The Mercury Morgellons Connection or Is Anyone Out There?

It''s study hall period at the junior high. The students have been abnormally reserved (considering we're so close to summer break). I've been wondering about a topic to blog on. Should I blog? I guess blogging is like substitute teaching; sometimes you say, "Yeah, sure, I'm game!" and other times you roll over in bed and fall back to sleep (okay, honestly I've never done this). I pick up some scrap paper, pen and clipboard--blogging starts now.

So, here's my topic. It's a big one....the mercury to Morgellons connection (I warned you about this slant). I want to write this in a more personal way. Articles I've written on this are nicely organized on the Mr. Common Sense blog (look for "Joseph Keleher" category...or I may include these on here as well...once I'm better organized). My research has a healthy portion of speculation (though I feel it a decent framework to speculate within). Anyhow, back to the topic. I've presented many of these connections and, honestly, gotten a mix of feedback (from raging anger to "that makes sense"). Still, I have and do see this connection. I guess the place to start is when I first made this connection.

The editor of the medical journal Explore! asked if they could publish my account of symptoms and recover (I'd written this up to share with other sufferers). I felt incredibly guided (another story). I remember being so incredibly joyful at getting beyond my horrible symptoms, but I had another set of feelings. I wanted to put Morgellons as far out of my mind as I could. Yeah, sure, I was willing to have what I went through published, but I didn't want to relive the experience. I wanted to move on in life, but God had other plans.

It was springtime. Summer was coming fast. A single teacher spending most of my time in reservation isolation, I spend my breaks traveling--seeing new places and faces. A friend had invited me to Greece. I'd never been, but still hadn't committed myself to going.

One afternoon, shortly after word from the Explore! editor, I decided to surf the net and visit Morgellons one last time. This was the day I came across Kellett's 1935 article.

I found the article interesting. I knew that my symptoms somehow related to toxicity (Dr. Omar Amin's research connects symptoms to dental adhesives, but dental adhesives didn't exist in the historic period's documented). Humm... The historically documented symptoms, to a novice like me, sounded similar to today's accounts. How could the same symptoms occur today as in the past? That's when bells and whistles went off (or you can picture a big light bulb over my head, if you wish). Mercury!!!

In the past I'd had a number of conversation with dentist asking about amalgam filling. The typical response was something like...there's no proof that amalgam fillings effect health (now I know to respond with...there's no proof that amalgam fillings are safe). I've always respected the opinions of medical professionals. So...there I was. I looked at the article again. I printed it out. I asked myself Is there a connection to mercury? and the archaeologist in me asked Are there patterns?

I spent the evening at my old desk asking, interpreting, digesting and sorting through the puzzle pieces.

By now you've read a few of my words. You know a little about me. Let me share a deep piece of my personality. I cannot pass up on a mystery (not the written mystery necessarily...but the real mysteries)! As a kid, I always picked my scabs and never missed Scooby Doo (mysteries suck me in--whether it's to see if I bleed or to find out who is messing with Scooby and friends). The patterns in Kellett were worth a further look--I decided. I'd need to go to the places he'd mentioned--London and the Languedoc area of France. I decided if there was a connection to mercury, I'd find it!