Re: "NEA Today" article bothers me as a LMS--what do you think?

[Betty Dawn Hamilton <bhamilt@TENET.EDU>]

> Without library resources ... I don't even want to think where my family
> would be.  My 10-year-old daughter has multiple disabilities and we very
> nearly put her in an institution when she was about three.  Her sleep
> patterns and behavior were so horrible at that time that our family was
> falling apart.  We went to a Medical College library and did some
> research.  As a result of that we went to different doctors and had
> different tests done.  They changed her medication and her sleep and
> behavior and development improved tremendously.  We withdrew our request
> for admission to the institution.  I'm SO thankful for those library
> resources and the librarian who helped us with our research.  (That was
> before I became a librarian.)

Debbie and Group, this story reminds me of a similar one.  When my
sister-in-law's father was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, they
couldn't learn much about it.  A retired friend who spent much time in
large libraries searched (with the help of librarians) until he found some
articles that not even the man's doctor had read!  (After all, they only
have 24 hours per day, too!)

The retired friend copied them and my sister-in-law sent them to the
family physician (also a personal friend).  The doctor pursued the
information and sources and was able to prescribe treatment that prolonged
the father's life and improved his quality of life for the remainder of time
that he lived.  The doctor gave credit to the research that the friend
did for pointing him in the right direction.

This was a few years back, but I'm not sure even now that the internet
would have had the answer.  We internet users seem to rely *too much* on
querying a group instead of doing some good, solid research! I know it's
easy for me to ask when I know all of you are out there!

Betty
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Betty Hamilton, LRS             |    |                701 Cub Drive
bhamilt@tenet.edu           ____|*    ~~~~~~.         Brownfield TX 79316
Brownfield High School      \               |         (806) 637-4523
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