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Guard Your Heart
Read MorePart 5 of a memoir of heart failure, open-heart surgery and complications One does not come so close to death as I did without learning many lessons along the way. As I continue to recover from heart failure, open heart surgery and its myriad complications,…
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Waiting for the big muscle to heal
Read MorePart 3 of a memoir of heart failure, open-heart surgery and complications At some point in my recovery at the acute-care facility, a cardiologist tells me that the muscles in my body will not recover any faster than the big muscle, my heart, recovers.I do…
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The sawblade embedded in my neck
Read MorePart 2 of a memoir of heart failure, open-heart surgery and complications The journey home is one of 10,000 steps, and the first one is always the most difficult. On March 23, 2021, I am released from Allegheny’s heart failure unit to an acuity unit…
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Are you ready to die, Carl Feather?
Read MoreA memoir of heart failure, open-heart surgery and complications I have chased sunsets most of my life, although of late I’ve not had no passion for such pursuits. Nevertheless, on that evening in February 2021 was before me the most stunning example of a fading…
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Decoration Day
Read MoreIt is Memorial Day weekend in the United States, but in Appalachia, particularly West Virginia, it is more commonly referred to as “Decoration Day.” My parents, Carl J. and Cossette (Watring) Feather, seemed to have a standing engagement in West Virginia each May, for the…
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Labels dehumanize people, justify hatred
Read MoreOur “traveling road show” culture loves to put labels on people, especially people who refuse to buy a ticket to their show. As a retired reporter, I understand the value of tagging people. Labels make it possible to study and write about wide swaths of…
