Friday, March 13, 2015

THE ADAM'S APPLE

       In medicine when we say Adam's apple, we talk about the area in the neck, where there is thyroid gland and the prominence moves when we swallow . It also gets more prominent in males with the onset of puberty.But today I am talking about the story of the Adam and Eve and the story of the Garden of Eden and the forbidden apple. As the story goes ( or as I understand it )the GOD had created the man in his image ,the 1st man called ADAM, then HE created Women .They were told not to eat the fruit or the apple in the 'center of the Garden of Eden '. Then the Adam committed the Sin of eating the apple. So now all of us are 'paying ' for the sin of Adam and Eve. I had hard time accepting the story. In first place why would the GOD forbid Adam from eating the apple. What is so special about the apple tree in the center of the Garden of Eden that one should not eat it ?Secondly why are we all including the new borne infant are paying for it now"?It just does not make sense.So when I looked at it from a different view to interpret  mystically written scripture,I was told a different interpretation. THIS IS NOT MY OWN IDEA.It goes like this . When the God created the man , and the women , he provided us with the various sensed to keep us alive . So we have hunger to eat and we do not die of starvation and eyes to see  and have touch to prevent burns or injuries. We were also provide with sex organs to procreate and not get extinct. So the God wanted us to use these senses only as 'needed 'and as' desired '.THE GARDEN OF EDEN IS OUR BODY and the tasting the apple in the center of the garden was doing the sex without need for the procreation , but just for the lust.Human beings are the only animal that engage in the act of sex at random. THIS WAS THE SIN AND WE ALL HAVE BEEN AFFLICTED WITH IT.I was reminded of this when I saw this patient .
     I see many patients who have significant compromise of the lung function Many of them are short of breath with little activity and even need oxygen .The question of engaging in sexual act often arise in younger patients and there is always some frustration with the act as shortness of breath interferes with the pleasure.But many of my patients are older and have many other issues and some of them to be on not only oxygen , but also on breathing machines . Some of my patients are so bad that their breathing has to be supported by breathing machine , which gives them the actual breath.I have few patients who are on such machines at night and even sometimes during day time to get relief from the shortness of the breath.I have one such patient , that has been on regular respirator one time and has been on similar machine to help his breathing at home Recently his wife called me stating that he was not doing that well and was sleeping more time even during and had no energy , I called a respiratory therapist and we ran some tests at home to check his oxygen and the carbon dioxide while at sleep on respirator. It showed that his lung were not doing the job of getting rid of the carbon dioxide. So the retention of the carbon dioxide caused him to sleep all the time . So I had to increase the support from the respirator.(to do the job that his lungs were not doing )My next visit with him and his wife scheduled and I explained them as to what we found and what I had done . He was feeling better with the change in the machine. But then he asked me to close the examination room and told me that he wanted to ask me a 'personal' question. So I did it and his question surprised me.He wanted to know what can he do about the sex life,as he was too short of breath and then had problem with the erection ,I was shocked .In this 'older' gentleman who needs to be on respirator during night and even during day time for 4 hours, I was not expecting this question.My answer is not important.But it reminded me of the story of Adam and Eve and the first SIN. We are still paying for the sin ,as we are still doing the sin (May be this is too harsh word for the simple act of sex , but it is the lust and the attachment and not the act itself.)

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