Politics Takes a Back Seat

I wish I could say that I have received dozens of emails during the past 2 weeks begging me to end my self-imposed "radio silence," aka bloggus interruptus. One of my faithful readers told me yesterday that the sight of me reminded him that he hasn't seen a blogpost from me in quite some time, and he went on to say he generally like what I wrote. But in general my readers' lives seem not to have been much affected by a fortnight without the Eye of the Beholder.

My experiences over the past two weeks have sort of made the day-to-day thrust and parry of the various political and ideological warriors seem sort of silly and meaningless. The first half of the period found me in Jerusalem with 18 other guys from Atlanta on a men's "bible-study mission" if you will. We didn't study the bible text directly, but instead learned a portion of what is called the "gemara," the Talmudic discussions of the Sages inscribed about 1700 years ago. It is difficult to focus on modern politics when your head is wrapped around a piece of spiritual wisdom that transcends time itself.

Not to say that we spent all of our time in a state of asceticism. There was plenty of touring, eating, drinking and other pleasurable activities. In fact we were so busy that even if I had time to post a blog I was so un-plugged from the news cycles I wouldn't have known what to write about. The little time that I spent online was for reading and sending emails.

On the last day of the weeklong trip I found out that my youngest son Josh, age 10, was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, known locally as "Scottish Rite." Josh has been suffering from gastro-intestinal issues for many months, and had been particularly unwell for a few weeks with a low-grade fever and, well, bathroom problems. He had become increasingly dehydrated and anemic and his Mom really had no choice but to take him in.

I landed in Atlanta early Tuesday morning after a fretful flight and arrived at the hospital in time to smother Josh with fatherly kisses before he was taken down for the upper and lower GI series intended to diagnose his problem. We had known for weeks that Crohn's was suspected and indeed the initial diagnosis pointed in that direction. The colonoscopy didn't confirm Crohn's, so the diagnosis for now is ulcerative colitis, which is somewhat less severe than Crohn's but treated more or less the same, at least initially.

The boy will be fine but can't come home until the meds are working properly and his bathroom habits approach normalcy. His Mom has spent every night with him in his room and will continue doing so until he is discharged. Josh's stepmom (my wife) and I spend as much time as we can with him, as do Josh's brothers and sister and other visitors.

I am fully aware that many families have suffered with a great deal more than we are facing. We know that with modern medicines and access to the greatest health care system in the world Josh will soon resume a normal life, which is not the case with most chronic diseases. At Scottish Rite, which is a terrific children's hospital, we see on a daily basis precious children who face challenges and struggles that I hope none of my children--or yours--ever have to face.

Nevertheless I experienced, if only for a short while, the feeling of helplessness and worry that a parent feels when his or her child is sick without a definitive diagnosis. I also felt the gnawing angst of a father who is 18 hours and thousands of miles from home when he discovers that his child is in a hospital bed. That is a feeling that I could happily do without for the rest if my life.

I thank G-d for the blessings of health for me and my family, a loving and devoted wife and stepmother to my children, caring friends and family members and my kids' mom, who has made Josh's hospital room her home.

I am sure I will be back to blogging about politics and the news of the day soon. But the past two weeks has put all of that in a different, less illuminating light.