Thoughts and other trivia...

Sunday, October 17, 2010

King of Pain

Ever see an animal in pain? I guess all of us have seen one injured or hurt, either up close or, at least, on Nat Geo and the like. And, if you have, chances are, you may have also noticed how they handle pain.

I've been forever fascinated and amazed by the manner in which animals deal with pain. There's no fuss, no drama. They deal with it quietly, often lying still in one corner, until they've managed to tide over it. Unlike us, there's just so much dignity in how they go about it.


These friends of mine have a little kitten, Uno, who went missing for a few days and when he came back, a part of his front left leg had been chopped off. In all likelihood, it was the result of an accident. Barring an occasional, persistent call for attention, either because he's hungry or because he wants the comforting company of my friends by his side, he has learned to move about on his three legs without the slightest fuss and, when the pain seems to get the better of him or if the wound starts to bleed, he curls up quietly in a corner until he's feeling better.


I had a headache almost all day yesterday but, because I try not to pop a pain-killer unless the pain is severe, I didn't take a pill for it. As a result of that, or not, I woke up at 3 AM, with a
killer headache. I've had many such pounding headaches over the last couple of months or so and, as on most of those occasions, I thought if I just lay still, I might be able to, eventually, fall asleep and, therefore, tide over the pain. When that didn't help at all this time, I changed sides gently and then dug my head deep into the mattress but I was still up at 4.40 and the head was hurting just as bad. That's when I dragged myself out of the bed and popped a pain-killer. I guess it must've been after 5.30 that, finally, I dozed off again.

During the time I was still up last night, and through that pain, I kept wondering about Uno and other animals and how they do it. I mean, Uno is just a little fella, after all.


I'm a bit like Hemingway's Fredric Henry in the way he relates to the night. Like him, I guess I have this irrational, for lack of a better word, fear of the night, which makes any pain worse than it is. But, by the morning, I'm my usual self, who couldn't care less. Each time I wake up in the midle of the night, with a headache like this, I resolve to go to the doctor the next day. By the time I'm up in the morning, however, the resolve, like the night itself, has fizzled away.

Anyway, because I woke up at 7 means I didn't get nearly as much sleep as I needed to. As a result, I still have a lingering but mild headache just now, which, without doubt, will work itself into a frenzy as the day progresses. But, I'll try and deal with it with a little more dignity. Otherwise there's always the pain-killer, eh?

11 Comments:

Blogger Ricercar said...

i wonder what it is about the night that makes pain worse. maybe we as humans have a very deep rooted belief in being different and special from other animals. but maybe in the dark of the night this belief is less strong. so we feel our vulnerability more. who knows.

philosophy apart, you are probably right about resolving to go to a doctor and finding out what the headaches are coming from - especially if they keep recurring :-)

3:29 pm  
Blogger Maia said...

Headaches are not good. Please go see a doctor!

11:30 am  
Blogger Sonia said...

would u please go to a doctor already?!

2:47 am  
Blogger GhostOfTomJoad said...

RICERCAR: Well, there're plenty of theories about it but, I suppose, with the Hemingway asociation in mind, I was referring more to a sort of fear that comes from something you can't make sense of.



MAIA: There're plenty of things that're NOT good either ;-)



SONIA: Oh, what does the doc know! Pfft! :-)

8:10 pm  
Blogger Sonia said...

lot more than u. please stop being silly and just go. if the tables were turned, u'd say the same to me.

3:22 pm  
Blogger mad angles said...

uno, respect :)

also. you're on a roll, huh? beat me by miles as far as posting goes!

11:12 am  
Blogger backpacker said...

oh gosh. how did i manage posting through an id i thought was long dead?

11:13 am  
Blogger GhostOfTomJoad said...

MAD PACKER: Is that 'respect' going to translate into a post? Or, will I have to shame you with yet another post? :-)

About being on a roll, I guess it comes from being deliriously happy ;-)

6:25 pm  
Blogger backpacker said...

that is awesome! happy happy-ness!!!

about me posting. darn. i was hoping you wouldn't notice ;)

7:08 pm  
Blogger GhostOfTomJoad said...

Er, didn't you know that that was blog-speak for just the opposite of happy-ness! :-)

11:27 am  
Blogger DREAM COME TRU said...

Nice

7:49 pm  

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