By Dr. Mollie Netter “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.” – Herophilus (335-280BC)
Herophilus was an Alexandrian physician believed to have been the first to study human anatomy. I am not a historian; therefore, my mind cannot even quantify how long ago this was. However, I know that BC stands for "Before Christ." His health and wealth perspective captured in the above quote still holds extreme relevance. As a clinician, I have had the opportunity to care for people from all walks of life and I couldn't agree more with the pricelessness of good health. It does not matter how one looks or where life has taken them; we can all agree on the universality of the significance of wellbeing. Perhaps Theophilus may be far removed from our perspective, but as you read through this, you are probably using an Apple device, and so I will assume that you are familiar with the genius behind the invention, Steve Jobs, whose life was tragically cut short due to Pancreatic cancer. On his deathbed, Jobs stated, "You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.
15
Material things lost can be regained. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – “Life”.” When all is well, it is human to seldom think that our health is the most priceless treasure we must guard as we journey through this Earth. However, when it comes to wealth, we may all agree that there is no way that a prudent investor can trust anyone with their hard-earned money without due diligence to verify worthiness of an investment. The same applies to the loaning institutions; there is no way a lender can give anyone a loan without making him or her go through rigorous creditworthy checks. For example, When I was about to buy my home, I went through the most annoying, frustrating, and difficult process before the bank approved that loan. In hindsight, I believed this was a required process, but at the time, I could not help but wonder if this was some sort of discrimination. I remember the day my broker called to tell me the good news about the loan approval; instead of jumping for joy, I felt numb and could not help throwing a little sarcasm at the broker. “Are you sure this is over?” And he said, “yes. They do not need my blood type?” ...and he laughed. Similarly, our health must be regarded as the most priceless asset. We should guard it and demand the best clinicians to collaborate. We must empower ourselves to
