Body Worlds

Can I just tell you how amazing the human body is!!! Last Saturday, my cute husband and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at The Leonardo in Salt Lake City. If you live in the area, I would recomend that you go! For those of you that might be a little squimish, please know that it isn't gross at all...but rather educational, instructive, and inspiring. It was interesting to watch people moving their hands or other parts of their bodies while looking at the exhibit...learning about what makes their body such an awesome machine.

Even though I'm a nurse, and I also student-taught human anatomy (in the cadaver lab) for three years, I still learned a lot at the exhibit. It was really nice to put some things in perspective. For example, we know that the average human heart pumps about 18,000 gallons of blood A DAY, which sounds like a lot...and is a lot...but, when you see a room full of huge oil drums as representing a day's work of the heart, you really begin to see what an amazing organ that is. The lungs were another really neat thing to look at. Also, how migraines affect the brain...I get migraines so this was something I really wanted to see.

One of the areas that I was really touched by was the area on babies and human development. They had varying stages of embryonic and fetal growth. For those of you that have read my 'Little Baby Feet' post, you can probably understand why I was so touched by this. And, I think anyone that has experienced a miscarriage would feel the same way. When you experience a miscarriage it feels like a bad dream...you have no proof...nothing that you saw (besides the pregnancy test) or felt to prove that you were pregnant. I have lost babies at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, and 11-12 weeks. It was further proof to me that there really was a baby in there. The one at the exhibit that I was most interested in was the one at nine weeks. At nine weeks, the baby has arms, hands, and fingers...it has legs, feet, and toes...it looks like a very miniature person. Even though I never saw that or felt that when I was pregnant, it doesn't mean that it didn't exist. I was so touched, and surprisingly comforted, as I saw these babies and had to blink back the tears. I think it was nice for my husband to see too...as he squeezed my hand and gave me a hug as we walked through.

Another area I found touching was on organ donation...I am an organ donor, and I would be honored to know that in my death I gave someone another chance at life...althougth I hope I don't die for a really, really long time! =) They had a letter that someone had written after receiving a new heart...so heartfelt and moving.

I know that there is a lot of controversy over the Body Worlds in general throughout the country, as it is a traveling exhibit. But, all that aside, it was an amazing exhibit...very educational and inspiring. Both my husband and I left with a greater appreciation of our bodies and how to treat them...we want to be healthy and happy. How grateful I am for my body, even with its limitations, and for the amazing things that it does every day for me without my even thinking about it! Our bodies truly are an amazing gift!