|
01.18.2004 - 9:21 p.m.
Sunday
It's like this.
It's like, sometimes you go
to Asia, right? Sometimes you go to Asia for business, because
you work for A Big Company and that is what you do, sometimes.
You travel.
And sometimes you get back
and a few weeks pass by and you start to hurt. Let's say you
get out of bed one morning and the pain is un-fucking-real,
man. You crawl out in stages. You inch out. You swing your legs
over the bed so slowly, with so many inadvertent hisses.
You go to the doctor. Hum,
hum, hum says the doctor. You go for a full body MRI. ZOMM SOM
ZHOM WHOOP WHOP MAAAAAAM MAAAAAAM says the MRI.
The results are inconclusive.
Perhaps, the doctor says, an inflamed tailbone?
Drugs! More drugs!
It continues. Now, you see
a chiropractor. Crick! Says the chiropractor. Crack! You have
a misaligned tailbone, and you must come back weekly for adjustments!
Crick!
More pain.
More pain.
Hum, the doctor says. Maybe
it's this thing? Yes, I truly think it is this.
This thing. Caused by an infection
in the digestive tract, likely incurred in Asia, such as Salmonella,
Shigella, Yersinia, or Campylobacter.
:::
Now: A combination of acetaminophen
and codeine.
Now: Disease modifying anti-rheumatic
drugs.
Now: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs.
Now: worry, stress, I-want-you-to-be-okay,
oh fucking god just get better.
:::
Where there were none, now
there are eight.
What happens is your wife is
concerned. What happens is she chews on it. What happens in the
time before the words, reactive arthritis, have any meaning,
is she panics. She loves you. For her, to see you in pain is
to feel pain.
It's nothing deadly. It's nothing
dramatic. She cares anyfuckingway, you know?
:::
Now: selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors.
:::
Where there were none, now
there are nine.
Dark amber, typewritten names,
tiny pharmaceuticals. This is how it turns out, sometimes.
Better living through chemistry,
right? We gulp our pills, dutifully, hoping for relief.
last ::: next
22
comments so far.
I have moved. - 1.03.2005
Obviously, a work in progress. - 12.27.2004
Happy holidays! - 12.24.2004
Listen, I am not a complete dick, it's not like I want Joe to die alone surrounded by cats or something. - 12.23.2004
Plus I am convinced my butt is extra big when it's upside down. - 12.22.2004
|
