Celebrate Human Achievement Hour

Posting is going to be a bit sporadic here for the next while, but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my appreciation and gratitude for some of the wonderful things we humans have achieved.  While others insist on sitting around in the dark for Earth Hour tomorrow, I will be celebrating Human Achievement Hour.

Here are just a few human achievements I have personally benefited from in the last few weeks.

The internal combustion engine, that most evil of evils, the fossil fuel burning engine in our van.  The one that got me to the hospital quickly and safely.

The discovery of such things as saline solution IVs, which got me hydrated at a time when I was incapable of doing something as simple as drink water.

Morphine, administered through my IV, that was finally able to kill the pain that had me writhing uncontrollably for hours.

Xrays, used to try and find the cause of my pain.

CT scans, used to try and find the cause of my pain.

Ultrasound, used to try and find the cause of my pain.

The various technological instruments that allowed medical staff to test my blood and, in short order, be able to rule out various possible causes of my pain.

The technologies that will allow doctors to use cameras and various narrow instruments through tiny incisions, through which they will remove the large cyst and the ovary it's attached to, the biopsy they will perform on the tissue to doubly verify that it is, indeed, just a cyst and not something more, while I remain under anesthetic, and which will allow me to go home on the same day I go in for surgery - or, should George (my cyst) turn out to be something else, will provide me the medical care I will need to deal with whatever it turns out to be.

What other human achievements do I appreciate?

The swift care and treatment that kept my SIL alive after her heart attack.

The care and treatment my father got after the stroke (the third of 5) that paralyzed half his body, helping him become mobile again.

The pacemaker that helps keep him alive to this day.

The technology that allows me to sit here and type this post, where people all over the world are able to read my rambling.

The transportation and refrigeration systems that allows us to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in any season, helping keep us healthy.

The agricultural technology that has allowed more food to be grown on less land at less expense and with less harm to the environment.

And so much more!

The quality of live we enjoy today in so many parts of the world is the result of human ingenuity and creativity, coupled with individual freedom, democracy and free enterprise.

This is what I choose to celebrate.