28 April 2006

Just Some Stuff

The largest human organ is the skin. Take care of it, it has to last. In my teens and early twenties, I stayed too long in the sun and suffered sunburn. It hurt, but I recovered in due time. . . or so I thought. Now, here it is all those years later and my skin is paying me back. I can't be in the sun for more than about 10 minutes and I get sun poisoning. Plus, my skin is covered with dry spots and brown spots that sometimes get snagged and bleed. Not to mention the skin cancers our good Doctor has removed, some requiring a bunch of stitches. Warning: treat your skin with care; you don't know when it's going to pay you back.

I was 18 when I started smoking, and was 36 when I quit - cold turkey. I had smoked half of my life by then. That was enough! Fortunately, I had quit early enough that my throat and lungs have completely recovered from that abuse. I understand that recovery is quicker the sooner one quits. The older one is, the chance of recovery goes down, and the chance of throat and lung cancer goes up.

Mark called last night to say that he has had the surgery on his right shoulder and should start therapy today. Everything went well. What a relief! It's never easy when a child - no matter how old - has to have surgery.

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