Elephants and Tea - One Herd - 27

Our Voices
I miss my
ignorance before
diagnosis. In
Mexico, I carried
on teaching,
translating, and
stumbling to the
students' hotel
for advisory
meetings
between medical
procedures and
clinic visits with
a very concerned
Dr. Carlos.
The gravity of my situation escaped
me. I laughed at his (ultimately
incorrect) pronouncement that I
" didn't have leukemia, " because I
never seriously considered that I
might.
I thought it was standard
procedure in Mexico not to be
hospitalized, until he explained again
that he sent me home specifically to
protect me from staph infections,
COVID-19, and other hospitaltransmitted
illnesses.
It was only thanks to my wife's friends that I checked my blood pressure. I didn't understand those
numbers, really. Now that I look them up, I'm terrified for my past self. They were as low as 66/38-close
to the fabled 60/40 level that immediately precedes death. In these instances and others, I didn't
understand, so I continued life at my typical speed and intensity almost immediately after. Now, I am
reluctant to do so simply due to that knowledge. Is this wisdom? Or fear?
ELEPHANTSANDTEA.ORG
ONE HERD ISSUE 2025
27

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Elephants and Tea - One Herd

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