Sorry Gilgamesh
Your first reply could well have been taken as a joke, albeit a poor taste one. Your second one however, was just plainly trying to wind people up and be deliberately offensive. People do chuck insults around on here, however, it's the tone in which it's done - a lot of the time you can tell when it's being done in jest.

Having read something about your background and domestic situation, you could have offered some genuine insight into the situation and been of real help to the guy. Instead you chose to make belittling remarks about it. Shame. To quote you directly, when you said you don't do sympathy: 'Empathy yes, sympathy no. Practical assistance, not pity'. To me, the post didn't come across as 'woe is me, feel sorry for me please'. Rather, it came across as a justified criticism of a health system that just doesn't understand sometimes.

However, apologies and some sort of peace appear to have been made, so I'll shut up now.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:17, Reply)