no balloons
My husband’s aunt is 85, and she was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It’s late—the cancer, the time, the life. But the life is precious; they are all precious. We…
scar tissue
The other morning, I called my mother to tell her something. Her voice sounded shaky, like she was about to cry. “What’s the matter?”“I’m having a meltdown today,” she said,…
not myself
“This is not me,” I tell my husband. I have been crying, loudly, with choking and spasms and caught breath, for an hour, since he came home to tell me…
goodpill industries
My medicine cabinet probably looks a lot like yours: analgesics and cold medicines; assorted eye and butt creams (the latter rarely used, of course, and certainly not by me); clippers…
at traction
“I don’t know you well, of course,” my physical therapist says as she pulls the traction belt tighter, “but within the first few minutes of meeting you, I knew you…
the sun and I will have our ups and downs
When your back is wrecked, you sometimes can't walk, sit, stand, or lie down without a whole lot of pain. When it's on the mend, you sometimes need a reminder…
back. in black.
“I liked my old fun Mom.” That’s what my daughter said to me while I was brushing my teeth and moaning in agony last night, after having gotten a spinal…