The War In Iraq

Today I read a blog written by a woman who was, until recently, a nurse in Baghdad. I'm going to remember her vivid description of life as a war nurse each and every time I have a tough day as a therapist because very little can compare with what this woman endured in Iraq. No mortars explode 3 yards from my comfortable, leather office chair; nobody shows up minus their arms and legs; nobody spits at me, rapes me or tries to kill me; there are no enemies staring at me with hatred while I try to do my job; the smell of charred flesh does not linger in my nostrils and no babies die while I look on helplessly. No matter how challenging my day is, I leave my office with my body parts and senses intact.

Today was challenging, but it wasn't Baghdad.

I came face to face with a situation confronting a client that I've never had to think about before, and listened carefully to the client's confusion and upset as they struggled to make sense of the place they have come to in their life. I made a list of people to contact who might be willing to provide consultation, put the word out that I'm looking for a friendly Endocrynologist to talk to and have placed a call to a supervisor asking for help on how to create a meaningful intervention with my client.

I spent a lot of time reading books, articles and websites on Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain in order to better support and work with a client with invisible disabilities, and found my heart constricting with empathy, sadness and compassion as I read the descriptions of how people survive a life of pain, marginalized by the very community (medics) that should be supporting and working with them to improve their quality of life. (Read anything by Devin Starlanyl you can find if you want to know more.)

Today I've watched couples in pain fight with words and silence.

I've watched a brave woman take quantum leaps towards being the person she knows she can truly be, no matter what she risks feeling.

On a non therapeutic level, I ate bad Chinese food at lunchtime and took my puppy Ziggy to the vet (ear infections). He has allergies and is taking Benadryl. I'm definitely on a learning curve in the puppy department.

And now it's after 10 pm at night, and I'm trying to wind down by writing. Speaking of writing, next week I have my first meeting with a new writing group, and I'm excited to be tackling something that I've always wanted to do with a group of like-minded folks. Not only will I now (hopefully) belong to a community of writers, but I've already made a really wonderful new friend as a result of being turned down from another writing group. Will this be an end to the "run on" sentences in my blogs? You be the judge!

My puppy has stopped sniffling and scratching his ears for the time being. My spouse, S., is lying on the couch watching a new TV drama and I'm about to read a chapter on the Lymph System and the Immune Connection for the second time (I have a terrible time absorbing scientific information - I'm an experiential learner and find it hard to take in dry scientific "facts.")

(Just for the record, I am against the War in Iraq and comfortably to the left of democrat. )