1.) I called the Echo Press, a bi-weekly newspaper - and asked to talk to the Lifestyle Editor.
2.) I told the Lifestyle Editor that I would like to see a feature article in the Echo Press about adhesion related disorder (ARD) and the International Adhesions Society (IAS). The IAS - a support and education for adhesion sufferers - went online April 1999.is
3.) Very briefly, I shared information from my personal experience as a victim of ARD. I told her it had taken me 27 years - of going from doctor to doctor - before I found a doctor, who listened to me and believed me! He told me a diagnostic laparoscopy is the only way adhesions and endometriosis can be diagnosed; but he was pretty sure adhesions were causing me pain.
So on August 1, 1997 I underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy. Massive adhesions had attached my omentum to my abdominal wall - as if those two aces had been tightly glued together - the full length of the incision (and 4 inches across) from the laparotomy I had in 1970!!
The diagnostic laparoscopy proved there really was a reason for the intractable pain I had been "forced to live with". Doctors had never prescribed pain medication for me; because my diagnostic tests were always normal - and consequently, doctors never believed me!!
4.) I gave her the Url for the International Adhesions Society - and encouraged her to take a look at the information at this website: http://www.adhesions.org/index.htm.
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 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.
** IAS Accomplishments
http://www.adhesions.org/accomplishments.htm
** Doctor Letter
http://www.adhesions.org/images/DrReferLtr.pdf
** Abdominal Adhesions
http://www.adlap.com/adhesions.htm
** Adhesion Related Disorder
http://www.generalsurgeryinfo.com/gerhart5/index.html
8.) 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 this information to the Echo Press at Alexandria, MN - and told the receptionist to give this information to the Lifestyle Editor.
9.) The Lifestyle Editor called me - as she said she would - and told me 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 provided.
10.) Jane Langman, a Lifestyle reporter, called to set up a time for our interview.
11.) When I met with Jane for the interview, she 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 33 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 information from my personal experience - and the information that 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. The Lifestyle reporter wrote "Painful bonds" -- not me!! "Painful bonds" is found at the following website:
http://www.adhesions.org/whatsnew.htm#heleninterview .
If you follow the above step-by-step directions, I really believe you will be able to create awareness about ARD and the IAS in the community/area, where you live. Give it a try!!