FEATURES
6A
Injured wife ‘not interested’
Dear Annie: My wife and I
are in our 60s and recently cel-
ebrated our 15th anniversary. I
know she loves me, but the phys-
ical side of our marriage has
gone completely down the toilet.
It started about six years ago
when my wife suffered a massive
stroke, causing her to lose the
ability to speak, as well as some
coordination on one side. She
also becomes easily confused.
Less than a year later, we were in
an auto accident where she suf-
fered two compressed vertebrae
in her neck, requiring surgery.
She also developed severe osteo-
arthritis (it’s mostly genetic, but
the accident triggered the onset),
which affects nearly every joint
in her body.
Now the problem: My wife
has lost all interest in any form of
physical contact, including sex,
saying the pain is excruciating
when I touch her. I barely get a
half-hearted hug with no contact
other than her head on my chest.
We still kiss and hold hands, but
no other body parts touch.
We have been to multiple doc-
tors and so-called specialists, and
all they want to do is throw pre-
scription pain meds at her, only
one of which her body could tol-
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy
Mitchell and
Marcy Sugar
erate. Physical therapy has not
helped.
I love my wife, but sorely
miss being able to touch, cud-
dle or make love to her. I ind
myself drinking a lot at night
just to kill the urge. I’m going
absolutely nuts over this. I am
not one to stray, but the drinking
isn’t doing me much good and
the antidepressant the doctor rec-
ommended isn’t helping much,
either.
I know there has to be some
treatment out there that would
help. What can I do? — Tilting
at Windmills
Dear Tilting: Let’s recap —
your wife had a stroke which has
left her somewhat incapacitated,
she was injured in a car accident
and had neck surgery and now
has severe osteoarthritis and is in
constant pain. And you are dis-
appointed that she doesn’t want
to be closely held? Please under-
stand that every time you try, you
are hurting her. A lot.
It seems your wife has made
every effort to alleviate her pain
through medication and ther-
apy. Now it’s your turn. You
need to ind a way to deal with
your current situation and accept
your wife’s physical limitations.
Counseling may help. Please ask
your doctor for a referral.
Dear Annie: I am respond-
ing to “Need to Get Moving,”
the dog owner who doesn’t want
strangers to pet his dogs.
We have two large German
shepherds. Our vet advised us
to tell people, “For your protec-
tion and theirs, we would appre-
ciate if you do not pet them.” For
the past couple of years, we have
also been using the yellow ribbon
you mentioned.
We spend our summers at a
boat marina and see many dif-
ferent people and dogs each day.
When asked about the yellow
ribbons, we are happy to explain.
With the help of columns like
yours, I believe it is only a mat-
ter of time for this practice to
become very well-known. — My
Kids Have Paws
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). New people
inspire new awareness. For a moment, the
mere freshness of an association can cause
you to slow down and tune in to what makes
life seem more precious and beautiful.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Hearts are
among the more resilient organs of the
body, and you’ve already experienced this
in your own life. Today you’ll do something
you wouldn’t have been able to do just
weeks ago — proof that your heart has re-
ally healed.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Are you hav-
ing a hard time picturing what your life will
be like after you make your move? Maybe
that’s because it’s not the right move to
make. If it doesn’t spark your imagination,
don’t take one step forward.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). It wasn’t
going to work between you and that cer-
tain someone if things stayed the same.
Now you’ll have to assess. Have things
changed? And if so, have they changed
enough to make a difference?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There’s some-
thing magical about the way a person looks
at you with so much hope, trust and big,
pure love that your heart can’t help but melt
into the warmth of this gaze.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The people
who want you to be nice all the time might
actually be trying to control you because
your power is a threat. There’s nothing
wrong with that edgy, angsty part of you. It’s
what will push you to do and be more.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There are
times when being very direct and telling
people what you really want works beau-
tifully to produce results. Right now you’ll
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
have to do a little more research to get to the
desired result. Find out what they want first.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Those who
feel oppressed or stuck may currently lack
the confidence to revolt, but that doesn’t
mean the revolution isn’t coming. Take a
picture of the way things are. It won’t stay
this way for much longer.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). If you
make the world a better place for you,
doesn’t that count as making it a better
place in general? At least it’s a start. You
can scale it up from there.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It’s al-
ways nice to make yourself useful, but don’t
for one minute think that it’s necessary.
You’re valuable because you inherently are.
Give when you want to and are driven to.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’re not
doing anything to make the other person
jealous, and yet maybe that’s just some-
thing that’s built into the equation. You have
to admit, there’s something good in it for
you. Just don’t overplay your advantage.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your beauti-
ful smile, the way you listen to people, your
gracious manners — these things will mat-
ter more than anything else you could do to
impress or ingratiate yourself.
SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 25).
Whatever you think will be the best part of
this year, you’re wrong. You’ll grow in ways
you weren’t expecting, have adventures you
never dreamed of and luck you wouldn’t
have called. So open up your mind and fall
into this mystery box of a year. You’re in for
some thrilling highs and love galore. Scor-
pio and Gemini adore you. Your lucky num-
bers are: 3, 9, 13, 4 and 22.