24 Days of Thanksgiving - Day Ten

THANK GOODNESS for modern medicine!

Seriously, being sick/injured/pregnant is hard enough as it is, and we're blessed to live in a time where there are all kinds of medicines and treatments to help with all kinds of problems. How did people manage before??

I'm sick at the moment, and generally miserable. I didn't sleep at all last night, and I haven't been able to nap today. My throat is sore and dry, and wakes me up a minute or two after I drift off with the urgent need to cough. My nose is simultaneously leaking and clogging up every inch of my sinuses. It's terrible.

The great thing is, I can take cold medicine tonight and knock myself right out. I try to avoid taking drugs when I can, so my body doesn't build up a tolerance, but I figure it's time. I'm exhausted, and it's hard to get better when you're unable to sleep.

Seriously - how did people survive before cold medicine???

And that's just one of the simplest miracles that modern medicine has to offer. What about x-rays, and anesthesia, and chemotherapy, and MRI machines, and all the other things that make it possible for doctors to diagnose and treat people?

Plus, we've managed to wipe out several diseases - at least, in this part of the world - thanks to vaccinations. When's the last time you heard about someone dying from smallpox? It's certainly been a while! Vaccinations are such a valuable tool.

One of the greatest inventions in the medical field, to me, is a little something I like to call "God's gift to women." No, it's not men. Please. Be serious.

It's the epidural!

Now, I know a lot of women prefer to have natural births. Why, I don't know. Maybe they're petrified of needles. Maybe their babies tend to be so small that it doesn't bother them much to deliver them. Maybe they're doing it just to prove they can.

I have no such desire to prove anything. I have no problem with needles. And the fact that I was over ten pounds when I was born, and my own child was over nine, tells me that genetics are not going to bless me with any dainty newborns.

I had an epidural with Evie, and I've never regretted it. I slept through the bulk of my labor. And, in fact, it was the last good sleep I had for a month or two after that, so I was incredibly grateful for it. I fully intend to have an epidural with every one of my children. It made an otherwise excruciating experience... fairly easy. And because of that, I was able to focus more on the excitement of it all, rather than the pain.

Technology is wonderful. The advances in science and medicine are nothing short of miraculous. I know we still have a long way to go before we rid the world of disease, but we've certainly come a long way! People are healthier. They're living longer. They're able to recover from illness and injury so much more easily.

Modern medicine is a marvel! And I'm grateful for it!