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HOW DO WE MEASURE societal wealth? And what triggered this thought?
I started pondering the issue early last year. I had a total left knee joint replacement in January 2023. Not long after, I was sitting in my living room with an ice pack on my knee, having just completed a strenuous set of stretches and exercises.
The room was being warmed by a modern gas fireplace, lit by a remote control. No wood to split, no kindling to gather, no smoke to worry about. It was leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, so I was listening to a specially curated playlist of Irish music on a smart device. There was no need to get up and flip the album or change the tape.
I was sitting in a motorized leather recliner with multiple controls and a USB charging port. This came in handy during my recovery, as I needed to elevate my knee to reduce the swelling.
On the wall was a 10-year-old, 55-inch flat panel TV. This is ancient technology today, but it still worked quite well. Instead of watching TV, I was reading on my laptop. If I needed groceries, books, clothing, wine or other essentials, I could have ordered them on my laptop and had the items delivered to my doorstep.
Perhaps the most remarkable advance was buried in my knee. I went to a modern outpatient surgery center in Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The staff was friendly, professional and efficient. I entered at 9:30 a.m. and was on my way home by 4 p.m. In between, I acquired a new Stryker Triathlon Total Knee System with a 25-year life span. That will get me to age 90, at which point I assume they’ll be able to replace the plastic pad as easily as a mechanic replaces the pads on my car’s disc brakes.
Four years ago, I had the same surgery on my right knee. I spent one night in the hospital. I had physical therapy at my home for about two weeks, and then went to a local physical therapy facility for another four weeks. Physical therapy was tough, but it worked. This time around, I went to physical therapy two days after surgery. It was still hard work, but I was significantly ahead of the previous schedule.
The advances in medical technology that are available today would have been unthinkable not long ago. Knee, hip and shoulder replacements have become commonplace. My latest knee replacement was largely covered by Medicare, and only cost me the $226 Part B deductible.
I’ve had conversations about this topic with a friend who’s one of the more financially savvy people I know. He’s often commented about the spectacular amount of wealth we share. It’s easy to focus on our society’s challenges and failures. It would be folly to dispute that they exist. But I think it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about the spectacular wealth available to us. I don’t include it when I calculate our family’s net worth, but it would swamp anything we’ve acquired.
Hello Richard; Congrats on the new knees. I’m a 73 year old runner. Only running 3 miles per day, slow 5.3 mph. Any more or any faster the left knee inflames and I’m down for a week. Can one run say a half marathon with a knee replacement?
Total joint replacements are designed to provide pain free activities of daily living and low load exercise, not the heavy loading forces from running (see Bo Jackson)
My 80+ parents were awed by 1990s cellphones. They grew up with five channels of over-the-air black and white UHF TV, and were shocked by the bounty of CATV over a hi-def TV. My father couldn’t get over listening to Mozart and Bing Crosby over earbuds while I drove him around. There are things that happen every day that push out the boundaries of life and what life offers us – and we should be thankful for it all. And new advances happen every day. It always makes me go back to basics: how is it that I got here, on this planet, in this time and place, with the mental and other abilities to take advantage of such things? Even though the next generations will have even more, I feel very lucky.
Thanks, Rick for a great article. As others have commented, an attitude of gratitude is important to a happy and successful life. I had my second knee replacement this past January. The first was in 2022. Very happy with both.
You should probably turn off that gas fireplace. The particulate matter from natural gas combustion is very bad for your health. For example, may cases of asthma in children have been directly linked to gas appliances, and that’s just the start of the long list of health impacts. People used to think that since you don’t see the smoke it was okay, but as with radon, we now know that invisible gas can do significant harm.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-health-risks-of-gas-stoves-explained/
Wow, this is a shockingly negative response to a single point of scientific fact.
Is this still a factor if the gas fireplace is a closed system behind glass?
I would think that’s perfectly fine. Gas stoves and open fireplaces are the main concern.
I think Richard’s point is that technological advances and innovation have improved millions of lives. I can’t imagine that particulate matter from natural gas combustion negates all these advantages.
I made a single point about a scientific fact. At no point did I claim that this fact negates all technological advantages.
Ric:
I am going to get an X-ray on my knees in June. Nothing really serious, as far as I know. I might have “Catholic Knees,” after all these years. But I am 73 and I have a hard time kneeing on any almost any surface, hard or soft. Not sure if one replacements are in my future, but it’s good to know that if they are, our coverage will be there for us.
I retired in January, and on February 1st, my wife and I went onto Medicare with a Medicare Supplement Plans (G.) My wife had a medical procedure done in March and so did I. The Medicare claims were paid as expected and I was pleasantly surprised. I guess we always hear the horror stories when the programs fail to perform as expected, but we don’t hear about the smooth claims often enough. Our part B Deductible was $240, otherwise, a similar story.
As to all the modern electronics and gadgets, and services available today…like you, I am amazed. I bought my first Apple product in 2010. Since then, I have gone “all in on Apple.” iMac, Mac Book Pro, Mac Book Air, iPad, Apple Watch…2-3 generation on most of them. Between Amazon Prime, Walmart Online and my 10% Military Veteran’s discounts from Lowe’s and Home Deport, it’s hard to “buy local,” but we try.
Every Fall there is an article about incoming College Freshmen. It is always fun to read about what they all take for granted. Things that were science fiction when I was a kid are common place today. Remember the old Dick Tracy Two Way Radio/Walkie Talkie Watches?
Great Article. Reminds us to all appreciate what we have these days and try not to concentrate on all that is wrong in our worlds.
This is a great perspective on our lives Rick. I hope that my kids, grand kids, and etc are able to say the same.
Congrats, Richard. I know many people with knee replacements. They all seem to wish they’d done it sooner. The technology has simply galloped ahead.
I think constantly about medical advances because I live in that world. I wear an insulin pump for my type 1 diabetes that didn’t exist five years ago. I also make a living doing public relations for companies developing new medical procedures. Over the years I’ve pitched stories on new treatments for everything from profound depression and heart failure to urinary incontinence, varicose veins and sinusitis. The one thing all the patients had in common was gratitude for the development of the device.
I’m also here because of medical advances. The five-year survival rate for my cancer was around ten percent at the time it was diagnosed in 2015, but just weeks earlier the FDA had approved a new form of immunotherapy. That five-year rate I mentioned is now 60%. Incredible.
We live in an era of medical miracles beyond anything our grandparents could have imagined.
Thanks Mike. Thrilled to hear how well you are doing.
Here’s a shameless plug for HumbleDollar and its founder. It occurred to me this morning that the information provided on the HD website is another great example of the “common wealth” available to all of us. How many books would you have to purchase to cover the enormous breadth and depth contained here. And the technology allows readers from all over the world to interact and share views, questions, and experiences. How cool is that?
Agree. A rich source of information not available elsewhere. Personal experiences that you can relate to. Glad I found this site.
Excellent article and perspective, Rick. Apropos of the exchange Ed and you had, I’m always in awe of the toughness of our forbears in accomplishing what they did. I enjoy movies and books about those who made the trek west in the 1800s and the incredible challenges they overcame with such “primitive” (by modern standards) means. I don’t think I’d do too well enduring a winter in the Dakotas with no central heat!
I also like hearing about your successful knee replacements as my wife is getting close to needing one of those. But if she can wait a couple more years, who knows what additional technological advances she might enjoy?
Andrew, thanks for reading and the kind words. I used to really enjoy camping, but I’ve never trekked across country! The thought of sleeping on the ground at my age is daunting!
I feel for your wife. I had the first knee done in September 2019. I waited at least a year too long. that last year was pretty much wasted, including a two week trip to Italy. It’s hard to know when to pull the trigger. When it gets in the way of your life it might be time! Best of luck to your wife.
Cataract surgery two weeks ago gave me a new outlook on life. And my hearing aids make me feel like the $6 million man.
Willian, thanks for reading and commenting. I’m happy to hear you things are on the right track for you.
I also had total knee replacement around the same time as you. I share with others how amazed I am with what they did.
Thinking of how things have changed over just my lifetime I was sharing with my grandkids that my earliest memory is my great grandma was that she had an outhouse and the operator would connect her phone calls for her and she could join in the conversation if she wanted to 🙂
Larry, thanks for reading and commenting. It is amazing to think how far we’ve come since our grandparents time!
Found your article uplifting, Rick. Gratitude actually works wonders. Your thoughts do determine your happiness and affect your health. They can determine your overall quality of life.
Marjorie, you seem to have thought about “happiness” a bit. Thought I’d share my mantra. It’s action oriented, something I can control and is positive/uplifting: “I choose happiness.”
Thanks Marjorie. You are so right.
I can relate, having undergone a right knee replacement in early 2020 (expected) and a left hip replacement in 2022 (rapid onset, totally unexpected). Advances in engineering/software technology and medical technology have had huge lifestyle impacts.
Thanks Jeff and good luck with the new parts. One thing I did t mention is the improvement in anesthesia. I had no unpleasant after effects.
Nice reflections Rick. I often think about comparing the present and the past too and I am always amazed – at what many of us don’t appreciate.
When it comes to health care, I think about treatments of the past say when bleeding was a standard treatment and then I think 50 years from now they will be saying how archaic our health care was. I suspect – hope – by then or years before things like chemo will be long forgotten with bleeding.
Thanks Dick. The engineer in me wonders what will be the big improvements, like clean water, sanitation, safe transportation, …. I hope I can stick around to see some of it.
Rick, great observations. I’m in the camp with you and your friend. Our material lives are so much better than our predecessors. And I often express the observation to patients that their grandparents may have spent their last years debilitated by an arthritic joint.
The additional thought that strikes me is the fortitude and persistence of past generations to keep moving forward despite the hard living compared to our life of ease.
Edmund, thanks for reading your kind words. I too am amazed at the resilience and courage of past generations. It helps keep our current challenges in perspective.
Loved your article. I believe gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Kim, thanks for reading and your kind words.