When I Thought Things Were Improving

“Man, like a bridge was designed to carry the load of the moment, not the combined load of a year all at once.” ~William A. Ward
 
Okay, bad things are starting to pile up and I’m not sure if I can keep hearing all of the bad news. My friends and family are hurting and I wish there was more I could do, but I’m helpless to all of these situations.
 
Angel’s father died. That was really tough and I don’t know how she finds the strength to go on, but she does. Her return flight was booked for the 18th, but she is postponing it. She is going to return from Taiwan later, which I can’t say I blame her. I think her mother really needs her and I think Angel needs her family. They can do more for her than I can.
 
I talked to Wildchild the other night. We had been playing phone tag for quite some time, but we finally caught each other. This reminds me that I need to call her more than I have lately. I say this because the last time I talked to Wildchild, was probably last Spring. Well, a crap load of bad things have happened in her life as of late, and I am just now getting caught up on it. Apparently the week before Thanksgiving her father was having problems with his foot. He has a disorder where his bones just break. Well, before they figured out that he had this disorder, the bones in one of his feet, just basically dissolved. That’s how Wildchild explained it, they just shattered.
 
Well, it gets even worse because before they figured this out, he got a staph infection somehow and they had to amputate his foot. He was in the hospital for about a month while all this went down. Now he has been transferred to a nursing home so he can recuperate. Eventually he will move out of the nursing home and back into his house with Wildchild’s mother, but it is going to be a while. This is a man who is in his early 50’s. It shows me how much I take my good health for granted.
 
This situation is compounded because during this same time period, Wildchild found out why she was feeling exhausted all of the time. They diagnosed her with fibermyalgia, which is apparently pretty painful. Add to that that she will be diagnosed with rhumatoid arthritis within the next half-year (it hasn’t fully developed, but is in the early-early stages), she is in quite a bit of pain. She takes Vicadin quite frequently for all the pain that she is in. I feel for my friend, I wish I could take her pain away.
 
Yesterday, I found out that my aunt’s stepchildren lost their mother. There’s four of them and they lost their mother. Okay, how shitty is that? The youngest is in 5th grade and the other three are in junior high and high school. They lost their mother to acute cirrhosis. It was common knowledge that their mother had a drinking problem, but apparently it was worse than my family thought. I think the kids knew that it was pretty bad though because my mother went to the funeral today and she said that they were taking things pretty well. I can’t imagine losing my mother. I feel for these kids, I can’t imagine being in their position when I’m 40+ years old, let alone while one is still in grade school. My heart just goes out to these kids.
 
I had to travel to my hometown for doctor’s appointments today and when I returned, I checked my email. Well, my former boss for three international orientations has been sick, but no one really had an idea what was wrong. I received an email from his father’s secretary telling me and all his friends that he has two masses in his brain. He has seen an oncologist in town, but they are transferring him to the Mayo Clinic. He really can’t express his ideas, speaking is very difficult and his handwriting is unreadable. This man is so sweet and I feel so bad for him and his family.
 
I know I take a lot for granted and I have been really lucky lately, but God, could you please stop with the bad stuff. I know I have a lot to be thankful for, but I’m getting a little depressed. I never cry and type, but I just can’t not cry while I write all this. My friends are hurting and I can’t do anything to help them. God, this is so frustrating!!!!!