While the country was wobbling and reeling, my husband set about having spinal fusion surgery in order to stand up straighter. The country still lists and lurches, but my good husband Bud, thanks to some extraordinary surgical skills, is upright. More upright by several serious percentage points, even. Would that the Dow might do the same. Would that the campaigns might also consider uprightness.
These financial and political sagas have done an inordinate amount of roller-coastering of late; but seen through the lens of modern medicine it all makes perfect sense.
First there was the move across the corridor from ICU (heavy duty wires and tubes and interventions) into TCU (fewer attendants, longer interims between pulse checks, etc) and thence to another floor with spare breathing room and long halls for physical therapy. This was roughly during the run-up to the second presidential debate.
Then the Dow took a dive and Bud went upstairs once again into telemetry, for a closer watch on the erratic heartbeat and recurring fever. The papers were crammed with stop-the-bleeding stories. Bud got a transfusion and the rescue package finally passed. Helped a little, for a while.
But deep breaths are only intermittent these days. Having fallen asleep over an article comparing Democratic/Republican health plans, I woke up to a 3 AM phone call saying Bud was headed back down to ICU. “So we can administer continuous medications…” Try going back to sleep after that.
Another day, a little more physical therapy, and the husband will come home. But the Dow keeps diving, businesses keep hand-wringing and the last presidential debate was hardly uplifting. (Although I thought my guy exceedingly presidential.) Here, though, is a relevant question: after the much-discussed 3 AM phone call, what’s our next president likely to do? Leap into action? Go back to sleep and let events take their natural course? Or lie there writing a blog in his head?
Fran, I’m sorry to hear life has been filled with so much stress for you lately. I hope your husband recovers well from his surgery. There’s so much anxiety on everyone’s plate right now anyway. Well, you wrote a beautiful blog entry, as usual. I’m sorry it was inspired by difficulty. Best to you and your husband!