Soc 490 Are We In Control of Our Own Health?

Are we in control of our health or not? I have swayed back and forth on this topic long before this question presented itself in class. The debate of whether we are in control over our health or not has consistently bombarded my life the past few years. As healthy as someone can live, there is too much that can go wrong that will keep him/her from being in control of their health. Unforeseen factors come into play that cannot be negated by even the healthiest lifestyles. A good diet, denying cigarettes, and exercise are no match for genetics or random chance. “The fact is that bad genes, bad luck, and the ravages of age eventually take their toll on all of us- even the most careful of us” (S. Robinson). There are too many factors out of our hands that will prevent our health from being in our control. People are born with disabilities that had no say in avoiding physical or mental limitations. Even if you live the healthiest possible lifestyle that a human being can achieve, you can still get lung cancer even if you never touched a cigarette in your life.

                “Man is not allowed to despise his bodily life, rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” According to Gaudium, although we are not in control of our own health, it is accordance with Gods will to take care of our bodies to the best of our abilities. The body is looked upon as a temple, and we cannot allow this “temple” to become spoiled by neglect and sin. Even if diabetes, cancer or paralysis befalls upon us, we are still one of God’s creations and must treat our bodies as such. Diet and exercise may not control our overall health, but it can contribute to lessening the chances or severity of certain ailments.

                Sometimes life is like a really bad game of Old Maid. You get dealt the Old Maid card and you get stuck with the loss at the end of the game without being able to do anything about it. The past six years have changed how I view my health. When a giant cell tumor was found gnawing away at my upper tibia, my life was hit with a monumental roadblock. I was one of the fastest runners in my class in high school. I ran the 400m for track and ran on the varsity team for Cross Country. I loved Basketball, I used to high jump and I was barely an inch short of being able to reach my goal on being able to dunk a basketball on a full sized hoop. All my favorite activities including Ultimate Frisbee along with any chance for athletic scholarships came to a crashing halt with by a bone eating tumor. No matter how healthy my diet was or how much exercise I got, there was no stopping two aggressive tumor from tearing my knee to shreds in back to back winters. The last surgery was December 27^th, 2013 (Merry Christmas to me) and I still won’t be able to start physical therapy until winter of this year if I’m lucky. Giant cell tumors are not caused by smoking, too little exercise, too much exercise, poor diet or genetics. They are simply caused by random chance. This experience brought to light that my control of my health was extremely limited at best. Sometimes when you get that Old Maid, you can’t get rid of it.