Espresso, Charlie, and Gus Update

Espresso, "I swear I heard you want a day off or something."

Espresso, "Yes, it's my resting bun face."

Charlie, "You're up and about, then the salads better be up and about to be served!"

Greetings, Everybunny!

"Never Panic Early" sounds like a commandment every bunstronaut would have committed to their bone marrow. It comes from a hoomin that's been around the moon and back. It's also the title of Fred Haise's autobiography, published in April of 2022. Yes, that Fred Haise, the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 13 fame. Fred learned a thing or two about not panicking, starting with a near miss when he was a child, then through the Apollo 13 saga, and later through his struggle to recover from burn injuries.

The book sings to your inner bunlet about the skies, airplanes, and stars, just what the doctor ordered for a summer read. The grownup enjoys the generosity and wisdom of Fred's tales. 

If you're tempted to dismiss the book for its title, hang around for the stories. The title will play tricks on you, stay with you, and serve you well when you least expect it.

The magic of Never Panic Early lies in how Fred gives away the shop in the title, and just for that, he deserves our respect, appreciation, and reverence for his narratives.

Now imagine you're my hoomin, and life throws you a little curveball.

You get a frantic call from your doctor telling you to go to the ER because your spleen has blood clots. Guess what? You never panic early.

The nurse preps you for an IV; you're worried because you syncopated ten years ago. So you figure out what to tell yourself, and...you never panic early. Take a deep breath, look away, and tell yourself whatever story you need to get you through this moment.

The doctor tells you the clots are COVID-related, something you read about, but the doc wants to do an MRI and rule out any malignancies...just in case. Well, you know the drill: never.... That's right.

Then, the blood thinner drips into you for two days. Nurses draw your blood every six hours. You're sleepy and cranky yet grateful you're not as bad as the guy beside you. And you never ...

Or when "Stabitha from the lab" came to draw a sample and used the needle like a shiv, sucking blood right from the meat in your forearm. Maybe she had a bad day, but you never ...

Finally, they let you out, and you're glad to be back with every bunny. Salads are to be made and cookies dispensed.

There's relief in knowing that the other COVID shoe dropped, even if it took six months. You try to recalibrate for the new normal of follow-up care, and you never panic early.

We'll keep you posted!
– Espresso

PS: My hoomin is convinced there must be an artisan blood sausage and headcheese factory run by vampires in the hospital's bowels. I told him to bring some garlic next time – just in case.