In Sickness And

This morning In accordance with what most mature American feel obliged to do, I went for my annual physical.

The current mandated regime for mature adults includes routine testing, blood work, etc. As I went through several of these procedures this morning, my mind jumped back to my Grandmother’s medical treatment. Nana King suffered from a debilitating illness for decades.

There were no lab tests; nor routine blood work that I recall. There was no mobile x ray machine to monitor her cardiac condition. She never left the house for a Doctor’s visit.

Rather a tall stern looking gentleman arrived once a week. I believe it was on Thursday if I recall rightly. He was quite tall and somber and wore a dark suit and starched white shirt but never neglected to pat me on the head (I was only five so it was not inappropriate).

After his visit with my Grandmother and before he was escorted to the front door, my Mother would quietly hand him a five dollar bill. I still recall how he never neglected to stop and give me a peppermint wrapped in shiny foil paper before saying goodbye.

Dr. Albert was his name and he arrived at the tenement on West 47th Street weekly. However, the only thing I learned about any medical treatment for Nana was his prescription for Calf’s Liver. That memory is vivid because my Mom and I left immediately for Paddy’s Market on Ninth Avenue hoping to find that delicacy.

Although my Grandmother didn’t improve during those years, she never became noticeably worse. Perhaps Dr. Albert was wiser than I remember or maybe Calf’s Liver is more potent than today’s antidepressants.

The routine tests I underwent today were certainly beyond the imagination of anyone in those long ago days when everyone in the medical field was treated like royalty and believed to be invincible.

However-going back even further into time, I recall reading about the now forgotten use of leeches. Prenatal care was unknown (my Grandmother had twelve children) and postpartum depression ignored.

Are we better off? Undoubtedly, there can be no discussion about that. Yet, illness that was unheard of during those years is now a threat. HIV had not appeared on the fringe of any health monitor nor was autism diagnosed while the scourge of Polio has disappeared.

As each physical threat has been eliminated, another seems to pop up on the horizon. I cannot help but wonder if Mother Nature is telling us all something.

Do the best you can, but in the end I will make the call.