I've not lost any friends and in fact, with the addition of all of
you and the other groups I have joined on line as a result of this
disease, my list of friends has increased tenfold. Major life
changes always cause a shift in focus and friends who no longer have
similar understandings often fade away. I left the craft word for
the Antique restoration world and both lost and gained dozens of
friends. As an extreme Introvert my definition of friendship is a
little different than many; I find frequent contact taxing even with
the people I love most, but I am grateful for the knowledge that
there are a great many people who would be there for me should I need
them. You encourage each other, You pray for each other; I have seen
some of you actually make the effort to meet in person and I have
watched as some of you even support each other financially in times
of need. The new reality is that best friends can now meet and never
see each others face. I meet people all the time who are too busy to
consider having a new friend an I bet if we take an inventory of
these internet friends many of us can say we have gained more than we
have lost.
Mindy the Artisan
On Jul 23, 2009, at 1:10 PM, Janice wrote:
I have another question that has been rolling around in my head.
Have any of you lost/gained friendships after developing TM/
MS? Are some maybe solicitious about giving you a call periodi-
cally, but you don't really see much of them? Or, are some of
your friends from before TM becoming even better and closer
friends. I am talking about emotional support, visits, outings,
etc. I am wondering how many have stuck with you or
traveled on after the initial onset and de-hospitalization
period. Maybe it has stayed the same.
Janice
