chewabLMorphine

One of the least enviable things I've ever witnessed in my life was a pair of co-workers who bonded over their medical problems.

It was a really strange thing to notice, and at first, it just seemed like small talk or polite conversation. But then it kept going, and while there was nothing particularly repugnant about the details, the undertones that developed were unsavory.

It was like they relished being sad about their invalidity, like it was one big sick day that gave them an excuse to stay home from school. As if to say, "thank god my body is failing me again, and everyone is powerless to make demands of me."

They would bond over the similar things their doctors would put them through, about the noises of MRI machines, about side effects and being incapacitated by medicines, about being laid up for extended periods of time. Bad news was greeted with a sort of malign enthusiasm, like getting to take the ride again. "Oh yeah, my doctor just told me my tests are bad again."...