Randy M. (RJ)
How Biology factors touched/shaped my life
As I worked through my Biology class it made me look at life differently. It made me think about how my life has been touched by things like heart disease, diabetes, cell regeneration, nutrition and genetics. Let me start with my grandmother whom I never had a chance to know because she passed away before I was born. My father’s mother past away from cancer 28 years ago, because of advancements in research the survival rate has increased greatly. Work being done by scientist who are developing better medications, using cell research to better understand causes give us hope that someday cancer will be wiped out. Research around how nutrition can help keep us healthier is also very encouraging.
As I continued to reflect on the impact of what I was learning in Biology, and the impact it has on my life, I started thinking about my grandfathers. I was very lucky to have both of my grandfathers in my life for a long period of time. Unfortunately they both are no longer with us. They had a lot in common, they both loved baseball and loved to fish and be around the water. Unfortunately they also had heart disease in common as well, and it eventually took their life. A story I would like to share happened just a few months ago. I play college baseball and I am a pitcher. On a Sunday in April I was on the mound pitching against one of the better teams in our division. It was one of those days where everything was working for me. I pitched the best game of my career, after the game my father told me the bad news, my grandfather past away. I truly believe that my grandfather was with me on the mound that day as my other grandfather cheered me on. It was a day I will keep with me forever.
I will take the things I learned about how to lower the risk of heart disease through exercise, diet and living a healthier life style and use those to lower my risk of heart disease. Also with a better understanding on genetics I will make sure I also see a doctor regularly as well as encourage my parents to do the same.
As I continued my journey down memory lane my attention turned to our family pet Zoie. Zoie was with us for 11 years before developing cancer as well as diabetes and passing away last fall. The diabetes was brought on from being overweight, she also lost her eye sight. Now that I have a better understanding how diet and exercise not only affects humans but our pets as well. I will make sure our new puppy Rocky gets plenty of exercise and eats healthy.
PS- Don't let the fur fool you, she was mostly hair. LOL
PS- Don't let the fur fool you, she was mostly hair. LOL
The final piece of the story revolves around what happened to me 3 years ago. After my high school baseball team won back to back state championships I fell and shattered my knee cap in 5 places. Needless to say I was devastated. I thought my future with playing college baseball was over before it got started. Thankfully I was wrong. Because of the miraculous way our body heals itself, including cell generation and healing agents (let's not forget the great technology and the doctors who use it) I was able to get back on the field in 8 months and the rest is history. In closing, I now look at life through a different Lenz and have a much better understanding of how things work and why...and will ask more questions.
Now Off to my next adventure!!