Reflections on the Kennedy Prognosis

I was saddened but not surprised by the Ted Kennedy diagnosis. Even my modest medical knowledge had me thinking Saturday afternoon that a first known seizure in someone of Kennedy's age and with no previously known risk factors could very well be the consequence of a brain tumor and that, if it was, it was likely to be a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis.

I was also not surprised to hear Kennedy's friends and senate colleagues talk about how tough he is and how he might very well rise up and "beat" the death sentence the medical establishment seems to be giving him. This got me to thinking about the best way for someone to handle a poor prognosis, which, after all, could befall any of us at any time, as I have long suspected that it will me someday.

What is the best way to react if we find out that we have a disease with a poor prognosis? It seems to me that we have two major options. We can resign ourselves to the fact that we're probably going to die soon, or we can refuse to accept this and "stand up and fight." I wonder if any good scientific studies have revealed what effects these differing attitudes and approaches have on longevity and quality of life. Does giving in to a bad prognosis hasten decline and death whereas opposing it produces the opposite effect? Or has no such correlation between these variables been uncovered?

Speaking for myself, if and when I receive the kind of "death sentence" Kennedy has, I think I'll welcome or, at least, resign myself to it more than I'll fight it. Why? Because, I know that I was my parents' mistake, and I truly believe that I and the world would have been better off had I never been born. I'm simply not equipped for this world and am more of a burden than a blessing to it, and I'm constantly frustrated by an intellectual and psychological reach that perpetually exceeds my grasp. That's no way to live.

Tears aren't streaming down my face as I write this. I don't feel depressed. In fact, I don't feel much of anything except weary indifference punctuated by a twinge of sadness for a man who is equipped for this world and who has done something worthwhile with his gifts over his long and fabled political career and could have continued doing so if not for a dreadful disease that will likely rob him of his gifts and the world of his contributions in all too short a time.

Afterthoughts About Wilber's Condition

I recently wrote that I was puzzled by the lack of detailed information released about the nature of Ken Wilber's medical condition immediately after he was admitted to the ICU. There has been some disclosure since then. From what I now gather, Ken is still hospitalized but recovering from seizures caused by medication he was taking for some other condition.

I agree with Joe Perez that Wilber has every right to decide how much information he wants to share with us about his health. In retrospect, I believe that I was wrong to imply previously that we had a right to more information before Ken was even able to consent to its disclosure, and I now believe that I-I did a rather good job of walking the fine line between keeping us totally in the dark and letting our concerns run wild on the one hand and telling us more than we were entitled to know without Ken's approval on the other. And now that Ken is apparently able to give consent, he has every right to disclose or hold back as much information as he wishes.

I will only say that I'm still concerned about him and that I have several questions about his health that I would love to have answered: Was he admitted to the hospital for seizures caused by a medication he was taking for another condition? If not, what was he admitted for, and what do doctors think caused his symptoms? If so, what medication was he taking and why was he taking it? If he can no longer take that medication, how will he be treated for the condition for which he was taking it? Will he be given another medication? If so, is it likely to work without soon or eventually causing the same side effects? In other words, what is Ken's prognosis?

I don't expect, much less foolishly demand, answers to these questions. They are just questions I have for which I, as a concerned member of the integral community, would like to see answers someday if Ken decides to provide them. I suspect that he will in time.