By Dan C. Pak
Kyphoplasty is a new medical term I learned recently through a terrible ordeal. It is a surgical procedure in which bone cement is injected through a small hole in the skin into a fractured vertebra. It was our good fortune to work with a highly respected orthopedic surgeon who did the kyphoplastic procedure (he didn’t even call it surgery) on my wife’s spine, Lumbar 1.
Watching my better-half suffering excruciating pain was a terrible pain to me by itself. Fortunately, the procedure successfully alleviated her pain and we thought her suffering was over. But the old Chinese saying made its point, ``Evil does not travel alone.” It means bad things happens one after another. In other words, when it rains it pours.
Four days after surgery, she fell and fractured her arm. Back in the hospital, she had another surgery, this time, on her arm. While this injury was being treated, she started feeling fresh pain again in her back. Another MRI revealed that there was a fracture on another disk ― Thoracic 12, the one above Lumbar 1.
Unbearable pain returned over the weekend that sent her to ER for the fourth time since the beginning of the episode. By then, the word Kyphoplasty had stuck in my mind. The third surgery (procedure) went well, as was expected.
Preceding these three surgeries, she had eye surgery to correct a retinal detachment that occurred as a result of a Lucentis injection for macular degeneration. In the past one hundred days the poor woman suffered four surgeries. We were in the dumpster.
But this article is not about despair; it is about kindness and the love of friends and neighbors. While we were caught up in this awful ordeal, the outpouring of kind concern from friends and neighbors was overwhelming. The cards with comforting words streamed in, and warm hands helped her in and out of the car. Many calls came from all around, volunteering help to ease our pain. It was a living testimonial to a community spirit that is very much alive here today, despite an outward appearance to the contrary.
At the hospital waiting rooms, short stay facility floors, and even at the cafeteria, total strangers were sympathetic to our plight upon hearing my story and said: ``Bless your heart!” The expression was universal regardless of gender, age or any other individual difference.
I searched my memory to see if there is an equivalent expression in an Asian language. I failed to find one. I concluded that this has to be a genuine American expression.
Next time I run into someone in similarly dire stress, I will be sure to tell them the same, ``Bless your heart!” But it must be said with the proper intonation to make it sound natural. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction I might get in return. I don’t mind seeing a few eyebrows raised in amazement or a chuckle in amusement. It is all for humor and done in good taste.
I like to think that our ordeal was not in vain after all. Bless your heart!
The writer is a Korean War veteran and retiree from an American business firm. He can be reached at dc.p@mindspring.com.