The Fall from Grace?

The latest in the news is the revelation of Robert Munsch, beloved children's author, that he is a recovering alcoholic and cocaine user. Why did this not shock me? Does it change my love of his writings? No. I remember my first encounter with Mr. Munsch was a television recording of his reading of "Mud Puddle". "A MUD PUDDLE JUMPED ON ME!!" I will never forget his wild hair and over dramatic reading on this story. I fell in love with Mud Puddle, and Mr. Munsch at the age of 5. But never owned one of his stories until the printing of "Love you Forever", which I bought for one of the children in my life. (Then it dawned on me that I could buy one for myself..)

Considering the work that I have been doing for the past 13 years, it is not surprising to me --that Mr. Munsch has revealed his struggle with mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. I remember my first encounter with bipolar disorder. I met a woman in the throes of mania. Her mind racing, and the outlandish things coming out of her mouth, jumping from one subject to another... trying to get her to "see reason" was not an option at that point. After the regulation of her meds, she seemed to find a calm medium, but it was quite a ride.

For Mr. Munsch to reveal the disorder and drug usage, one would think that this would cause a plummet in the respect that the world has for him, but according to reports, the incoming mail for the author, to his family and publicists are positive. One would think that this is not an "image" or "role model" that we would want for children. But my initial thought was that this revelation of a mental illness and subsequent drug use was a reasonable explanation for the outlandish but charming stories. Not that all bipolar persons have delusions, or hallucinations, but from my experience, there are the outlandish thought processes.

The fact that Mr. Munsch has prospered in the face of his struggles, and has been loved for so long. ... only makes some of us love his achievements even more.

"Spoon Theory"

I have been cleaning off my desk and have found some interesting items that I meant-to-do-something-with-that-later but obviously didn't get to it.

My friend sent me a website link to the Spoon theory story. This talks about people who are ill, in particular, have Lupus, and helping someone "healthy" to understand the experience of chronic illness.

Being sick, especially on one's day off, is not fun. I was at work on Saturday doing the usual flow of the day. Spent a lot of time on one floor where a patient was dying. The family had asked that I do the service and assumed that it would not be long seeing the way the patient was failing. I told the family member that I would be back on Tuesday and she could contact me then about future arrangements. When I went home, I felt slightly nauseous, later with acute onset of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It lasted a little over a day. I have not had symptoms since returning from the doctor's. (Of course, one does not have symptoms... just like when you take the car to the mechanic...) But nonetheless, I have Norovirus Just as I suspected. I had been told by nursing staff that they had a few cases. This is fairly common occurrence in my workplace, happens 1-2 times a year. So as a result, I am not allowed to return to work until 72 hours after the last symptom. Which from what I can tell was earlier this morning. Of course, I haven't really eaten anything either.
So I was "resting" when I remembered that I had not yet called the church re: the memorial service. So I called to find out if I am allowed to have services for non-members, and the time, etc. Called the family member, gave more info, and my home number as I will not be at work tomorrow as previously stated... The patient is still with us.

You know, it is interesting. The dying process. There are certain generalizations and certain elements that are unique to each person. But inevitably, I will hear a question... why is this happening? What happens when it is all over (morgue and funeral protocol) when will this end? How long does this take? It is interesting really. It is different for every person. Some continue to fight/hang on.. while others declare themselves. One of my ladies decided to stop dialysis treatment, shocking many. The pain was too great for her, the quality of life not good, so she decided that enough was enough. I was visiting her on her last days. She asked me to deliver some items to some staff members "when I die tomorrow". Die tomorrow? don't talk like that.. No, she was firm. Tomorrow. And she was right. It is different with everyone. Every case has different issues, but in the end, the results are the same. Whether they were younger (50-60's) or at the end of the life span (80-90s). Life and death are interesting. And in the end, a soul is lost from us to join those who have gone on before.

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This morning, my husband and I went to the notary to begin the process of writing our will. We do not yet have children and there aren't too many assets to deal with, but it is better to write it sooner than later. One of the questions is whether a living will is be included. A will is a legal document, a living will is not, and hence a guideline for others to follow in the event that you cannot speak for yourself. My husband said if there is no brain function, than pull the plug, otherwise I want to live. For me, it is not that simple. I work in a hospital and see the various options. I understand the concept of quality of life (QL), and it means different things to different people. One man told me that QL for him was being to do his job... having his mind, another man's idea of QL was being able to go in the outdoors and go hunting.. his possible amputations would not be good QL. Irony is that despite this knowledge I haven't really defined what QL would be for me, nor have I written an advanced Health directive (aka living will), nor have I had a will. But then I'm young...