Wings over Buffalo
The Greeks called the Fates Moerae while the Romans called them Parcae. Even the Scandanavians had a word for the personifications of destiny - Norns. In all three versions of the myth, the goddesses determined the fate of a child a few days after he was born. The gods themselves, including Zeus, were afraid of the Fates.
We don't talk much about fate these days, but we do talk about luck. Luck can reward one person just as easily as it can treat another with bitter cruelty. The problem is the apparent capriciousness with which these kinds of things occur. Just ask Domenik Hixon and Kevin Everett. At first glance, Hixon appeared to have gotten the worst of the hit. Everett squared up and knocked Hixon off his feet. But the reality is that something far worse happened to Kevin Everett. He suffered a terrible spine injury, and he may never walk again.
The disturbing injury to Kevin Everett overshadowed a rather lackluster performance by the Broncos. Denver didn't play horribly. They just played flat and uninspired. And they should have lost. Buffalo played with a little more passion, a little more fire. And they should have won. But fate, cruel temptress that she is, allowed Denver to sneak out a win and left Buffalo with far more cruelty than a simple loss.
posted by MP | 12:12 PM
5 Comments:
Have you heard the good news? That Everett is regaining SOME motor function? Also, his surgeon was a tool. Did you hear/watch the press conference? What an ass.
The prognosis is better than first reported:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20681627/
They covered Everett on Nightline last night and Dr. Cappucino made it possible for Everett to potentially walk again by lowering his body temperature right away. It's an experimental procedure by spinal experts in Florida, and it was lucky that Cappucino thought to do it. By cooling his body temperature the doctors were able to minimize the spinal damage.
Yeah, but I still think Cappucino is a tool who is LOVING the spotlight. The words he used in the first press conference and the tone and the "I always tell my patients..." bullshit. Arrogance of the highest order. Just tell the people what happened and what you think will be the result. Don't wax poetic about "in my experience." The whole thing had a P.T. Barnum air.
I asked a doctor about this Capuccino guy and I got the following, slightly edited response: First, all doctors are arrogant and don't ever think otherwise. Second, doctors tend to fall into two camps when it comes to making a serious life-changing or life-threatening diagnosis. The first camp tends to be as optimistic as possible with the idea that optimism gives patients hope, and a positive mental attitude can go a long way in recovery. The second camp believes in being as honest as possible even when the outcome looks grim. These camp two docs don't want to give a false sense of hope or lead their patients astray. Camp two docs can always come back and say the recovery was amazing or miraculous, which, strangely enough, can be just as motivating to patients.
Capuccino is a camp two doc who maybe got a little overzealous in the spotlight. He did come back with some pretty positive information, and that's what really counts.
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