Sick Sick Sick

I am surrounded by sickness. The guy who lives next to me keeps on coughing these wet, gargly coughs. The guy who lives below me goes into fits of howl-coughs. Respiratory illnesses seem to be out to get us all here at the College of Santa Fe. My friend Rex had Bronchitis a few weeks ago. And this week, my friend Andrew just got over it his battle with it. He’s still on anitbiotics. Everyone here seems to be “going bronchial”. I really feel like sickness is a predator. The germs are out there in the darkness and I’m just like the helpless deer, really hoping they don’t pounce on me.

Actually, I usually feel that way. But especially so when the people around me start getting picked off by the germs. I think I’m both fascinated and terrified by sicknesses. I always have been. I don’t know when it started. Maybe with the constant bouts of strep throat and ear infections I had as a kid. Or maybe it was reading The Hot Zone in 7th grade.  That book was summer reading for going into 7th grade English. It is scary as all hell. The Hot Zone‘s a nonfiction book by Richard Preston about two particularly nasty viruses: Ebola and The Marburg Virus. There are some seriously graphic accounts of people “bleeding out” from Ebola. Bleeding gore out of all their orifices.

Anyway, maybe it wasn’t The Hot Zone that created my  obsession with disease and the fear and the “cool in a gross way” fascination I have with sicknesses. Maybe there’s no explanation. I am, however, afraid of  every sickness. From the common cold to Ebola. I’m afraid if I succumb to, say, whatever respiratory my next door neighbor has, it will be no normal cold or flu. No, it’ll be my luck to get the Bird Flu or something like that. And, I would suffer horribly then die.

Diseases are scary and  interesting to me because they’re sort of the ultimate evil. They don’t think, they’re unlike any other things we face.  They will rip through our bodies, doing awful things to it, all to replicate their species. How bizarre is that?  To me, that’s really creepy  and almost unnatural. Like an HP Lovecraft monster. Something totally alien and totally evil. Of course, viruses and bacteria that make us sick aren’t alien. They’ve been a part of life on Earth (and a constant danger to us) for as long as there’s been an Earth. But, still, when you think about them, they’re bizarre.  And, It’s no wonder that many villains and monsters in science fiction are based on diseases. The Borg from Star Trek are a good example of that. I mean, they’re a race of cyborgs who come through and put robot parts on their victims, conquering their minds and turning them into more Borg. The Borg don’t think like we do. They have no sense of a conscience. They just kill, maim  and defile peoples’ bodies and make more of their kind.

And, of course, we’ve got the “modern zombie movie” where its no longer weird planetary alignments or voodoo making zombies, it’s a viral outbreak. For example, Danny Boyle’s film 28 Days Later is one of my favorite movies, and I think my favorite zombie  movie, too. And the Resident Evil videogames (as you probably know, there are movies for that, too, but they suck quite hard) and Robert Kirkman & comic series The Walking Dead. I love all of those.  You know the deal: You get bit by a zombie, you’re infected. The zombie disease (“T-Virus” or “Rage” virus or whatever it’s called in your particular zombie story) kills you and mutates you into a monster. And rarely in these zombie stories, is there a cure.

And, of course, there are tons of “Virus Disaster Stories” (I just made that term up I think) like The Stand by Steven King Or Michael Chriton‘s  Andromeda Strain. And, more recently,  the really bad movie Doomsday written and directed by Neil Marshall.

Even on current episodes of 24, Jack Bauer has succumbed to a bioweapon and is dying. Jack Bauer, who has (and can) survive just about everything, is being defeated by a virus. Of course, he’ll survive thiswith the magic of stem cells. But, in real life, we don’t have miracle cures like they’ll use to save Bauer.

Diseases are very difficult for us humans to fight. We can’t see them without a microscope.  We can make vaccines or we can develop antibiotics, but, a lot of diseases can adapt and overcome those. And, of course, for many diseases (the really bad ones especially) like Marburg or Ebola, there are no cures. Spooky, right? Well, to me, that really is.

Like The First Evil from Buffy, diseases aren’t a typical enemy. We can’t just run and and beat the shit out of them. It takes very different tactics to fight them. And I think humans are wired more to gun in guns blazing  and to beat up evil.

Granted, it’s not like older times when there really were no defenses against disease (you know, back when for medicine they had bloodletting and other really bad ideas), but still I think we’re still quite vulnerable to disease. I really do think diseases are a villain and an enemy of all humankind. And, I think it takes a special kind of hero to go against them.

Okay, that last  there might be too much of a big plug for doctors. But, I like doctors. Not all doctors are heroes, but I do think they do a really necessary job. In my book, someone who knows how to fight the diseases I’m terrified of, and (most importantly, in my case) can tell you: “You’re going to be fine” is real cool. And, I’ll admit my respect for doctors, and high opinion is probably influenced by TV. Well, by House in particular.

I really dislike most of the “Medical Dramas” that are always on TV. I feel like they’re all too much “drama” and too little “medical”. And generally the “drama” is melodrama. Or uninteresting relationship issues between the doctors (Scrubs is especially that way, although it’s not a “drama” so that’s probably ok). House is really the only show of this genre I’ve ever gotten into. That’s because on House, I the “Medical” actually comes before the “drama”. And, I think the drama isn’t overdone like it is in other medical shows. And, most importantly, the show doesn’t dumb down (or just totally ignore as some of these medical shows do) the medical parts. They say everything. And, as a viewer I generally have no idea what they’re talking about. But, somehow watching House and his team diagonse a mystery disease is interesting. I think not dumbing down any of the medical language actually helps that. And, the CGI (even though the graphics aren’t too high quality) animations of what nasty things diseases are doing to peoples’ bodies are gross, but awesome. Those are especailly cool and sort of painful to watch. And the characters make the show interesting, too. Dr. House being the most interesting of all of them, of course.

House, and maybe my family doctor, are really the only “heroes” I know  who fight the villains of disease. I think just about every other “hero” fights against evil humans or human-made problems. But, disease is an unhuman opponent. A freaky, weird menace that we’ll probably never beat. Doctors and others who fight disease are probably locked in an endless struggle with it. I doubt there is a way to make us all disease-free unless we go into a Ghost In The Shell sort of future and have mostly robotic bodies (but, that sort of future comes with its own problems). And, outside of TV I don’t think doctors get as much credit for fighting this fight as they should. Well, they certainly don’t get as much credit as guys fighting wars or fighitng fires or crime.

And, all those fights are important, too. No doubt. But I still think doctors aren’t talked about as heroes nearly as much as they should be. That said I don’t have any doctor I’d like to celebrate or reference here. But I do think it’s important to recognize that the battle against disease is a legit one. People battling diseases are working for the good of everyone. Because, after all, no human one wants to bleed out all over the place.

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