Forty-one years ago, my cousin Eddie Guskind died of peritonitis. He was 32 years old. I have been watching the reports about our Governor and I am starting to get a little nervous. His hospital stay keeps getting longer and longer. Patients who usually have an appendectomy are out of the hospital in two or three days. The last time I saw the Governor on TV from his hospital bed he looked very pasty, drawn, sickly and weak.
Once peritonitis sets in anything can happen. From what I can remember, my cousin complained one weekend of a stomach ache, and went to his doctor twice. Each time the doctor gave him medicine and told him to go home to rest. When the pain become intolerable, his young wife (who is my first cousin) rushed him to the hospital only to find out that his appendix burst and this horrible poison set in. Irene was a few years younger than Eddie, had a daughter who was just three and was several months pregnant.
Eddie died three days later. The family went nuts. The funeral was horrible and my cousin Irene was in shock for many years. She gave birth to a son, named him after his father and now my little cousin Eddie (41 years old) is married, the father of two fabulous sons, but has to be somewhat haunted that he never met his father.
We all are. How can this happen? Now turn the clock to today and I am watching this horror unfold again. This time to a political figure who has all the wherewithal, the money and the power not to let this happen. I truly believe Gov Pataki will be okay, but at this point I am sure the doctors are freaking because this serious infection can run amok.
I am picturing Gov Pataki standing next to then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the World Trade Center turmoil. He looked like the pillar of strength. I can't wait to see him like that again.
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