Yes! That process of gradual adaptation and acceptance is perfectly natural, of course, and there's nothing natural about these mechanical repairs. But when I look back at the mental and emotional energy that went into the slipping, I'm kind of amazed. I kept going and going along a road that had become an alley, then a tunnel, then a nightmarishly narrow tube before I finally accepted that it wasn't going to open out again.

Absolute desperation gave me the energy to seek the help that I knew was available. It was a painful lesson. But damn, I'm glad I learned it before this pandemic made elective surgery a non-starter.