead.

MY LETTER

Please publish in Letters to the Editor or opinions..Thanks!
The Worst pain you have ever felt...You are a perfectly healthy individual one day, and then you brush you teeth or wash your face and you have stabbing pain in your face. You think you might have an abscessed tooth or teeth. The pain becomes unbearable. You finally cannot stand the pain, in the ER in Park Rapids you were lucky enough to get Dr. Churchill who diagnosed you immediately, and you were given the appropriate medication. You have just been diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia. a rare disorder that affects 1 in 20,000 people. Trigeminal Neuralgia or “suicide disease” is the most painful disorder known to mankind.
My husband has Trigeminal Neuralgia. There are 7 people (two are deceased) that we know of that have this disorder that have lived in Osage or Park Rapids. Are there anymore out there? What is causing this outbreak of this disorder? If you have this disorder, please contact me at #####. I am hoping that no one new calls, but in case you do, you will find some hope and strength with others that understand your pain. Perhaps we can form a support group.

I did not "Title" my letter, if I had chosen a heading.. Perhaps it would have been...Rare Disorder OR Rare Disorder Causes Concern

They obviously did not read the letter as the heading they chose was...
Rare Disorder Causing Cancer

No where in my letter does it even come close to the "C " word. There is no connection with TN and Cancer that I am aware of. TN and Cancer are about as related as me and Julia Childs or Cat Cora. NO connection whatsoever.

On a sad note, I received two new phone calls from spouses of individuals with TN, both who are now reaping their heavenly reward. The spouses said they wished that someone would have reached out to them because they felt so alone while their spouses struggled with this terrible disorder.

Well it's not all bad you know, it may get a lot more attention miss titled, than propery titled...I am trying to look on the sunny side of things and will try to be civil when I answer the phone. I did send them an email requesting that the online version be edited and it was early this morning. Thank goodness for small favors.
Lesson Learned: Always Title your Letters to the Editor:(