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Thanksgiving month, days 19-20
Nov. 23rd, 2011 07:38 pm(Crossposted from Google+)
Thanksgiving month, day 19:
I am thankful for people who leave their bodies to science. (I'm thankful for organ donors too--I am one--but that's a separate topic in many ways.)
You may not have thought of this, but the way your doctor (and your dentist!) learned how you are put together is by examining dead people. PTAs like me don't normally get to work with cadavers, but in my case I have twice had the opportunity, and have been extremely grateful for it. Illustrations in anatomy textbooks are good (and look more like the real thing than you might think), but they are not a substitute for actually feeling with your hands how a bone spur can pinch the cartilage around your hip with certain motions, or how arthritis can erode the surface of the bones at your knee.
I won't go much further into the appropriately-named gross anatomy (the sciatic nerve is as big around as your THUMB!), but just say that I'm thankful that enough people continue to donate their bodies to further medical education; we don't have to go back to the Bad Old Days of "resurrection men" or the even worse old days of "Galen told you all about it, there's no need to go and see for yourself."
I am considering doing the donation thing myself, and will be discussing it with family as opportunity presents. Should you wish to do the same, the relevant law is the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, and the Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly Medical College of Georgia) is one of the places that take donations. They hold a memorial service yearly at which they thank the donors. I feel obliged to thank them too.
Thanksgiving month, day 20:
I am thankful for the seasons.
There are times in the middle of winter or summer when I might be tempted to go live in, say, the Costa Rican cloud forest, where it stays in the 70s year-round. But really, I like seasons. I like having a rest from the heat, and then having a rest from the cold. I like watching the vegetation change. I like the early spring, when the oaks haven't leafed out yet and my tulips and hyacinths and crocuses can bloom. I like summer, when the heat makes it pleasant to duck into cold water. We can kayak down the Broad River (occasionally dodging cows) and annoy the blue herons, who never seem to think of flying in any direction except downstream to get away from us. I like fall, with the colors that simply will not stay in my memory, so that every year it's as if I'm seeing them for the first time. And I like winter, and especially the occasional snow that's like floodlights on the whole landscape. I'm glad we live in a place with distinct seasons, and in a place where neither summer nor winter goes on too long.
Thanksgiving month, day 19:
I am thankful for people who leave their bodies to science. (I'm thankful for organ donors too--I am one--but that's a separate topic in many ways.)
You may not have thought of this, but the way your doctor (and your dentist!) learned how you are put together is by examining dead people. PTAs like me don't normally get to work with cadavers, but in my case I have twice had the opportunity, and have been extremely grateful for it. Illustrations in anatomy textbooks are good (and look more like the real thing than you might think), but they are not a substitute for actually feeling with your hands how a bone spur can pinch the cartilage around your hip with certain motions, or how arthritis can erode the surface of the bones at your knee.
I won't go much further into the appropriately-named gross anatomy (the sciatic nerve is as big around as your THUMB!), but just say that I'm thankful that enough people continue to donate their bodies to further medical education; we don't have to go back to the Bad Old Days of "resurrection men" or the even worse old days of "Galen told you all about it, there's no need to go and see for yourself."
I am considering doing the donation thing myself, and will be discussing it with family as opportunity presents. Should you wish to do the same, the relevant law is the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, and the Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly Medical College of Georgia) is one of the places that take donations. They hold a memorial service yearly at which they thank the donors. I feel obliged to thank them too.
Thanksgiving month, day 20:
I am thankful for the seasons.
There are times in the middle of winter or summer when I might be tempted to go live in, say, the Costa Rican cloud forest, where it stays in the 70s year-round. But really, I like seasons. I like having a rest from the heat, and then having a rest from the cold. I like watching the vegetation change. I like the early spring, when the oaks haven't leafed out yet and my tulips and hyacinths and crocuses can bloom. I like summer, when the heat makes it pleasant to duck into cold water. We can kayak down the Broad River (occasionally dodging cows) and annoy the blue herons, who never seem to think of flying in any direction except downstream to get away from us. I like fall, with the colors that simply will not stay in my memory, so that every year it's as if I'm seeing them for the first time. And I like winter, and especially the occasional snow that's like floodlights on the whole landscape. I'm glad we live in a place with distinct seasons, and in a place where neither summer nor winter goes on too long.
