They trickle like a stream and flood like a river. I learned something else about physical human beings - the phenomenon of tears. I’m fortunate to have plenty of good ones. The fair-weather ones are missing, stormy-weather ones are there - you’ll never forget them. There are not many positive things that come from personal tragedy, but you find out who your friends are. On the way to the hospital, we looked at each other, and she shook her head, asking why? After a thousand close calls in the previous months, we were just about out of ideas. I had my flashers on, no one cared, and no one was out except maybe a garbageman or a street sweeper or two - they may have rubbed their eyes twice in disbelief when we sailed by as their shift drew to a close. So I got my chance to drive wild like Steve McQueen - the devil was after us, running red lights at 100 mph down Amnicola Highway, and my old Honda engine never missed a beat - it was the only thing in my life functioning properly. ![]() Kelly, my wife, had lost her gyro - she had no balance, and she couldn’t walk after her original stroke. ![]() I carried Kelly’s frail, 90-pound body downstairs and put her into the car. She had another stroke - this is the one that made me refer to her in the past tense. But not long after, be damned if the devil came back. A nurse told me we were the ‘most screwed up couple at Erlanger.’ Those medical people have the best sick sense of humor.Īfter several brain surgeries and a dose of rehabilitation at Siskin, we went home for a couple of months. Getting pertinent information from doctors in these life-and-death situations is trickier than alligator wrestling. Over the next six months, I hobbled around on crutches at Erlanger, chasing down doctors for info and trying on brave faces. By adding a tibia plateau fracture to the mix, we became “a pair,” my wife said. Just after her stroke, I had a car wreck and broke my leg. We were on a roller coaster with no way to step off. A brain bleed brought our world crashing down. The blue meanies have put a chip on my shoulder.Įight years back, I had a sick wife. I do have an exclusion list jaywalkers, and speeders on Lookout Mountain, where the speed limit is 20 mph, (I realize there’s a positive side to that speed limit - they’ve raised 87 million dollars and saved two squirrels), and those who drive drunk on riding lawnmowers while mowing their lawns. I’m not pulling for criminals, and I like law and order just as much as the next guy, and to put it bluntly, I’d like to fill ‘em all up with lead. But I will not be making a police report myself. If my neighbor's home gets broken into, I would shoot warning shots, take down license plate numbers, and give descriptions to my neighbor. If I miss, I’ll curse silently, reload, and try again, but that’s it. If I get robbed, I’ll try to shoot the perpetrator myself. ![]() That make-believe policy is a rant for another day. We all know the catch-and-release revolving door is not working. There’s a reason I have a problem with cops. And blood pressure is a theme in these words. This story could raise your blood pressure. I will tell the story because someone somewhere might be able to do something about it.īe forewarned.
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