12/01/2025

My Uncle Said Rub Some Dirt in It

I have encountered some health issues which I obviously do not deserve. I am two years older than Shakespeare when he died. He was more clever and useful to people than me; for some reason, I am still kicking around. Writing could be my therapy. I doubt I can do more than amuse those that know me. 

I had a tooth extracted in May. The process took an hour and ten minutes. I had some stitches and was told not to eat solids. A few weeks later, a family issue had me flying to Vancouver. This probably was not a great idea. So, how am I going to start this picaresque? Well, I ordered pizza in Vancouver, which was salty. I was back on solids. I heard something pop and a musical sound in my ear, like the finale of a song that needed to be ended. Then I couldn’t open my mouth for a month. The dentist told me I needed to brush my teeth. The problem was I couldn’t open my mouth.

The day things changed was a Thursday in late September. I went for a run. The first minute into the run, I felt like shit. I ran for another 29 minutes. When I finished, the experience was new. I was sweating from every place in my body. Sweat was showering out of my wrists. I already had been dealing with some issues. I could not sit in the evenings; I would get a pain in my lower back. I would say “Funny, I can sit down in the morning to teach. I am fine when I am taking orders and cleaning in the afternoon. Why does this only start setting in the late evening when I am cooking in my restaurant?” 

The Thursday I went down, I found I could not walk up or down the stairs. It was around ten. Shufang said she would wrap stuff up. I went home. I have to teach eight to 12 on Fridays. So, I got up at around six and walked to the fridge to get some water. Then I realized I could not even walk back to bed. I was thinking I could call a taxi to go to work. I could not walk back from the fridge. How was I going to get across campus?

I could not work. Shufang and Natalie took care of it. At this point, I could not walk at all. I had a trick. I put a pillow in the small of my back and rocked up. The momentum got me to the bedroom bathroom door. By Saturday, I realized I was in a lot of pain and things were not healing. I called Shufang, and she got an ambulance. The medics told me they could get me out of bed. I still had the pillow trick and got up. When I was in the hospital, they wanted to X-ray my stomach. They wheeled me in. Then I was told to transfer to the X-ray bed. This took me took me a long time. I had to roll over to my stomach and shimmy. The doctor told me there was nothing the matter with me. I went home in an ambulance.

In short, my dad said I should stop working. My wife says the same things.  

I want to do to. Is it possible?

Can one suddenly stop working? 

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My Uncle Said Rub Some Dirt in It

I have encountered some health issues which I obviously do not deserve. I am two years older than Shakespeare when he died. He was more clev...