Posted by Paul (128.230.9.134) on December 19, 2001 at 09:44:26:
I really get a kick out of the numbers thrown around on the board from time to time. I just read a post down the board stating that Matt lives with three other clusterheads. From all that I am aware of, Sue and I are the first and I think only two CH'ers that live under the same roof. No offense Matt but the numbers don't add up. I'm not saying that it is impossible, just unlikely. Because:
From all that I have read (and it is very extensive) Ch strike between 1 in 10K and 1 in 100K. So for the sake of a conservative guess I'll peg it at 1 in 30K. This means that if you:
Met and got to know (passing them on the street doesn't count) 5 people a day X 365 days a year, statistically, it would take 20.5 years to meet another clusterhead.
Or in a city of 100K there are 3.3 clusterheads.
Or in a big university (40K student body) there are 1.3 clusterheads.
Or the number of clusterheads in the US ~280,000,000/ 30,000= <10,000.
Even if my guess if off by a factor of 10, the probability of randomly meeting another clusterhead is low. My mother in law lives 3 blocks away from Drummer and for all the years of visits to her in rochester I never knew he was around the corner. He was the first clusterhead I ever talked to (aside from talking to my self) If it weren't for this board, I would probably still have never met another clusterhead. How does one seek out other clusterheads anyway? The only practical way is this board or others like it. Ask your doctor? Doubt if he would give you the name of another patient. If he did I would find another Dr. real quick. I guess you could seek others by walking the streets and greeting strangers with "Hi, Paul Logue, clusterhead" I wonder how long it would take for the men in white coats to put you in a nice cozy room with padding. I guess you could put up fliers on lamp posts but I think you would run out of money pretty quick with all the printing and paper it would require to replace them constantly.
My point in all this? We are lucky to have this place to meet others. Thanks DJ and to all who contribute to this board in a meaningful way. (operative word is meaningful)
And Matt, yes I'm a bit skeptic about four CH'ers under the same roof. Sue and I have lived in the same house for 19 months . It is gut wrenching to view someone with CH having an attack. It is worse to see them when you know exactly what they are going through because you suffer from CH as well. How long have you lived with another Ch'er? I'm not saying it is impossible, just unlikely that four people with Ch could find each other and then be compatible enough to live together. Hell, it was hard enough living with my housmates in college.