Several years ago my friend Peggy had gone to several doctors with odd symptoms that no one could seem to figure out. Out of frustration, she did her own research. She checked out books from the library (because this took place long before Google existed) and spent countless hours at the library until she thought she had figured it out and reported back to her doctor and said, “This is what I have.”
Fibromyalgia wasn’t a word associated with the 20th century as it is today. Commercials now are exploding with drugs and advice to “ask your doctor” – not that the pills will cure you. They will assist with whatever ails you while we sit back and collect cash. Hey, and if it doesn’t work out to all expectations, there are also ads inviting us to join whatever bandwagon the attorneys may have set up so that we can sue whatever company for making us sick.
It blows my mind that the FDA has approved all these “miracle” medications that help our heart, diabetes, chronic breathing, both physical and emotional pain, depression, bladder issues, stomach cramps, birth control, and anything else you can think of. This century (thus far) has conditioned us to take drugs, sue companies, and stay home and glue ourselves to the internet.
Jenna will borrow my phone and show it to her friends. “Do you guys want to see a dinosaur?” she’ll ask. The very idea of a flip phone is quite laughable to them. I remember a time before flip phones. I remember a time before cordless. I remember being charged more for other area codes as they were long distance. I remember cigarette commercials. I remember the glamour that marketing tried to convince went with the tobacco products. I remember reading an article about 5 different spokesmen for different brands of cigarettes. When the article was published all had passed away from distorted breathing or heart failure except for the Marlboro man who at that point was existing in an iron lung and death was hovering over him (and had been for some time; See examples here and here).
Where is our focus? What are our priorities?
