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meow2u3

(25,216 posts)
Fri May 15, 2020, 11:00 AM May 2020

I was a conspiracy theorist, too [View all]

I know why people turn to conspiracy theories in uncertain times. I did the same when my husband had a brain tumor.

It was October 2005 when my husband Mike called me with the news. I was working on my dissertation in my home office, and he had just received the call from his ophthalmologist.

“I have a brain tumor. It’s called a craniopharyngioma. It’s a benign tumor near the pituitary gland.”

“Benign” is a misnomer for the tumor in his midbrain that would ultimately rob my smart, improv comedian, graphic designer husband of not only his vision but his short-term memory and his ability to care for himself over the following nine months.

In the early days of the diagnosis, I was debilitated by grief and anxiety. One night, I wept at dinner. “It’s not fair,” I remember repeating.

He calmly responded, “Who would it be fair for, though? Would it be fair if I were old? Would it be fair if we did not have a baby? It has nothing to do with what is fair, Danna. It is just random.”

It is just random. These words were not comforting to me. They made me angry.

https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/5/15/21258855/coronavirus-covid-19-conspiracy-theories-cancer

A lot more at the link.
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Thanks for posting, that was a great read. chia May 2020 #1
Interesting article! FM123 May 2020 #2
God is another one. CaptYossarian May 2020 #4
Excellent read...thanks for sharing! Karadeniz May 2020 #3
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