I Have Found My People!

More on the Sjogren's national conference. 

I have learned a great deal from a medical perspective about this disease, and I will summarize more of this information after the sessions tomorrow. 

What is even  more valuable, is the experience of talking to hundreds of other people who KNOW what this is all about from a very personal viewpoint. When the list of symptoms appears in print or rolls by on endless powerpoint presentations, to read them is a purely cerebral experience. But to turn to the person next to you and share experiences allows connection and exchange of information on an entirely different plane. 

I met a delightful woman from Canada today. As we visited, the most often repeated phrase we shared with each other was " Me too!!" I looked over the sea of faces in the conference room and though all different age groups, genders, and races were represented from 40 different states and three countries, it was very moving to me to know that we all shared something which has enormous implications for our lives.

We are not alone.