Thanking God for Modern Medicine

I am so thankful for the medical procedures today.  I know that if I lived in a different era, I probably wouldn't be alive.  But instead, I lay here counting my blessings and thanking God for guiding the surgeon's hands, for keeping me infection-free and for living in a time when these procedures can be done.  These were not the prayers I said a few days ago, those were more in line with "God, please keep me calm!"  Either way I was brought comfort: at first it was spiritual comfort and now it is physical comfort.

I used to hold my head at an angle to help my eyes focus
on the same object.  Draw an imaginary line from my nose
to my chin to see the tilt.

It amazes me what modern medicine is able to do these days.  We all know people who have undergone procedures that seemingly mirror what used to be portrayed in sci-fi movies.  We live in that reality today, amazing!  John had a dental implant after a root canal gone bad.  Really?  Who thought of placing a titanium rod into a person's jawbone to anchor a crown?  Actually John is a walking science experiment of sorts, as he has donated ligaments and screws holding both knees together.  Kind of a bizarre concept when you really think about it.

So why am I reflecting on the miracles of modern medicine? I am recovering from a second eye surgery to reposition muscles in my eyes.  I used to have to work really hard to keep both eyes looking at the same object, then they would fatigue and split the image so I would see two of the same object.  Big objects were easier to track (like cars) but small objects were impossible (like reading).  A few years ago they were able to take one of the palsied muscles off the right eye and sew in back on in a lower (or looser) position.  This week I had a similar surgery to repair what an autoimmune disease did to this weak point in my left eye.  Currently I look like boxer who lost a fight, but I know it is amazing what modern medicine is capable of these days.  But even more important than that, I know that God has guided my steps through a long (17 month process) journey that finally got me to this point.

I was a Beanie Baby for Halloween.  My
principal saw my head tilt when she
took the picture and commented,
"aw, you cocked your head, it looks
so cute."  Little did she know it was so I
could align my eyes to see one camera.

This surgery was actually scheduled for August so I would have time to recover before school started back up.  I had some reservations about it as there were several things wrong with the eye and no one really understood why it happened.  I have a 4th cranial nerve palsy which was previously fixed, but seemed to come undone.  I have Grave's Disease and that caused some Thyroid-related opthalmopathy.  The question remained: are the two related or was it a coincidence they flared up at the same time?  So, one specialist at Casey called the other and suggested we cancel the surgery and treat the Grave's Disease part of the equation first.  So five specialists, countless interns and residents (who were brought in to see the "medical freak" as it is rare for these two issues to coexist), 12 weeks of IV steroid infusions and seven months later the surgery date was set again.  While no one really knows all the answers on my case, I felt much better going the long route to get here.  I have seen every specialist that might have an opinion on my case, listened, and prayed.  So this time as the surgery date approached, I felt much better - even though it was the exact same surgery with the exact same surgeon.  This time I was at peace with it.


So I thank God for the wonders of modern medicine today and that we live so close to a resource such as Casey Eye Institute.  I also thank God for the support I have had along the way, particularly John's help - and when he wasn't available - my friend Jennifer who rearranged her work schedule to go with me for everyone of those darn IV infusions.  And I am sure my family thanks God that I am done with those incredibly high doses of steroids!!  So here's to seeing straight again, and for living in an era when diseases and injuries have the benefit of modern medicine and prayer.