--you'll find that I've ranted about this on this board (and off this board, if you want to Google me), many, MANY times.

It's a constant source of frustration for me that the advocacy organizations out there do not encourage more people to come forward. I'm sure some have their reasons--in the preforming arts, for example, I've heard rumblings about lack of insurability and being turned down for roles--but that still hasn't stopped some famous people with other conditions (Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's, Terri Garr/Montel Williams/Annette Funicello for multiple sclerosis) from talking about their situations.

Recently, Jerry Mathers of Leave It to Beaver fame has been making the rounds talking about his diabetic neuropathy, although I think his emphasis on having "cured" it (actually, I think he has minimized/arrested it with good diet and blood sugar control) is worrisome. I think we need a lot more people talking about this though. It is true that many people think of it as secondary to another condition--Mary Tyler Moore talks about diabetes, but not about her neuropathy.

None of the recent articles about Mother Dolores Hart--the Elvis movie co-star turned nun--even MENTIONED her neuropathy. We who are active in the community know about it, but it needs more widespread dissemination.

Neuropathy is far more common than multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and myasthenia gravis combined. But you wouldn't know that from how often it's talked about compared to those. I do blame some of this on the neuropathy advocacy organizations--they fight with each other a lot, and a lot of the organizations for other conditions seem to cooperate more--but that can't explain it all. I keep waiting for one REALLY currently famous person to draw attention to it. I bet a lot of our older politicians suffer from it, for example. I certainly try to get the word out there, but my degree of fame seems limited to the internet and Neurotalk.