I always feel like I'm aging myself (because I am) when I marvel about the wonders of the modern world. I remember when...
- learning to use a computer meant writing 10 lines of code on an original Apple (no, I'm not quite old enough to be familiar with computers that took up a whole room).
- we taped ourselves on cassette tapes to mail to Grandma so she could hear our voices. Skype - who'd a thunk it?
- we still had a party line at the end of Eagle River valley
- etc., etc., etc.
The gall we have to complain when it takes more than a few seconds for an e-mail to reach its destination - I mean, really!
In my opinion, some of the greatest marvels that exist are in the medical realm. The very fact that we can surgically, if not chemically, fix so many problems is just phenomenal. Mom had the mitral valve in her heart replaced with one from a pig, can you imagine?!
Today, Rowan went to the clinic because she has a tender lump under her jaw, directly behind the point of her chin. Turns out it's a thyroglossal cyst. Apparently, when a embryo/fetus is developing, the cells that become the thyroid gland are in the mouth region. As the fetus develops, the cells migrate down a tube to the throat where they become the thyroid gland. The tube is typically absorbed by the body, but in some people a small piece of it remains. In Rowan's case, this bit of tube got an infection in it. Shouldn't be a big deal, she just has to swallow antibiotic horse pills for ten days.
Rowan's lump isn't this big, but this is essentially what it looks like.
What amazes me is that they even know anything about this. I know enough science to understand that you can study just about anything, but who would even conceive to study this, let alone focus on newly existing embryos to figure it out. Mind boggling!
I'm going back to my computer now. I don't understand it either, but at least I know how to use it...most of the time.
