Medieval Times

Do you ever think about the point at which you would have died if we didn’t have modern technology? Sure, it’s morbid, but until yesterday I really thought I was the only one who thought about it… but not so, my mom definitely does too.

I’m never sure where to draw the line… should it be the civil war, or just the 1920s? Or, what about back in the days of King Arthur and Guinevere? The cavemen? I usually just decide arbitrarily depending on my mood, but tend to settle for “medieval times”.

Two months ago, my mother herniated three disks in her neck leaving her unable to get comfortable outside of bed and with a stabbing pain shooting down her arm. She was in bed working from home for seven weeks. Just last week she finally got surgery to replace the worst of the three herniated disks. She felt better almost immediately, and thanks to two surgeons (orthopedic and neuro) and an anesthesiologist, post op was distinctly less miserable than the two months before.

She was doing her best to undo all the hazards of immobility she’d acquired, so we went for a walk around the neighborhood. She asked what I thought would have happened if she had been born 100 years ago, and in that moment I knew we were made from the same mold. We decided blood letting was a given, perhaps several rounds, and pondered if they would have known it was a neck issue – would they have treated her arm instead? She probably wouldn’t have died, unless she got an infection from contaminated leeches or something, but she likely would have been bedridden for the rest of her life… which knowing my mother would have ended with her being institutionalized from having a mental breakdown. How grateful we are that she was able to have the best of modern technology then because her life has resumed to better than it’s been since her neck starting getting bad two years ago.

When would my moment have been? Well, I was born a month early, but I don’t think I had any complications that I couldn’t have survived from. My lack of fasciotomy for chronic compartment syndrome would have rendered me unable to run, but if we’re going back 100 years, I’m not sure I would have been allowed to run competitively anyway. My wisdom teeth might have given me trouble, but I think they did tooth extractions (perhaps less humanely) back then, so I might have cleared that hurtle. I guess my medieval number hasn’t come yet (knock on wood!). Hopefully no numbers will come up anytime soon.

I’m not sure Roo would have ever been born, because I’m not really sure what happened before the RhoGam shot. Perhaps I would have had to watch my mom suffer several miscarriages until an A- child came about.

And my dad, well, despite losing the tips of his fingers and sustaining an arm threatening infection, somehow I think he would have been ok... I can’t say for sure but somehow I don’t think he couldn’t have beaten it… granted he might have lost that arm.