Health more important than art

If you cure the pain, do you silence the art? Maybe! But which is more important, vocation – in this case, entertainment – or mental health? I would immediately respond “health!” Most people who drink (socially or otherwise) show little or no effect of alcohol on the body. They include fried brain; pickled liver, heart and pancreas; failure of the stomach and other organs; and wasting away of the entire body and, ultimately, suicide!

I’ve observed and monitored hundreds of patients who started drinking (and smoking) at an early age as a result of peer pressure or the attempt to act grown up. I myself began smoking at age 13 and after almost 40 years of pack-a-day use, plus pipes and cigars, had to undergo a total laryngectomy, as a result of which I lost my voice and now speak with a hand-held, battery-powered “True Tone” device. Short of a miracle, I will probably do this for the rest of my life.

I’ve been very fortunate in having my wife, Evelyn, many caring medical professionals and just ordinary people encouraging and supporting me.

Yes, health is always more important because without it, nothing else is important!

Victor Buksbazen

Spokane