63 bar steady 29.86 1mph SSW dewpoint 32 Beltane
New Moon (Hare Moon, English medieval)
Outside this morning planting Chiroggia, Golden and some other kind of beets–this morning they were plants, already started indoors. Nantes Carrots, too. Same thing. All four are heirloom seeds, species of long ago, kept alive and healthy by the folks at Seed Savers Exchange. This also means we can collect seed from any plant we let go to see and expect them to reproduce their parent plant, an expectation only realized among hybrids by cloning or vegetative reproduction.
Kate made a call, after we consulted about where to plant the beets and carrots. “This bed,” she said, “was not too stressed. It hasn’t had tomatoes for a couple of years.”
The call was to Jon, checking up on little Gabe, still in the hospital. As she talked, I only heard one end of the conversation. “You’re kidding.” She looked toward the ground, eyes hooded, “You’re kidding.” You’re kidding is Kate talk for OH MY GD. Gabe is a factor 8 hemophiliac. This is the same kind as the Czar’s family, a particularly intractable kind. Treatable, but tough to deal with over a lifetime. A chronic disease.
Gabe has the right Dad. Jon is a model diabetic, controlling his insulin levels and remaining lean, athletic. He’s suffered from diabetes, fought his own demons with it. Once he had it fairly well controlled, he developed Addison’s, another immune mediated disease. He had already added a poorly functioning thyroid gland. In each instance he has learned about the disease, managed it and gone on with his life, allowing himself no secondary gain or restrictions other than those absolutely necessary for handling his conditions. Then, on top of that, he began to have aches. Rheumatoid arthritis.
Jon understands both poles of handling a chronic disease: the physical and the psychological. They are equal in importance since a stubborn resistance to manage a chronic condition only makes it worse. On the other hand, good management creates a sense of psychological well-being impossible otherwise. Good psychological health makes handling the various regimes more doable.
I’ve never been sure of the old, God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, but in this case I can say that if any one can handle Gabe’s life in a psychologically and physically optimal way, it’s Jon.
