Anyone can do what I did to create awareness about ARD and the IAS!!!!

From: Helen Dynda (olddad66@runestone.net)
Mon Mar 10 00:36:49 2003


1.) One day I decided to call the Echo Press, a bi-weekly newspaper. I asked to talk to the Lifestyle Editor -- and told her I had information that I would like to see featured in the Lifestyle section of the Echo Press.

2.) I told her I would like to see a feature article done about adhesion related disorder (ARD) and the International Adhesions Society (IAS) -- a support and education website that went online in April 1999.

3.) Then I very briefly shared information from my personal ARD experience: I told her it had taken me 27 years (of going from doctor to doctor) before I found a doctor, who believed me and performed a diagnostic laparoscopy for me on August 1, 1997. The diagnostic laparoscopy proved there actually was a reason for the chronic pain that I had been "forced to live with (untreated)" because doctors never believed me. * Massive adhesions * (caused by a laparotomy I had in 1970) had attached my omentum to my abdominal wall as if those surfaces had been bonded or glued together...the full length of my 1970 laparotomy incision and four inches across!! I learned that a diagnostic laparoscopy IS the ONLY way endometriosis and adhesions can be diagnosed!!

4.) I gave her the website address for the Home Page of the IAS (http://www.adhesions.org/) - and encouraged her to take a look at the topics listed there.

5.) If she agreed that this information warranted a feature story (after she had taken time to view the IAS website), I told her I wanted the focus to be on adhesion related disorder and the International Adhesions Society -- not on my 32 years of personal experience with ARD.

6.) She told me she would call me when she had time to take a look at the IAS website. She told me it would take about two weeks before she would have time to review the website -- and then she would call me.

7.) To help her reach her decision, when she was ready, I selected and printed-out the best information I could find about ARD and the IAS.

* Dear Doctor Letter

http://www.adhesions.org/images/DrReferLtr.pdf

* IAS Accomplishments

http://www.adhesions.org/images/IASAccomplishments.pdf

* Abdominal Adhesions

http://www.adlap.com/adhesions.htm

* Adhesion Related Disorder

http://www.generalsurgeryinfo.com/gerhart5/index.html

I then purchased a plastic binder to place these articles in; and I included a copy of the IAS newsletter, " Connections" -- the IAS newsletter, that I had previously requested from Dr. David Wiseman, Ph.D. ( Synechion@aol.com ). When I had everything ready, I took all of this information to the Echo Press at Alexandria, MN -- and told the receptionist to give this information to the Lifestyle Editor.

8.) As she said she would, the Lifestyle Editor called me -- and told me that Jane Langman, a Lifestyle reporter, would be writing the feature story about ARD and the IAS. Now the Lifestyle reporter was able to make use of the information I had provided.

9.) Jane Langman, a Lifestyle reporter, called to set up a time when she could interview me.

10.) When I met with her for the interview, Jane had already prepared a rough draft for her feature story. When she began to interview me, I sensed she was attempting to focus on my personal experience; so I reminded her that I wanted the focus to be on ARD and the IAS. I told her that my 32 years of experience with ARD was too vast to fit into the space allowed for a feature article in the Echo Press.

Jane did include some of my personal information -- and what she included was okay with me. I was very impressed with the results of her research concerning " Painful bonds."

On October 18, 2002 "Painful bonds" appeared in the Echo Press newspaper and on the Echo Press website. Now, you can read this article at the following website:

http://www.adhesions.org/whatsnew.htm#heleninterview .


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