Watching Out for Each Other

I woke up with a sore back. Somehow, I managed to pull a muscle in my lower back; I hope it’s a muscle instead of something worse, which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary given my past medical record.

That’s not the only thing that was sore when I hit the floor sometime around 6:30 a.m. Today, brother Jim is scheduled to undergo a heart catheter procedure. His doctor has decided that a peek is necessary to make sure all is okay with his ticker. To say I’m concerned is an understatement.

Jim and I have been through all sorts of things together, many of them tough. When we were still babies, chicken pox visited our house, and both of us were covered in sores. Mother said that we squalled for days as the places erupted, itched, and finally disappeared. The only upside to the situation was that we were too young to scratch the places, thereby keeping away some of the nasty scars that older children had when they clawed away for relief.

When we were still pre-school age, the mumps settled in our house. Jim and I awoke with “chipmunk cheeks.” What I remember most about the illness was that it zapped our strength and made swallowing food almost impossible. Unfortunately, Mother came down with a case at the same time, and she was a much sicker individual.
Jim and I shared the measles. Whew! They knocked us for loops as fevers spiked and red dots covered every part of our bodies. We missed a week of school and didn’t regain our energy for awhile, but eventually, we were back.

We went through the illnesses of others. When we were thirteen, it was Daddy, who had several doctors give him diagnoses before learning that he had lung cancer. From April until August 31, he hung on through the ravages of the disease. Mother was diagnosed with the same thing and spent a year battling, only to finally be consumed by the cancer. Jim and I watched as the same damn stuff ate up our brother Dal, who had served as our surrogate dad and real-life hero. A couple of weeks after he turned 54, Dal quit fighting and found relief.

Jim and I have tended to nurse each other through other health problems. He visited me and did things around the house when I had back surgery. I played taxi and drove him to physical therapy after his knee surgery. Both of us try much too hard to be helpful when an injury or illness rears its ugly head; that’s what brothers, especially twins, do for each other.

I’m sure Jim will be all right. However, any time a person has his heart checked, plenty of things can be found. Amy had this same procedure, and a blockage that required a stint was discovered. The good thing is that taking a look can prevent a serious condition from worsening. It also might prevent a heart attack or worse.

I worry about Jim because he’s the last member of our family that I have left. He’s also my lifelong best buddy. He needs to be okay for his family and for me. He told me there was no reason to be at the hospital during the procedure, but I told him to be quiet. I’ll be there with his wife Brenda,and when the doctor says all’s well, I’ll go home and know that we’ve survived another event together.