Anger: A Natural Response

Abstract

One day Marty fell down and lost consciousness. When I couldn’t wake him, I called 911. I was in doctor mode as I sat holding his hand in the ambulance and instructed the driver to go to the E.R. of my own hospital. We admitted Marty to the neurology unit with the objective of ruling out a stroke. Marty regained consciousness in a few hours, but then he hardly knew who I was or where he was. He had his usual pleasant smile and was charming to the nurses and staff who went into and out of his room. He had a week of CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, EKGs, and other tests. The neurologist who I had consulted originally was his attending physician. Dr. W., the famous researcher in DLB, always looked like his mind was preoccupied with the next paper he’d write. When I asked him what I should do and how I could take better care of Marty, he suggested I speak with the social workers. “At least he didn’t have a stroke,” he reassured me.