For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for November 10, 2021

Oh, no sympathy for John?

I agree with the other unnamed librarian.

It is hard when your spouse is sick It’s hard seeing them suffer with their discomfort, going back and forth changing out heating pads and ice packs, when the spouse cannot move them. Nothing says caring like having to steady a spouse who has trouble walking. It is a special spouse who is willing to help with those bathroom functions when they can’t even sit down. Not only that, but taking off work to take care of a spouse is a sign of true love.

I wonder how Farley is managing to do all that.

If John doesn’t have a partner in his practice, his staff is rescheduling alot of patients. That is never fun.

Poor John

If his back is that bad. He should get a MRI or an X-Ray done. He could have pinched a nerve in his spine, or slipped a disk. But you just don’t know till you take a look.

Not all men are medical wimps, but some sure are. Once I advised a co-worker to leave town while her husband recovered from major sinus surgery. She had been asking me what to expect, since I’d had it before. A day after his surgery, she said, “You didn’t tell me it would be this bad.” I said, Yes, I did.

Keep in mind that Jon isn’t working right now either..

Caregivers have the tough job. “Sick” husbands can be such big babies. :P

It seems to me sympathy – both giving and receiving – is more frequently a woman thing than a man thing. Men in general just want enough slack cut to avoid greater pain and would rather not be sympathized over. “Working hurt” is usually the only option in any case. Few people can afford to be out of action for long.

I suppose having a new 45 year old grumpy toddler around the house it worthy of sympathy.

The worst case of sciatica I ever had had me laid up for three or four days. When I stood up it was as if somebody took a hunting knife and ran it right up my leg from my heel to my lower back. I was on painkillers but nothing worked. Then one morning I woke up and it was gone. Go figure.

The trick to get it to work is to put the ice pack just below the heating pad. Or if you are lying down, underneath the heat pad. Not vice versa. The scientific basis is that heat tends to rise since it is thinner than cold air. So that way the heating pad stays hot and the ice pack stays cold. (Until the ice melts at room temperature.)

“I know that I should believe none of anything I hear, and half of everything I see.” -Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”.

Men die earlier, women hardest hit./sarc

I agree with her on Elly.

Some guy tweeted, “I’ve got a cold but my wife has a husband with a cold which is, apparently, much worse.”

A visit to the chiropractor does the trick for me.

sympathy is put in the best place.

Who’s looking after the baby?And I don’t mean April.

That’s the truth! Men are such babies when sick or hurt!

Typical female reaction. (“How does this affect ME?”)

My friend’s father-in-law said he couldn’t wait to be so debilitated with age that he couldn’t do anything for himself, because then his wife would do everything for him. My friend told told me the guy apparently had never noticed that his wife was already waiting on him hand and foot.

Actually, Elly is handling this very well, considering the reputation she has earned. Normally she worries so much she makes a big pile of diarrhea, or she complains about how life is so hard today as compared to her childhood in the 1950s, when everyone had a job for life.

I know this was mentioned several times yesterday, but “Can’t sit down”? That IS serious, IF he’s still eating solid food. ;-)

My aunt, who had gone through several bouts of cancer and was tenderly looked after by my uncle always said it’s easier to be the patient than the caregiver.

John is evading the Grim Reaper here, and all Elle, can do is makes jokes at his expense. My heart goes out to a fallen brother

Why? He feels sorry enough for himself.