2001 Winning Essay - Tucson
Congratulations to the Tucson Winner of the 2001 Essay Contest!
The Advancement of Medicine
By Megan, Canyon Del Oro High School, Tucson, AZ
As I sit here looking at an old family portrait, the common phrase runs through my mind and I find myself agreeing that a picture is truly worth a thousand words, maybe even more. I see lives that have been lived to the fullest, lives that would be nonexistent without the advancements in medicine due to animal testing. My aunt and uncle are patients with high- blood pressure and my seven-year-old cousin has been diagnosed with Graves Disease. My grandfather, well he's seen it all, he has high-blood pressure, congenital heart failure, and is in remission from lymphoma. He is truly a fighter that will never give up. My family utterly understands the value of life; we have seen how it can be taken away, but more often we have seen how it can be saved through the miracle of medicine.
My grandfather was born in 1928. He went to the Korean War, lived overseas for many years, and brought up four amazing children. To even out the good and the bad my grandfather, like many of my other relatives, has spent his life trying to overcome high-blood pressure. It is an almost unfeasible feat. However, with the knowledge gained from animal testing, it has become approachable. The life of my grandfather has been made slightly better, and this outcome has become slightly surer. None of this would have been possible a hundred years ago; back then they didn’t use animals to save the life of a human being. It is a sacrifice that is truly worth it.
My grandfather never had an easy life. At the age of 58 he was diagnosed with a form of cancer known as lymphoma. He then underwent chemotherapy and was lucky that his cancer went into remission. Because of the advancements medical researchers were able to make due to animal testing my grandfather's life was saved. Not only was it saved, but also in the process he has learned the value of life and that of love. These lessons that he has learned have been learned by each and every one of his friends and family as well. If his life had not been saved it is possible that the lesson learned would have been slightly different. I was once told that bad things, and good things for that matter, travel in threes. High-blood pressure and cancer, unimaginably, only count as two. While my grandfather did have several "smaller" illnesses, the third was the one that tipped the boat. As well as having high-blood pressure and being diagnosed with cancer, he has congenital heart failure. Because of this, doctors have prescribed every medication and surgery imaginable. Thus, he is now able to watch, and sometimes, even play with is grandchildren. He has eight in all. And none of them would be the same without him. So not only did animal testing save his life, it has forever improved the quality of the lives of those around him.
Some may wonder how a person can accept and fortify animal testing. I am, in entirety, an animal lover, but would I rather a cute, playful little puppy over my grandfather? Absolutely not. I have taken the value of life into perspective, and found that it is priceless. When my grandfather passes away he will be irreplaceable. But my pets, they will come and they will go, and the pain that I feel will be nowhere near as great as the joy I feel each and every day that my grandfather's life is prolonged with the astounding advancements that are attainable with animal testing.
Follow Up Essay by Megan, Completed internship at the University of Arizona
A Summer That I Will Never Forget
As I sat in class today I found it hard to believe that I have been back in school for almost three months now. Three months worth of classes. Three months work of homework. And three months worth of labs in my "favorite" class: biology. While listening to lectures I try to comprehend everything my teacher is saying, but I find it near impossible. Then I think back to my summer internship and try to process how anyone could understand this subject so well as to generate results that can affect the way people live. In thinking about this, I begin to understand how in-depth biomedical research really is. And I become grateful for having the opportunity to work in a lab, for I never would have fully appreciated what researchers do had I not had this opportunity.
Prior to interning at a biomedical research lab, I honestly had no clue what went on within a lab. All of this was a mystery to me. While I had watched the occasional episode of "Bill Nye", I found it hard to believe that people could actually work that way. There was always a red substance here, or a green gas there. It all seemed so unreal. So, when I walked into the lab that first day, there was no red liquid. The green gas was absent. And I thought to myself, "Hey it's not like this on TV." But what in life is? Then I began to understand what I was witnessing. I was watching real people trying to make medical advancements that could affect the way people around me, including myself, live. Bill Nye never did that.
At the beginning of that summer I knew nothing about biology. What I did know, however, was that the very way of life of just about everyone in my family, especially my grandfather, had been dramatically affected by the findings from research labs such as the one I worked in. A few weeks ago my grandfather was once again admitted to the hospital, and because of medical research his life was once again prolonged. For that I am very thankful. If it wasn't for these people who have a greater understanding of biology than I could ever hope to have, the grandfather I have grown to love could have taken his last breath long ago. But he didn't. That's because he is as strong a person as any due to the life altering research that goes on each and every day within research labs across the world.
I am appreciative to the people that allowed me to come into their lab and discover how progress is made first hand. It was here that I saw how passionate you could be about your work. And it was here that I discovered that if you wonder "how" or question "Why" you can find an answer. Biomedical research is a gift that we should all use to our benefit, for it can change a person's life for the better.
Thank you.
|
|
 University of Arizona |
 CFAAR Homepage |
 Animal Care |
 AHSC Library |
 Contact SwAEBR |
This page was designed by SwAEBR Webmaster
Revised 2/27/03
