More reflections off the tv: Being healthy

I've just watched an episode of One Step Beyond on the Discovery Channel. This particular episode featured, among many others, a man suffering from a lack of proprioception and another who suffered from epidermolysis bullosa. Learning about these highly rare and unusual disorders made me reflect on a few things:

First, how grateful I should be that I am fortunate to be a healthy individual and how much more I should be able to do because I'm not disabled in any way. In fact, I believe I'm unusually healthy at my age and given my medical history. I haven't been seriously ill--not even with the so-called childhood diseases like chicken pox, mumps or measles--or had to be confined or had any major injury like a broken bone or undergone any major surgery. Not even a deep cut that needed stitches.

Second, what an amazing machine the human body is (and hence what a genius God truly is). And how just as amazing is the way we're put together so that we can do what we can do and therefore that there are so many things about the human body that I've taken for granted. For instance, the internal awareness of the status of the body, like the relative positions of the limbs with each other. Before watching that documentary about the man without proprioception, I never realized how necessary it was in carrying out the most basic activities like sitting down or picking up an object or that without proprioception, he is basically unable to feel anything like the ground when he walks or the pressure of somebody else's hand in his. Or that the "anchors" between the epidermis and the dermis underneath was so crucial that without these any action applied to the skin such as sudden pressure or rubbing can cause blisters or sores making for a very painful existence.

Finally, how indomitable the human spirit is. The man lacking proprioception was utterly helpless given his condition but he fought back by working hard to retrain his body to recognize where his different limbs are. Now he virtually relies mainly on sight to be aware of what his body is doing. And then the man with epidermolysis bullosa likewise refuses to wallow in self-pity. He insists on wrapping his body in bandages all by himself to help protect his skin and goes about his daily activities unassisted as well. The documentary mentioned that people suffering from the skin disorder usually do no survive beyond their 20s. But this courageous man is now in his late 30s. As is usual for disabled people, he thinks that when people see him, they should not feel sorry for him but rather that they should feel thankful with what they have. I simply couldn't help but admire these people for their determination to live life to the fullest despite their debilitating conditions.