Faith healing, anti-vaxxers, and the real miracle: Western Medicine

I have no memory of my grandfathers. My mother's father died in 1954 at age 47 after decades of alcohol abuse. 

My mother with her father.  He was in his mid-30s and already a wrecked man.

My father's father died at age 64 when I was only 15 months old. He, along with his second wife, practiced a religious faith that eschewed the use of doctors. He allowed numerous health problems to continue unchecked until, by the time he was 60, he had part of a leg amputated. It was downhill from there. My grandfather's death, in 1968, was followed in 1971 by the death of his wife. My grandfather's mother outlived her son by four years. I have vague memories of meeting her.

My paternal grandfather, left; his wife, standing.  A few years before he died aged 64.

My father rarely discussed his religious beliefs (the few comments he made stand out in my memory because they were so rarely spoken), but he had some pointed things to say about faith healers, and I've no doubt those comments stemmed from observing his father's decline. It has occurred to me that, if my grandfather had lived as long as my father, he would have lived to see Christmas of 1990.

This is one of many reasons I am appalled by the increasing prevalence of anti-vaxxers and others who rail against Western Medicine. To be sure, I feel criticism of Big Pharma and our for-profit medical system is valid. But some of these people go overboard.

Let me share some of what Western Medicine has helped me accomplish over the past two years:

A hernia has been surgically corrected and I can use the elliptical, treadmill, take long walks, and lift 

objects without discomfort.

My sleep apnea, which was slowly killing me, has been brought under control with the use of an oral appliance.

On my doctor's advice, I joined a program at Cleveland Clinic that has helped me lose 15 pounds since January (30 more to go), without the use of drugs, surgery, or fad diets. My belt is two notches tighter, my blood pressure has dropped dramatically, and I feel better than I have in years.

I will also add, that in my 52 years, I have never suffered from Small Pox, Measles, Polio, Mumps, Rubella, or a host of other diseases that have been virtually wiped out, and I'm grateful to my parents who made sure I received my vaccinations.

My situation is hardly unique.  Of course, people live longer.  Life expectancy has more than doubled over the last 120 years, and a primary driver of that, like it or not, is the worldwide acceptance of vaccination.  Catchy hash-tags and clinging to wacky conspiracy theories and pseudoscience will do nothing to alter that fact.  But abandoning sound medical practice in the name of parental rights is not merely a danger to public health, but may eventually reverse the progress that was made in the 20th Century. 

If I live as long as my father, I will live to see Thanksgiving of 2053. Although I'm wary of the condition our nation and planet may be in by then, I intend to soldier on - with my doctor's help.