Thankful for Modern Medicine

I found out yesterday that my 3 month old grandson needs surgery to correct a Grade V kidney reflux that he was born with. Apparently, it was detected on ultrasound before he was born along with the fact that his right kidney is smaller than it should be and not in exactly the correct place. After speaking to one of the pediatricians at work, I was relieved to know that it's not a complicated procedure and has a good outcome.
My son Michael had surgery when he was 3 weeks old for pyloric stenosis. I remember the surgeon telling me that 50 years prior, it was considered major surgery and that years before that there was No surgery and children who had that condition would simply die from starvation.
On History International yesterday, I watched a portion of a show about the bubonic plague that ran rampant across Europe in 1358 and estimates say that 50% of the population died from it. That is an astonishing figure.
How grateful I am for modern medicine that has allowed us to survive what we consider minor ailments but used to be major concerns for people just a couple of hundred years ago. As a Labor and Delivery nurse I see this firsthand every day I go to work. To think of the mothers who used to die in childbirth or shortly after for things that we can now deal with is an amazing concept to me and makes me very happy that I live in the times that I do.