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Today is John Wick 3 day. Woot! Roomie has toddled off to hit the ATM and go to the store in search of fresh ground beef and pico de gallo and whatever else his little eye spies. Then it's taco time.
Did you know imperforate anus was a thing? Me neither until I read Dr. Mutter's Marvels. Those are the nuggets of knowledge you acquire when you read medical biographies. Nor did I realize that surgeries prior to the 1830s were conducted without any form or anesthesia. No, thanks, I'll just die. Or limp. Or have those hemorrhoids. The lack of anesthetic before its invention was no one's fault, but I can't believe that there were some doctors who opposed its use because it contravened the will of God. Okay. So, according to these learned gentlemen, God is a sadistic child who delights in the suffering of His creations. Wow. That's a ringing endorsement of the Almighty.
Before I read this, I believed Mutter operated on the disabled and maimed and gathered his deformed specimens because he thought they were less than human, but it was the opposite. He treated them because he believed in their humanity and their right to dignity, and because most other doctors wrote them off as incurable "monsters." His patients sought him out for his kindness and humanity, and they waited days or weeks to consult with him, and his desire to help as many of them as he could contributed to his death.
I'm not sure how displaying their posthumous remains to a morbidly-curious public contributed to their ultimate dignity, but no one is perfect. I misjudged the man, and I am heartily sorry for it.
At least the awful Charles D. Meigs got his miserable comeuppance after years of torturing pregnant women and calling it God's will.
Did you know imperforate anus was a thing? Me neither until I read Dr. Mutter's Marvels. Those are the nuggets of knowledge you acquire when you read medical biographies. Nor did I realize that surgeries prior to the 1830s were conducted without any form or anesthesia. No, thanks, I'll just die. Or limp. Or have those hemorrhoids. The lack of anesthetic before its invention was no one's fault, but I can't believe that there were some doctors who opposed its use because it contravened the will of God. Okay. So, according to these learned gentlemen, God is a sadistic child who delights in the suffering of His creations. Wow. That's a ringing endorsement of the Almighty.
Before I read this, I believed Mutter operated on the disabled and maimed and gathered his deformed specimens because he thought they were less than human, but it was the opposite. He treated them because he believed in their humanity and their right to dignity, and because most other doctors wrote them off as incurable "monsters." His patients sought him out for his kindness and humanity, and they waited days or weeks to consult with him, and his desire to help as many of them as he could contributed to his death.
I'm not sure how displaying their posthumous remains to a morbidly-curious public contributed to their ultimate dignity, but no one is perfect. I misjudged the man, and I am heartily sorry for it.
At least the awful Charles D. Meigs got his miserable comeuppance after years of torturing pregnant women and calling it God's will.
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