Mark Shea could use your prayers.

His son Peter has come down with an intestinal difficulty, possibly appendicitis, that they're going to have checked out.

The actress Kathleen Turner said that being a mother meant she'd never again have a day without fear for the rest of her life. Exactly.

There is no word for the emotion you feel when your children are hurt or ill. It's a nightmarish cocktail of helplessness, rage, anxiety and terror, felt separately and at once. Even when you know it's going to work out, it's horrible. I'll never forget Madeleine's ear tube surgery last April, clenching my fists and glaring at the clock throughout (when I wasn't nervously prowling the waiting room with my son), and the relief of holding her afterward as she gradually woke up from the anesthesia.

Go put in a good word. Especially if you're a parent.

[Update: Good news! Whews all around.]