I’m not really sure why I’m starting this thread.
What is the one thing you know that you will NEVER EVER tell any friends or family but you are willing to share to the anonymity of the Dope.
Mine?
My daughter had Rett’s Syndrome and if you are not familiar with it, it like an extreme autism for girls. She died at age 3 from drowning during a seizure. Becaus of the brain distruction during Rett’s, it is comforting to think that a victim is not aware of their condition. About 10 years ago, I read an obscure study out of Austria that would indicate that a person with Rett’s is actually “locked-in” in that they retain some cognitive function even after the enter the “destructive phase”
I will never tell my ex or my family about that study.
Wow. I know a family dealing with a Rett’s daughter right now. What a horrible, awful thing. You have my sympathy, though I gather it’s long in the past.
My mom has anal cancer, I’m the info lookup guy, so I was sitting on the phone with her with google in front of me.
“But son what causes this?”
I look it up and see 90% of anal cancer is caused by sexually transmitted HPV…argh
“It could be caused by lots of things mom, you got it that is what matters.”
I feel really bad about that but I REALLY REALLY didn’t want to talk to my mom about HPV and how she got HPV on her anus. Seriously its bad enough talking about her anus every call, my wife doesn’t even want to talk to her anymore because every call is about how painful that day’s bowel movements have been.
I will never tell anyone, although they may work it out or discover it, that to get in/out of my shower due to both its very narrow door and my large size I have to manouever myself in sideways in such a way that… let’s just say no one would want to touch either side of the doorway and would probably never use the shower if they knew.
That sounds awful for all of you. I definitely think you’re doing the right thing by not focusing on the HPV thing. What’s done is done. Besides, it’s certainly possible that your mom doesn’t have HPV and is just one of the unlucky people who get it despite not being in a high risk group for it. I’ve read about how non-smokers who get lung cancer often are subjected to a lot of stigma because people assume that they were smokers and brought it on themselves.
I don’t know what evidence that “obscure study” was based on, but (as someone who knows a bit a bout neuroscience and the study of conscious states) I would be very surprised if it were very reliable, especially 10 years ago. I would not assume that just because you read this in a scientific paper, it is actually true. (I say this in the hope it might make you feel a little bit better.)