
Category: health


Perchance to Dream
I was going to write something completely different, but I've forgotten what. As some know, my mother died of an aortic aneurysm when she was 45 and I was 21. In early November, someone I grew up calling Aunt (but who is not genetically related) almost died of an aortic aneurysm. Thankfully, she is recovering. …

For Now
I've been sitting here for an hour thinking about what to write. I had ideas until I clicked on "Add New Post." Making art and poetry and stories is what I do even if it is not enough. I have added more installments to The Fairy Tale Asylum for those of you reading along. Thank …

In the Asylum
When I was a toddler, my mom spent time in a hospital in Tampa. It would have been in the summer of 1971 or 72, right around the time of The Baker Act. I don't know if that had anything to do with her time in the hospital. I know that she tried to harm …
Thinking of the World
This crossed my social media path this evening.

These Days Are Strange
I've done almost nothing creative for days. I've either been working to switch my real life classes to online class or reading about COVID-19 or taking pictures of our dogs or looking at other people's pictures of dogs. Well, I did build lots of odd, random structures out of Legos. This is why I dreamed …

Remembering Darkness
My second October as a Peace Corps volunteer and my second month into a new relationship, I got sick. Very sick. I must've had the flu, but I never received a proper diagnosis. Bulgarian friends and coworkers said I had The Grip, which this website tells me is the flu. (I've written about this before, …

Daughter of Family G
My friend, Ami McKay, has written a lovely and compelling memoir. And like it says on the cover, it tells the story of cancer, love, and fate. Since I know Ami, I'm sure I read her narrative with a different eye than someone who has not gone along with her to copy bathroom graffiti (from …

Violence-ophilia: Diagnosis and Treatment.
Violence-ophilia? Is that a word? Seems as if it should be. It's a virus, right? Sorry, Earth Humans. You've tested positive for the often fatal Violence-ophilia. Without treatment, prognosis is grim. Nonetheless, treatment is long and painful and not for the faint of heart. Step One: Accept diagnosis. Many patients prefer not to know. Step …

You have no idea.
On a lovely October morning in 2012, I was sitting on my patio looking forward to a day of writing and drinking coffee. My phone rang. It was my doctor's office. I almost didn't bother to answer. What did they want? I didn't have an appointment to confirm. But I answered and the woman on …