"First World Problems"

I have to admit, many of us in the "First World" (is there a "Second World"?  I know there is also a "Third World"...), tend to take a lot of things for granted.  Unfortunately, we tend to not really appreciate things until we pretty much lose them, which besides being rather sad, is also rather a shame, because we could do so much more with what we have!  There is even that joke, about "First World problems", and how we tend to take things for granted.

Today I'm thinking about medical-related goods, services, medications, etc., and what a huge impact on our lives they are!

What would you do if your pain reliever was gone, even OTC meds?  What if you had to go through surgery completely aware and unable to be anesthetized?  (I know and love someone with that challenge; she has faced cancer for years, having surgery after surgery, treatment after treatment, without any way for her body to accept any kind of anesthesia nor pain reliever.)

What if you are disabled in some way, and had no way to get assistance with movement, whether with your body or in some kind of transportation? 

How about if you had no asthma medications, no compressed oxygen, no breathing assistance apparatus?

What if there was no Heimlich Maneuver, no CPR, no rescue training nor services provided in emergency situations?  Nor hospitals with emergency rooms, scanning equipment, nor staff to help get you where you need to be in order to get done what needs done?

What if there were no services provided to help deliver babies?  Or even more, how would we be without NICU or PICU services that help us keep those babies who are a little impatient about getting into this world?

How would we live without vaccinations, immunizations, antibiotics, antivirals and other life-saving treatments that help keep infections under control?

Do you see what I mean?  We haven't had any of these things, the way we know them, for very long in the grand timeline of this world!  And yet we so often take them for granted, getting huffy (sometimes to the point of  lawsuit or violence) when a mistake or other mishap occurs, saying it's someone's fault that they weren't perfect and/or their science was flawed!  Our medical system as we know it is so new, and available to so few, and yet we seem to believe that they are our right and how dare anyone claim otherwise!

I don't know.  Maybe I just happen to see this from a different perspective; perhaps because I've been married to a nurse; maybe just because I've had so many "miraculous" events that have affected my life and the lives of those around me.  It could also be because I have been volunteering for some time at a local hospital, in an area where the loved ones of patients, who have come from far away, stay.  They are often so grateful just to have medical services available to their loved ones, and very thankful to have our place to allow them to rest, away from the crisis and yet very close by.

Take a moment.
Think about it.
What are we doing?
How can we contribute to a better world?

How about simply being more mindful of gratitude for the little things?
That spreads.
Really, it does.

Better day tomorrow, my friends.