Sjogrens World Forums

Hi!  I'm brand new here and have a few questions...

Is there a rule about post length?  I'd kind of like to "tell my story" up-front....but it's kind of long.  I have a bunch of questions and feel like they would make more sense in that context.  To a lesser extent, some of it may answer some of the questions I've read here.

On the "Profile" what are "ICQ", "AIM", "MSN". and "YIM".  From what I've read here "SJS" = Sjogren's?

How do I make the print larger?

Thanks!

jason

Hi jason,

Welcome!

I'm afraid I don't really know what the post length maximum requirements are so I can't really speak to that.  Maybe you can give a quick intro in this section and then in the other section talk about the issues you are having.  That may work out better anyway because you may be more likely to get responses in the other section for your issues.

ICQ and AIM and the rest are all instant message icons so you can list your moniker if you like.  For the Sjogren's acronym, we do use SJS or pSS (primary Sjogren's syndrome).

Please tell your story, Jason. I would LOVE to hear it.

'We must be willing to get rid of the life we have planned, to have the life that is waiting for us'.

How true!

When I was 10 years old, I decided what I wanted to have done by the time I reached the "ripe old age" of 30.  By the time I reached 30, I had accomplished everything except for having 4 children (we had none).

Then life took some really weird twists and sometimes painful turns.   We had - and lost - 3 children...two early 2nd trimester miscarrages and a boy still born at 30 weeks.

In my mid thirties, I ended up changing to a career I had never even imagined at age 10, and had not even considered at age 30! And we adopted a precious little boy that we got to bring home when he was a only a day-and-a-half old.

I ended up raising him by myself from the time he was 2 because I lost my wife (result of manic-depression/schizophrenia).  At that time I thought life was so horribly hard and unfair, and I hadn't ever heard of SJS yet.

But you know what - I've had the most terrific experiences, met some of the greatest people, and learned a great many things  - not the least of which was about myself!  And I really don't believe it would have ever happened with my "planned" life.

I found this site a couple of days ago when I was feeling sorry for myself, read people's stories and comments for about three hours, and realized that my health issues are really, honestly NOTHING by comparison!

I will put my story (written originally for a different purpose) back on the New Members Board.

Thanks for responding.

jason

Thanks, but I'm afraid this old codger doesn't know much about instant messages, message boards, and the like.  I keep getting myself lost here. :-[  I didn't even learn to text until about 2 years ago (much to the chagrin of my son)  ::)

What's texting? I have never used texting. My girls send me messages and about a year ago I learned how to read them. I am not face book friendly. I do not Tweet. I use the internet too much to be a true Luddite.

Hi Jason. Glad you shared your story but so sorry for what you have been thru. Welcome to the site. I have learned a lot here.

So glad you found this site.

I love your quote and your attitude is inspiring!

I know that I get a dose of good medicine when I come to these boards.

I'm not able to give nearly as much as I receive from the sharing here.

The people who visit and share here are vital to me in living my best life.

I'm very grateful to all who make these message boards so helpful.

That's not my quote....I picked it up from nancylee's response to my first post because i thought it was great too.  Absolutely applicable to MY life!

Hi Jason,

Thanks for sharing part of your story. I'll look forward to reading more later.

I think of a lot of us could say our lives have not turned out as we planned, maybe even before Sjogren's. And through it all we've learned things we never would have, loved as though we never would, and found this life pretty interesting.  ;)

Welcome aboard our forum. Please post and questions, concerns or comments as much as you like. We look forward to hearing more from you!  ;)
Melinda