My burning heart.

My husband was such a sweet heart last night. I have a hiatal hernia and because of that I get frequent awful heart burn. That happened last night and I was out of Tums. Great guy that he is, he drove down to the nearby Walgreens and picked me up a bottle of maximum strength Tums. He saved my life. Well that and the prilosec, which when I take it on a regular basis, keeps the nasty heart burn away and today I feel fine.

It got me thinking however about all the little things that I take medication for in order to function at my best. I take prilosec for the hiatal hernia, singular for my asthma, and the bourbon for my mood. Just kidding about the last one. Then I started thinking about how my life would be if I had been bon in a time where there was no singular or prilosec, what would have been my quality of life and would I have lived as long as I have so far. The hernia probably would not have killed me but I would probably be miserable most if the time. My asthma on the other hand with the environmental condition s in the past may very well have been my undoing.

I then realized how glad I am to be alive now and not back in the 1800 hundreds or earlier. It is hard to imagine a world where so many of the little ailments we take for granted could be and were very often a death sentences. Ironically many of those things we no longer fear were killers only a few decades ago. I remember my mom telling me about the polio out breaks and that congregating in groups was prohibited.
When my son was about three years old he came down with scarlet fever. When I called my mom to let her know what he had she asked me if we had been quarantined as she had been when she had it. Back then that was standard procedure along with weeks of bed rest. I told no quarantine, just antibiotics. The doctor told me scarlet fever is just strep throat with a rash and not that big a deal, because we have the antibiotics. When my mom had scarlet fever was a big deal. It could damage your heart or even kill you.

It never ceases to amaze how we have come technologically even in my life time. In 1963 Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to a baby boy, Patrick. He was born 5 and ½ weeks early and he weighted 4 pounds 10 ounces. Thirty two years latter I would give birth to my son five and ½ weeks early and weighing only 4 pounds three ounces. What a difference thirty two years make. The Kennedy’s son never had a chance and within two days had died. My son his now 13 years old and is thriving and loving life. The advances that have taken place since my son was born are also amazing. To think that we can now operate on a baby before it is born just boggles my mind.

Who knows what future advances may bring. All I know is that I am glad to be alive in a time where medicine does not rely on being bled of my ill humors. Although I have heard that it does work.