Lynne and I spent the holiday season in Louisville where we had the chance to hang with Eli and his family. Amber is now a full professor in pediatrics at U of L, whose interests lie, among other things, with transforming Child Protective Services to just that, a service for the protection and betterment of kids and their parents/caregivers. Notso much a threat but supportive before the fact. Brilliant. Eli has become the recognized area authority on queer health having about 400 patients within the community. That word, "queer", seems odd as in my school yard generation it was highly derogatory. But it has been appropriated and in my mind the word queer seems more inclusive and acknowledges more room for a spectrum than LGBTQIA.

I’m back in South Sudan headed to Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. I have been in the region now 7 (?) times. This time I will be teaching a group of Clinical Officer-Community Outreach students in the basics of history and physical, and neurology. Right….me. I thinkg both of these class titles should be titled something like “The H and P for the complete and total bonehead”. Or “Neurology, simplified----A LOT.”

Both titles could include "brought to you by the post concussive Family Doc" as a week before venturing in this direction I was riding Eli’s old, but well loved (be me in any case) mountain bike through the local high school as the kids played some game wherein they shot each other with pellets. Not the lead ones, wouldn’t play well with the pediatrician Mama or the elementary educator Jama. No these were softer AND biodegradable no less. Suckers still stung. The school is in a bit of a bowl so on the way home I was peddling hard up hill, pulled on the bars a touch too much, and fell back hitting my head in the soft ground. Hitting it such that a screw was apparently knocked loose. I had no trouble getting up and riding the last 150m to home only to have a minor panic attack as I realized that I might not have worn a helmet. “I’ll just play it cool and resume what I was doing,” I say to myself. So, I went back to my computer to continue to write power points for the teaching. But I couldn’t seem to navigate my way around the keyboard. ‘I know, I’ll take a nap! say I.” Lynne was on the couch and as I lay down there, I came clean and casually mentioned I had a headache and I fell off the bike”. “I hope you were wearing your helmet”, she calmly mentioned. Shit, a concussion really can mess with my better judgement. “Uh, no,” I say wincing. I fell asleep and Lynne called Eli who came over from a friend’s home, called Amber to get the boys, and stood over me saying, “Do you want to go to the ER now or in 5 minutes” “Never?” say I. “NOW!” says Lynne. So, not wanting to risk the wrath of Eli, Amber, AND Lynne off I went to the ER.

At triage I was asked if I was wearing a helmet and before I could ambiguously answer, Eli said, “NO” so of course I got the look. “Who is president?” she asked. Man, I knew this one cold, “Bush!” “No, is it Biden, Trump, Obama, who?” Me, now a touch irritated as anyone knew it is Bush. She exchanged a look with Eli, who shrugged, eye-rolled, and we were led immediately to an exam room.

One CT later, showing cotton and old motor oil, I was discharged. By then the fog had lifted and I had to admit I was concussed. But only by a little! Then that sense of panic returned as I realized that I was going back into the lioness’s den. Appropriately chastised, by both wife, daughter-in-law, son, and grandkids, I had my tail tucked firmly between my legs, treated my headache, and enjoyed some bourbon. (No eye rolling or comments please). One week later, all screws are well torqued, and I am in Juba.