The Downside

I walk a fine line sometimes, when it comes to the health of my family members. 

The children of physicians ourselves, my siblings and I never saw other doctors (at least once we were past vaccine age), and the same goes for my kids.  I remember being so annoyed when my parents would downplay our cuts and bruises, but forbade us the trampoline and made us wear helmets. My mother would always say "We've seen what can happen," but I never appreciated the sentiment, of course.

Now, I know how to manage most of my childrens' ailments on my own, and I don't worry about a rash or a runny nose either, because I'm lucky enough to have the required knowledge.  But sometimes, my children will develop a symptom or sign - my daughter's lips turn blue while she sleeps, my son complains of "heart" pain. They don't turn out to be serious, but for a few moments, I think of all the diseases or outcomes that could happen - a catalog of the worst possible scenarios presents itself, things that I almost wish I didn't even know about, so that the idea wouldn't make me freeze in sudden terror. Sometimes, I wonder whether it may be better to fear the worst when you don't know exactly what the worst is.

Such is the price of knowledge.