My best wishes to you and your family. As a friend said recently, as one door shuts, another opens. Mine just shut and the next one is still opening. At 10:42 PM 1/28/97 -0500, you wrote: >Dear Friends and Colleagues > >This is the finale. > >I am no longer working at Rutgers. > >I have been on sick leave since 12/23/96. > >For those unfamiliar with the original posts in the CYA thread; in May of 1996 >my chairman wrote of me that I could neither tune nor regulate and that I was >not meeting expectations. One week later my dean sent me a letter saying that >they were not paying me for July and August because I was being switched from >a 12 month to a 10 month employee. > >In a face to face meeting the chairman, a clarinetist, said that "all the >piano faculty had complained about my work." > >When I questioned four of the six with whom I have a personal relationship >they all were shocked, dismayed and most emphatically denied having said >anything of the sort and without exception attested to their appreciation of >what I had accomplished for them and their students. One other person I know >would not have complained but I rarely saw her, the other person did complain >about his displeasure with a mellow Mason & Hamlin AA and wanted a new Kawai >instead. I was not about to make a M&H sound like a new Kawai so we switched >pianos around. He is now content. > >This last semester I have had more sick days than I have had in all the last >fifty years. > >I will be applying for long term disability because I have Chronic Fatigue >Syndrome and Fibromylgia. Most people know about CFS but few know about >Fibromylgia or FMS (S for Syndrome). > >Most doctors know little about CFS and most know nothing about FMS even though >it was originally defined by Hippocrates. > >Unfortunately there is no cure for FMS or CFS, just some treatment for some of >the symptoms, which are at the bottom of this post. > >The problem stems from my inability to work full time and produce the work in >keeping with my skills and expertise. I cannot, for instance, tune four >pianos a day for more than three days in a row without needing at least a day >to recover. > >At Rutgers I had 130 plus pianos in constant use, some needing new action >parts, some are new Kawais on loan, all needing tuning. > >I can still tune one or two pianos a day without many problems. Some days are >worse, some days are better than others. > >I still have a good mind, I think, but then maybe I don't and I am deluding >myself. Oh, well, I still think, I think. > >I would like to have a job that I could do at home, like help people solve >problems using the phone. If anyone knows of such a job let me know. >Experience and knowledge is a terrible thing to waste. > >My wife, Jean, and my daughter, Portia (now 15), are well established in their >school. Jean teaches music and drama in the middle school and is the chair of >the music department at Rutgers Preparatory School, not affiliated with the >university, and Portia is in the freshman class there. I have no desire to >relocate because of them and also because soon this house will be fully paid >for. Moving is such a pain. > >I will still continue sticking my 1.5 cents worth on this list but I will have >to switch providers. I will let you know as soon as possible about that. > >In the meantime I will be in and out of the house. I have to build a deck in >the garage to use for storage and maybe some work space. I have to move three >tons of equipment, tools, supplies and materials out of the Rutgers Keyboard >Cubby into the garage and still give the car a place to rest overnight. (On >the insistence of the Boss of this household, and I don't mean the dog >either.) > >Dear friends and colleagues you have been most supportive of me over the years >and I do appreciate that far more than I can express. Thank you all for that. > >Now for that list: > > Chronic Fatigue -- Fibromylgia Syndrome > List of Symptoms > >These are individualistic and fluctuate in severity and not all are experi- >enced by those afflicted; may include profound or prolonged fatigue, especial- >ly after exercise levels that would have been easily tolerated before. > >I have put an "x" next to those that I have experienced without establishing >any priority. > > Low grade fever. > Sore throat. > Painful lymph nodes. >x Muscle weakness. >x Muscle discomfort or myalgia (pain or aching). >x Low muscle oxygen levels. >x Sleep disturbance (hypersomnia or insomnia). > Headaches of new type, severity or pattern. >x Migratory arthralgia without joint swelling or redness. > Neuro-psychologic problems; >x Photophobia. >x Transient visual scotomata >x Forgetfulness. >x Irritability. >x Confusion. >x Difficulty thinking. >x Inability to concentrate. >x Depression or anxiety. > Night sweats. >x Shortness of breath. > Chest pain. >x Sensitivity to heat and cold. >x Dizziness and balance problems. >x Function problems (spacial disorientation). > Visual disturbances; >x Blurring. >x Sensitivity to light. >x Eye pain. > Frequent prescription changes. > Intolerance of alcohol. >x Irregular heartbeat. >x Abdominal pain. >x Diarrhea >x Irritable bowel. > Low temperature. > Numbness of face or extremities. >x Burning in the hands or feet. >x Hearing disorders or sensitivity. > Menstrual problems. >x Hypersensitivity of the skin or rashes. >x Allergies and sensitivities to odors and chemicals. >x Weight changes without changes in diet. >x Light headiness (feeling "in a fog"). > Fainting. >x Muscle twitching. > Seizures. >x Hair loss. > Excessive dryness in mouth and eyes. > >The cause of fibromylgia is unknown. Research interest in exploring the >possible causes of various symptoms was given an enormous boost in the 1970s. >At that time, physicians made two discoveries. The first showed that multiple >tender points are present in those with FMS. The second discovery demonstrate- >ed that an actual sleep disorder is often present in persons having FMS. This >is different from the type of sleep disorder that has been shown in depres- >sion. In FMS it is called non restorative sleep, or an alpha EEG non-REM >sleep disorder... > > >My worst symptoms are unrelenting fatigue, very low energy levels and muscle >weakness. Treatment includes some exercise and antidepressants to help with >serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake. > >It won't kill me but I will die with it unless they come up with a cure. > >Thanks, > > Newton J. Hunt > nhunt@jagat.com > > Paul Graeber pgraeber@1connect.com Yamaha Piano - Disklavier & Silent Series Service Center San Jose, California The unknown still smiles Behind a hazy shadow. How to find it Why? "Sidney Harris"
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