Health Activist’s Writers Month Challenge – Here we go!
Having created this blog months and months ago, I’ve struggled to make it a priority as I’ve been working full time and finishing up my master’s full time, in Health Communication, at Boston University. But with a recent full scholarship to attend TedMed12 in a few weeks and coming across the writer’s challenge, it just seemed the time to try and squeeze this in too! Sponsored by WEGO Health, each day there is a prompt to help writers like me with ideas. My hope is to use these prompts but also generate my own thoughts to share with you.
Today’s question is about a health time capsule that would be opened in 2112, what would be in it, and what would people think of it when opened? Given that we spent last week with our eyes on the Supreme Court and the issue of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, I would put a copy of the legislation in my time capsule and would hope in 2112 that it would come as a shock that there was a time when health care coverage, good quality care, was not available for all citizens. In 2112, not only are all American’s covered but medical education is free to those who want to be doctors and who qualify.
I’d also put the red ribbon of AIDS and the pink ribbon of breast cancer. AIDS and breast cancer will have been eradicated. The citizens opening the capsule would likely not understand how the world could allow generations of Africans to go without condoms, without pharmaceuticals to prevent this disease from nearly wiping out a continent. In 2112, all of Africa is thriving and instances of this disease are rare.
Lastly, I’d put a paper medical record! Imagine the surprise to learn that we used to keep track of our records with pen and paper and not electronically.
While this exercise has been fun, I truly believe these advances are possible and that in fact we are on our way of achieving these goals. At TedMed in two weeks, attendees will discuss Great Challenges. What amount of creativity, innovation, risk taking has to occur to solve the Great Challenges? A significant amount of a willingness to think differently and a laser light focus to overcome these medical & societal challenges. Let’s hope that the dialogue becomes a call to action.
