Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

JB>  To make sure I'm clear, post-op "recovery" was AFAIKT
JB>  was well over, but the hip refused to join the rest of
JB>  the carcass with the list of chores on the plate.


         It's recently come to my attention that I may have a similar
problem. Awhile ago I mentioned that I'd had surgery to remove a benign
tumour from one of my saliva glands & half my face was paralyzed for a
year afterwards.  Since then I've often noticed wetness near the
incision... typically around the time of the full moon.  I assumed the
portion of this gland which was left in place must still be producing
saliva but had nowhere else to put it because the duct into my mouth no
longer exists.  Then my dentist informed me that the nerve(s) which should
be signalling the gland to produce saliva are causing the skin to produce
sweat.  In other words... she thinks the nerves joined up incorrectly, as
they did in your case.  She said I could have Botox injections if I find it
unbearable.  I think I'll pass!  Suffice it to say I have no conscious
control over what these nerves do, at least not yet... [wry grin].



JB>  With all due respect to the echo, I still cringe when
JB>  I hear the term "cancer survivor".


         The term is often used by SyOps as a descriptor when they want to
let their users know in twenty-five characters or less what the echo is
about, and distinguish it from other echoes with similar titles which came
along after we did.  But it is rather simplistic & potentially
misleading.



JB>  "Iatrogenic victim" is a better fit, but a medical
JB>  practitioner can only call that my opinion.


         I still cringe when I hear the word "victim".  We've
made it over the first few hurdles... and now we're dealing with the
aftermath.  I'm well aware that cancer treatment often leaves some
unpleasant souvenirs behind.  We can't just "get on with our
lives" as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened to us.  But I
think it's important that we not lose sight of what we learned from the
experience.  On a physical level, you're finding creative ways of adapting
your surroundings to suit your individual needs.  On a mental/emotional
level,
you're questioning many things you were taught in the past & examining them in
a new light.  I'd say you understand intuitively what this echo is about.  ;-)



JB>  When a man with a philosophy doctorate asks, "Where
JB>  would you like to go today?" he is less likely to get
JB>  metaphysical than to turn on the taxi meter.


         We knew a guy years ago who had difficulty getting hired because
of a hand & a leg which didn't work very well when he got nervous.  He
had mild CP, but that didn't stop him from driving a rally car!  He drove
cab for awhile... then he landed an accounting job which didn't require
meeting the public.  Now he's running his own accounting business &
apparently doing very well....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+