Medicine - A Procedure and a Book Recommendation

DH gets to have his first MRI today. He's had some issues with his knee, and his orthopedist thinks there might be a small tear in the muscle. I guess the only way to determine this with accuracy is by having the MRI done, so he'll get the opportunity for a high-tech test today. 

The MRI for our clinic is actually housed in a tractor-trailer that
moves on a regular schedule through three clinic locations around
the Twin Cities. Rather strange, but I guess it's also rather cost
effective. 

It's rather amazing how things have changed in the medical profession in our lifetimes, and I'm quite sure my parents felt the same way. After all, the 1900's gave us the flu vaccine, the measles vaccine, the smallpox vaccine and so many other things. As the century progressed, the more difficult and higher-mortality issues like cancer were tackled, and with a lot of success for increased survival of the patients. Children are surviving leukemia now where in the 1960's it was almost 100% fatal. That's progress, and it's progress I'm really happy about. 

I highly recommend reading "That Good Night" and
then making sure that your desires about how to
be taken care of when it all goes down and you
can't express your desires are clearly understood. 

I just finished reading a book I'm going to recommend to all of you, "That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour" by Sunita Puri. Doctor Puri practices in the field of Palliative Medicine, a field unheard of until the late 1980's, early 1990's. There were a few times in this book where I had to dry my eyes and reach for a tissue, but more than that, it really made me think a bit. In these days of expanded life expectancy, how far do we really go? Will you choose to extend your life despite the body's desire to shut down? And what about your family? If you don't want extensive measures taken to keep you alive, are they aware of that? Do you have a DNF on record? 

We can get a four-inch diamond blade for a 1/2" arbor for
as little as $15, so we won't be putting more than $50 all
told into The Machine (and a little bit of elbow grease).
If it can cut some of our smaller stone for us without
having to fire up the bigger saw, it'll be well worth the
cost. 

DH and I have decided we'll spend the money for a small four-inch diamond blade for "The Machine", and some new little rubber feet for the corners, but we'll leave the expense at that and see how it performs. It might well be the "Little Engine that Could" and keep performing for years ahead, but it also might burn its motor out within the first ten cuts. Still, we're pleased that we purchased it, it's resting next to the Cab-Mate as I write this and it seems to be quite happy. 

Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Enjoy your autumn weather (or springtime for my friends in the Southern Hemisphere).