Posted by
Dave on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 1:17:38 PM
(This post was in response to
"Bodies on display" by Linda Chavez and reader comments)
Why comment on something you know nothing about?
I accompanied my wife to
Bodies: The Exhibition in New York this past weekend. As a Christian, Pediatric Physical Therapist, my wife has devoted her life thus far to helping disabled children improve their quality of life. I supported my wife through graduate school and distinctly remember the time spent in the cadaver lab. Dissecting a woman piece by piece on a daily bases was not easy, and she struggled at times. But she now considers it one of her greatest classes, and gained more appreciation of the human body, as a creation of God, than ever before. To this day she continues to stay glued to Discovery Health curiously watching surgery after surgery.
I don't have the credentials to participate in a cadaver lab or surgery, and am not sure if I would if given the opportunity. So, when she suggested we go see Bodies: The Exhibition I was a little uneasy; but knowing that she is a wise and discerning woman, I agreed to go.
I'm so glad I did. I learned more about the human body in those 2 hours than I did in all of my years in government run educational institutions. I have a greater understanding of how my body works and how awesome and wonderfully we are made. I saw the brain of a stroke victim, the layers of fat of an obese woman, the corroded lungs of an emphysema sufferer, the black lungs of a smoker, and even such medical advances as hip and knee replacements. I was even able to see the incredible formation of an 8-week-old fetus, which renewed my disdain for abortion and the criminals who kill innocent, unborn babies. Moreover, my wife was able to view in amazing detail the central nervous system, improving her understanding of various disabilities and neurological deformities. For those of you who may not have participated in a cadaver lab, it’s nearly impossible to separate nerves from other tissue in a typical lab setting. Needless to say it was an educational and eye-opening experience on numerous levels.
I have not seen the Body Worlds exhibit so I cannot speak to that. But as for Bodies: The Exhibition, you can call it what you want, but you should know what you're talking about before spewing ignorant opinions. Finding something disagreeable or personally distasteful doesn't always warrant a boycott. Furthermore, using several bodies for the purpose of research and education in no way insinuates that a civilization has no respect for it's dead. In fact, I would suggest that it reveals a desire to preserve life.
Hundreds, probably thousands, of bodies are dissected in medical institutions all over the world. Bodies are skinned, organs removed, and skulls sawed in half. This is how Doctors learn how to remove cancer from your mother or replace your dads failing hip. Why the outrage because a body is preserved for public education instead of burned like the rest?
Ya'll come back now, ya hear!