8/26 Saga of OTT and CIIN

Our hopes to put out a newsletter in August fell apart because of a number of problems. Continuing and additional health issues are a big part of the trouble, but delays in the total reorganization of the office have also gotten in the way.

For those who have not heard, in December (2019), Cynthia (our Executive Director and the heart and sole of CIIN) was slammed by an unrealized, and very serious, sensitivity to paper! This had been building for several years, but the symptoms were vague and subtle until suddenly they were life-threatening. Oddly, and to add a touch of humor to this disaster, it took a particularly offensive toilet paper to open our eyes. It smelled like wood chips to Cynthia — even I could smell it up close.

It soon became obvious that toilet paper was only the tip of the sensitivity iceberg. Once we started looking at all paper being the problem, we started making adjustments, and Cynthia’s health stopped going downhill. The more paper we removed from our living spaces, the more her health stabilized and actually began improving. It is a long, slow process making our lives essentially paper-free. 

When you consider that CIIN has one of the largest, possibly THE largest, private libraries in the world devoted to MCS, you will begin to understand the size of the undertaking. Add to that the fact that we have an enormous library of books of our own. Having to isolate the library from Cynthia is heartbreaking. We have both been avid readers all of our lives. Actually, I think heartbreaking is too kind a word. 

In any event, we are still here, still working with the chemically injured. However, without the newsletter at the moment, keeping in touch with our members is tough. I will try to be more diligent in posting to our Twitter account — @ourtoxictimes — and to this blog. If you get the chance, it would be helpful if you mentioned these two accounts to any other MCS sufferers you come into contact with. Obviously, many of them cannot enter the digital world, but possibly they could have someone check these two accounts for updates for them.

Thanks for listening. To those who have offered them, thank you for your prayers and good wishes. Take care of yourselves. -jw

p.s. CIIN's Twitter account is:  twitter.com/ourtoxictimes

Obviously, our plans to publish this summer did not work.

Obviously, our plans to publish this summer did not work. Here it is late August and still no new issue of OTT. The health problems are very slowly coming under control, but things were worse than even we realized.

Our target now for the next issue is to come out in September. We are having to completely reorganize our office to keep our Executive Director away from PAPER! Yes, she has developed reactions to paper that are serious, extremely painful, and slow to recover from. But we are not ready to throw in the towel, so however long it takes, we will do it and be back publishing as soon as we can.

In the meantime, we are still answering the phones and working with our members and those who are dealing with chemical exposure situations.
-John