28 October 2010

An Open Letter...

Today's post is long... likely too long for this page - but something I feel driven to share...

My post today is a copy of a letter I wrote to a would-be “miracle-cure” salesperson that bombards numerous sites with advertisements – in the hopes of making a little more ‘green’ for their pocket.

Granted, this specific letter was written nearly a year ago – but as a MS patient – it seems that no matter where I go I’m given suggestions to try this or that to make me ‘better’.  I don’t want to be told that if I just drink this rice water – or take this vegetable pill – or drink this specific juice – that all my symptoms will go away & the disease activity will cease – without some scientific proof to back it up.

Now, when the suggestions are coming from people that are close to me, well, I understand that they are doing it with only the very best of intentions & the love that flows from them makes their attempts a little more understandable.  However, as I’m sure many other MS patients would agree, the offers that come from all other sides and can be completely exhausting.

Like I said, this letter of frustration was written just over a year ago – and was in response to some very interesting bulletin board posts going back & forth between the salesperson & some questioning group members. This specific salesperson was not prepared to be questioned & got quite upset with the group for not taking the bait.


Dear 'Miracle Cure Salesperson':

I generally refrain from responding/commenting to these types of ads on discussion boards – however - after the 'holier than thou' type of response we've recently received from this salesperson when they were questioned, I could no longer keep my fingers from clicking out a bit of frustration on the keyboard in front of me.

Let me try to explain something to this salesperson. As a MS patient myself - after diagnosis I scoured the Internet for any information on various treatment options I could find.

There is a LOT of information floating around the Internet on miracle cures – between diets, treatments such as the one you are touting, and "amazing" detoxification methods that will supposedly ‘cure’ multiple sclerosis.

While it may be somewhat exciting and offer some much needed hope for people that live with this disease – I have to be honest and say that some of the things these people (such as yourself) are touting are really quite scary and offers a very false sense of hope and expectation.

I can assure you, dear salesperson, that if any one of the people selling these ‘miracle cures’ (including you) actually had a true and viable cure for this disease – it would have a whole lot more attention than an occasional blip on an internet search engine of your postings on various internet blogs/pages/bulletin boards.

Quite honestly (if you can’t tell already) these people completely disgust me.

Salesperson - I imagine that you must have some level of belief in the product you tout - but you must understand how completely tired people with MS are from hearing about "the next amazing cure." So many people have been bombarded with these claims that "if you just spend X amount on my product you will be cured" - that is almost as insulting as saying "if you just had enough faith you would be cured" or telling me that "if you had just eaten more veggies when you were little you would never have been plagued with this disease."

I have a hard time believing that you've never met such an angry response. Maybe that is because other sites have just had your postings deleted & your userid to their site blocked immediately. In a way - I'm glad that you are actually receiving some honest angry responses from people that are just sick and tired of hearing claims similar to yours.

So in conclusion salesperson - let me just say that I didn't join this group to hear about a "miracle cure" - but with the hopes of connecting with others that understand exactly what I go through on a daily basis. You clearly don't fit that bill as you have absolutely no connection with this disease and in all appearances are attempting to take advantage of people that are desperately seeking a cure for this currently incurable disease.

I generally close emails with good will wishes - but as long as you are in the business of touting/selling your so-called miracle cure, I have absolutely no good will wishes for you right now. It is hard to find any good will wishes for someone that doesn't see the person with the disease but just the money they can make off of that person - touting a "miracle cure."

~Kristie


Yep – I was angry when I wrote that letter.