19 - Family Perspectives on Illness & Dying

       It was odd and uncomfortable to randomly ask my mother about what she thought about illness and dying.  Sitting on the beige colored couch, my mother tilted her head for a moment and gave a very straight forward answer, which was expected because this was not the first time I had ever talked about death with her.  "We all experience illness and death at one point in time.  We all die, it's a part of life you have to accept" she said nonchalantly.  Hearing this, I imagined the words as if they were that of an actor's, scripted and practiced many times.  I've heard this response one too many times and it serves as cliche but, most cliches are indeed true, including this one.
       Cliches about death and illnesses live on forever through the internet, books, and stories.  We have all learned that death is something everyone experiences yet, we fear it as if the idea were foreign.  Our fear drives society to educate aspiring adolescents and encourage them to become doctors, surgeons, and nurses, essentially the middle men in between life and death, whose jobs are to prevent illness.  With thousands of new medicines arriving in the market, we can begin to question our perception of medicine's importance. Looking forward to pursue a career in pharmacy, I have already discussed with my mother the importance of medicine in healing those who are ill.  Having given her the basics of allopathic versus holistic medicines, I asked my mother which of the two she had preferred.  A furrow in her brow, my mother pointed out the heath stimulating factor in which maybe holistic medicines such as herbs can provide security, extinguishing the need to worry about the side effects of a medicine with chemicals.  As helpful as herbs may seem to be, the extent to which herbs can heal cannot reach that of allopathic medicines and so, different factors can determine the virtue of a certain medicine.  Realizing the rational nature of my mother, I was surprised to see the contradictions in her response to my questions though, answering such a  question is difficult considering the several variables.
       After ending the discussion with my mother, I had realized I had already known what my mother would have answered in response to my questions.  This itself had demonstrated how my mothers views of how to deal with illness and dying directly influence how I approach the same things.  However, having been born in a different generation than my parents, my view of medicine is considerably different.  I am fond of the idea of allopathic medicines as prescribed medicines are much more common than they were about 50 years ago.  Solutions for colds, coughs, and congested noses have become more accessible and so, my desire to drink some herbal tea over having a measured dose of Robitussin has died down.  Encouraging me to consume as little medicine as possible, my mother is strict in educating me the importance of health and self-worth of the body.  As my mother's generation's approach to illness and dying overlap with that of my own generation's, I can conclude that allopathic and holistic medicines, both serving to deviate from the path of death, have both advantages and disadvantages.