“Come On In Betty, Here’s Allen…” This year I plan to take a deep dive into all things Regenerative Medicine and the Science of Longevity which at its core is really an attempt to optimize the art of being human. No small task, but if we can take all the things that make our human experience full of vitality and life and prolong that for a long as possible – that to me is the goal of medicine. Through the years, I have come to realize that the misstep in approaching this problem is not in searching for the holy grail of medicine which will allow us to live longer better, but rather in assuming we know what it is we are searching for. Otherwise, the grail we obtain is only a chalice from the wrong quest and for the wrong purpose. To better enhance and optimize our human experience whether it be physically, mentally, or otherwise, the First question of medicine is “What is the Human Organism?” It is so much more than the cadaver I studied in medical school. It is a complex social creature essentially unrecognizable from its seemingly similar evolutionary ancestors. Every new discovery reveals endless levels of complexity - what seems to be something we can actually understand – something like gross anatomy – yields more questions than answers. Why have we evolved nearly limitless facial expressions? What the limit of the fastest human mile? What is the Human Organism? I can’t answer that today but what I will say is that Betty White, who lived a very long life with relatively good health to the end had a lot to say about the answer. “Come on in Betty, Here’s Allen…” summarizes a fundamental need of nearly every human of the planet -To love always and to be loved always. Taken at face value, it’s an impossible request, yet it is a universal human experience. If you have lost a loved one you may have dealt with the pain of your loss and put it behind you. But deep down remains the hope, that one day, someday… you might see that person again. This is the expression of HOPE. A UNIQUELY HUMAN quality we need to understand if we are going to honestly answer the questions before us. Thank you, Betty for your life, and especially for your hope. (at Regeneris Medical Boston) https://www.instagram.com/docstemcell/p/CYSkc1Ap1Dj/?utm_medium=tumblr
