On the other hand -- yes, there are always at least two hands, especially among mutants -- we have to be careful about promoting the short-life idea, as statistically valid as it might be. One potential result is hedonism. I'm not against the "eat, drink, and be merry" part. But I took "tomorrow we die" part a bit too much for granted. When I was diagnosed at 10, the expectancy was 15. How does that alter an trouble-making lad's decision-making process? You can imagine. Of course, I kept getting granted additional five-year intervals along the way, and one day, "halfway through life's journey," I woke up to a past constructed from one set of assumptions and a future based on another set. It was a future I'd never expected to have and had never planned for. In many ways I'm glad my doctors and parents were frank with me. It gave me a sense of gravity and purpose at a young age. It assumed a kind of maturity on my part that I appreciated. But it had a downside. What they told me -- in good faith, of course -- naturally led me to rash decisions I'd never have made knowing what I know today. So now I'm living among the wreckage, the details of which I will spare you.
I guess I speak as a member of one of the first generations to beat the original rap. It was a legitimate rap, but outlooks change as science changes. If I decided to pass on my degenerate genes (and I'm not talking about only the CF ones), I'd be at a loss over what sage advice to pass on to even a healthy child. ("Don't drink, but if you do....") With a CF child, I wouldn't want to create false hopes, of course, but at the same time I wouldn't want to create the false assurance of an early death, as perverse as that wording may seem. I know it would be presumptuous to pronounce anything like the death sentence I was given -- and probably counterproductive. Honestly, I would have to tell my child that I just don't know, that WE don't know. I thank my lucky infertile stars that I'm not in that position now, and am probably thus an imbecile, but it is certainly food for thought. Should I opt for the needle in the scrotum, it might be more than food. To wit:
A sack, a syringe.
My dudes surf Petrie Beach.
At least Dad had fun.
-- Basho
Q
