Dizzyland
by Jerry Guarino
I’ve visited the
happiest place on Earth over 25 times, between
the land and the world. I can’t say anything
negative about my time there, but this last time
was different. It wasn’t the fault of the
mouse, or the newly raised prices. I can live
with that. No, it was my own physical limitation,
as the years have caught up to me.
During our first day of two,
I found it increasingly difficult to keep my
balance, and that was before Star Wars Smuggler’s
Run. My body kept falling to the right (this was
particularly concerning because I am a Democrat)
and I had to hold on to my wife as we walked.
This kept getting more intense so I went to the
medical tent. They examined me multiple times
with multiple staff and finally suggested I go to
the hospital. I acquiesced.
An ambulance took me to the
UCI hospital, easily the busiest one I’ve
ever seen. Every room, corridor and hallway was
filled with patients, some with indescribable
ailments, others with apparent injuries. After my
third EKG, I was told to wait for my wheelchair
with the other 4000 people waiting to be treated.
Eventually, I was seen by a doctor of neurology,
and another and another and another. Four
neurology doctors examined and tested my
responses, concluding that I might have had a
stroke. So, off to imaging for a brain MRI, a
horrible 30 minutes of intense sound, in spite of
wearing protective ear covers. More meetings with
the four neurologists (UCI is a teaching hospital),
then back to imaging for a brain ultrasound. The
consults included testing of my hands, feet,
reflexes, etc. My balance was returning to normal.
Oh, and all these changes occurred in different
parts of the hospital, no room at the inn.
Finally, they concluded that I didn’t have a
stroke and I could be discharged, at 1 am, after
only 11 hours.
We caught a Lyft ride and
went to bed early. The next morning we returned
to the happiest place on earth, to make up for
the horrible first day. Although my balance was
normal, we started to decline around 2 pm.
Clearly, we weren’t young anymore. But
thanks to the medical people at the park, I was
taken care of.
So, I continue to revere
the happiest place on earth and will attend again
when I fill up to it. We’ll probably go to
the world, one last time, because there is
nothing better than eating in France each night
and wandering the lagoon watching the fireworks.
Just not too close to the lagoon.
Back home in the Northwest,
my balance is fine and I’m just waiting for
the next show to drop. Will it be my diabetes, or
some new hell I wasn’t expecting? In any
event, these physical setbacks do not interfere
with my ability to write, so write on!
Dizzyland
by Jerry Guarino
Copyright October, 2025 – All Rights
Reserved
|
