This started more as a rant, then turned into a retelling/reflection/eulogy but the post wound up being pages long and I’m too tired and drained to finish it right now. Really what follows is basically just a TL;DR list of all the shit that’s happened to my family so far this year. I’ll probably post the rest tomorrow or something.
So on December 28th my dad, who was an absolutely fantastic person and father, died completely out of the blue when his aorta burst. He was a long-distance runner and kayaker, in great health. We went bowling the day before (five pin, the way it should be). No symptoms beforehand, but apparently he had an aortic dissection and died on the spot, in a fucking Volkswagen dealership. In mid-March my grandfather on my mother’s side fell when skiing, then got onto the chairlift, had a stroke, and fell 30 feet directly onto his head. It turns out the stroke was due to an aggressive brain tumor, currently about 4 x 12 cm. The fall and the tumor caused hemorrhaging and brain damage. He was fiercely independent before and is now barely able to walk and talk, or do basic activities, and he’s unlikely to recover much more. In January my girlfriend of 4 years started suffering from severe pains in her joints and hands, to the point where she couldn’t walk or pick up a cup, as well as worsening depression. She got a bunch of tests done, and it turns out that she has sub-clinical hypothyroidism and osteoarthritis. She’s 21. Oh and the sub-clinical part of sub-clinical hypothyroidism apparently means “Tough shit. We won’t do anything about it”. As for the osteoarthritis, the solution is apparently Advil. Never mind the fact that that doesn’t do anything. Oh and she also got her wisdom teeth out, which went fine. Turns out she’s allergic to codeine though. Her throat closed up almost completely, and she was in and out of consciousness until the ambulance got there.