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Monday, February 7, 2011

#13: Modern Medicine

Raise your hand if you should be dead.

Or blind.

Or lame.

My hand is sure up there.

100 years ago, the average life expectancy was about 48. If you had 4 kids, there was a 50-50 chance one would die before age 5. And by the time you were 21, half of the population had already lost a parent. source (ok, I have no idea how accurate it is, but the numbers sound right to me!)

I would have died in childbirth. My two little sisters would have died in infancy. Another sister would be blind. My husband would have died as a teenager. Girly-lou would have likely been one of those minuscule graves.

I remember discussing childbirth while sitting at a table with 8 other women. 5 of us would have died without modern medicine.

I didn't because my condition is easily solved now. Thousands of other people are also alive because of the miracle of medical knowledge. Now that's something to be grateful for!

5 comments:

  1. Hadn't read in a few day. I completely agree with the good joke thing (but I can't come up with any on demand, I just love laughing at Hubders!)

    You're home sure is full of your hard work and love!

    I have two sons that would've been dead without modern medicine, but it wasn't that big of a deal with it.

    I'm likin' these 30 posts!

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  2. I would be dead, and so would my babies. Complications of delivery and then the whole RH factor thing would have made childbearing very difficult for me without the intervention of modern medicine. I'm loving these posts too... so fun and great reminders...

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  3. I'm not dead either! I totally agree with what you are saying. And yet, it's common around here for people to stop using modern medicine. Yeah, I don't get it.

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  4. As the mother of you and your sisters, I'm mighty grateful for that modern medicine; and for the blessings of the Priesthood!

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  5. My hand is raised! So grateful to live in the time that I do and have the many blessings of modern technology and medicin!!

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