Dear Friends: First of all, thank you so much for your immediate response. The outpouring has been tremendous and it will take me awhile to respond to you all. I have some suggestions to make when you are telling your story. I know you're worried about the length of your story so I suggest the following: 1. First write your story exactly as it enters your head and what you are feeling without worrying about length; 2. Once you have it all written down, give it a rest and then return to it and look it over; 3. Now, keeping in mind that it is going to be read by others, start editing it as if you are writing an article for a newspaper; and 4.. Finally submit it to me. For parents who have children or youth who are ill or have been ill, please let your children write their story from their perspective and feelings while parents can relate their experiences and how they dealt with their children being ill. From my own experiences in the past, I one day sat down and wrote my story. The first thing I noticed when I started is that I had a very hard time doing it. It brought back all kinds of hurts and emotions and what I thought would be a simple process of putting down my feelings turned into an emotional battleground. Once I completed my story and dealt with the feelings and losses while writing, I was later able to look at it more clearly and write a summary which I still have but haven't looked at anymore. This turned to be a healing process. I hope it will be so for you. Lydia Lydia E. Neilson, M.S.M., Founder Chief Executive Officer National ME/FM Action Network 512 - 33 Banner Road Nepean, ON K2H 8V7 Canada Tel. (613) 829-6667 Fax (613) 829-8518 E-mail: ag922(a)ncf.ca Web: http://www.mefmaction.net