Cyberspace for Medical Answers Juvenile Arthritis
Nine-year-old Alana has a lot of fun playing computer games. Computers also give her father, Gerold the latest medical research to fight Alana’s juvenile arthritis. Gerold found what he needed in the world’s largest library, the Internet.
Gerold: “That led directly to discovering the antibiotic therapy for arthritis, which I might have found out about anyway, but it would have been much more difficult because her doctor certainly knows nothing about it.”
Gerold found a diet for arthritis that he says is helping Alana. The help isn’t limited to information. He says the Internet is also the world’s largest support group.
Gerold: “There was wonderful response from people who wanted to reassure me and back me up and bolster my spirits.”
Fred, Arthritis sufferer: “You meet people that are exactly in your position that can relate to exactly what your problems are. One of my friends on the Internet is a physician who’s exactly my age who’s had arthritis for exactly as long as I have.”
Gerold: “With the Internet it doesn’t matter where you live. You’ve got the entire world on the other side of your keyboard.”
Both men say that the access to treatment tips and other arthritis sufferers make the disease easier to handle. The Internet has information and support groups for dozens of different diseases.
