Hi @johnbishop! Thanks for the link -- I see it will take time to explore and was happy to see Sue Robins' tribute to Erin Gilmer.

I am far from having everything under control health wise and find that learning bits and pieces over the years makes choices available. Our physicians and other health care providers generally offer choices when asked. The problem is learning how much I don't know about healthy living and what questions to ask.

About 20 years ago I was diagnosed here with peripheral neuropathy . We don't know its cause, but pain medication was offered and education for taking care of my feet provided. I discovered that with protective shoes I tripped a great deal; I switched to barefoot walking. That helped me learn that there are way too many broken glass pieces in the most pristine looking neighborhoods. So I switched to water shoes with minimal insoles and cushioning for protection and solved the tripping problem; only desert "goat heads" are hazardous now. I declined the pain meds; if I keep moving my hands and feet, I seldom have pain that bothers me. Walking, occasionally, in my water shoes on gravel or on rough asphalt areas seems to help keep pain at bay.

I came to Connect because my wife is battling lung cancer. We came to Rochester in May 2021 for two weeks. They found lung cancer and we are still here a year later. We did something similar in 2007 when we stayed here for nine months when Mayo helped her to fight breast cancer -- successfully.

Unlike 2007, we found Connect. It offers other topics besides her cancer and caretaker issues -- this autoimmune being one. These topics, for me, are terrific for scanning and learning about questions that I would have no idea about asking. I decided to chime in on this one. I am glad I did because I have met a teeny bit of you!

In 2007 I relied on the libraries and Toastmasters. This time the caretaker role is much more time intensive and I find Connect a blessing - even though most days I just scan the update titles.

Why did you volunteer to be a mentor? I feel glad that you did.