Richard Holbrooke has suffered an aortic dissection. This is more or less the same thing that happened to me nine months ago. Being 69, his prognosis cannot be good. Being one of the lucky ones, partly because I was much younger, I can’t help but hope he somehow pulls through. If he does, don’t expect him on any shuttle diplomacy for a while: I’m not 100% yet myself, although I’m getting there.
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We had a dear friend who I’d always wondered if she had Marfan Syndrome (I’m 6’2″ and she was taller and her arms were much unusually long). We found out one day when she had an aortic dissection and was essentially dead before she hit the floor. You and Mr. Holbrooke are very lucky.
I love the deadpan title of your post, but was very sorry to learn about Holbrooke. Latest report strikes me as not good: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/12/13/holbrooke.illness/?hpt=T2 but very happy to be wrong about that.