Gravity 2-29-12
For some people the tug of gravity must be stronger than for others. For instance, my dad. Right now he is being pulled to the core of the Earth from the hospital bed in the nursing home in which he resides. He's almost 82 and he is getting his money's worth from that bed. It takes at least two people to get him out of bed, into a wheel chair, and out the door. He's not paralyzed, he has a good heart and, I'm sure, a pink set of lungs. He sees no point in getting up. Nurses bring him food, water, and bed pans. What's his problem? Severe depression, also known as clinical depression. I think that gravity is hard to fight at this point in his life. Having been his son for 55 years has given me lots of opportunities to witness the how depression steals from the depressed and those around him.
Cure for Gravity's Pull
What would you do if you were in my shoes? Watching your dad waste away until he catches something serious enough to cause his otherwise healthy body to fail. Infection caused by lying in bed all day or the result of some airbourne virus or bacteria sneezed from a resident, staff member, or visitor is probably his fate unless I can convince someone to treat him using a drug that might never get out of the experimental stage.
NPR Driveway Moment