Hi again, James!  Here's an addition to my earlier reply:

JB>  Well, how do, Ardith?


         Assuming this is a question, not just a polite greeting... as
folks in SURVIVOR tend to do with one another... it's not so easy to
answer!  I saw your conversation with Wayne in another echo, however, and
it gave me a few ideas as to which topics you might be particularly
interested in.  Here's a summary of a couple of things which came to
mind...

 1)  About twenty years ago I had a benign tumour in one of my salivary
glands. As I understand the situation the facial nerve runs through this
gland, meaning the surgeon had to dissect the gland from the nerve.  As a
result the nerve was damaged & the lower half of my face was paralyzed
on one side... not good news, to put it mildly, for somebody who enjoys
playing the clarinet!  But I used the clarinet as a tool to aid my
recovery, and later in the same year I was able to play as a substitute in
a brief concert.  While my mouth is still a bit crooked I don't mind very
much because the rest of my face isn't symmetrical either.  I see from this
& other incidents that the body is able to repair itself in a lot of
ways which might not be immediately apparent.  I don't know if the
situation you've described is likely to improve, but I wouldn't rule out
the possibility.

 2)  Dallas & I have a daughter, Nora, of whom you will certainly have
heard if you've been reading previous messages here.  I don't say much
about her medical history unless it's relevant to what others really need
to know because I don't want to embarrass her.  Dallas & I laughed
hysterically just the other day when a new social worker asked us whether
or not she had ever been in hospital.  For various reasons Nora can't walk
very well.  But I see she has the same attitude toward her disabilities
which enabled both my father & his sister to exceed the usual
expectations for people in such circumstances, and I'm delighted....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+