Thankful for Health

It's easy for us to take our health for granted - I know that I'm guilty of it! Reading my Geography textbook, however, opened up my eyes to how utterly grateful I should be for the health I have. Here are some statistics that broke my heart:
- over 25 million people in Africa are infected with AIDS. In Botswana and Swaziland, 40 percent of adults have the disease. There is no vaccine available and drug treatments that slow the disease are expensive - 15,000 a year per person. - tuberculosis, a disease of poverty, affects 40 million people a year - there is still no fully effective vaccine- malaria is the main cause of death in the developing world with 90 percent of infections taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. 300 and 500 million people a year are infected by the disease. Over half of the people that die (around 3 million per year) are children.
So, on this beautiful November day while I'm sitting in my warm, comfortable room, I cannot forget that there are people out there who do not have the blessings that I do. Today, on November 11th, I also remember the soldiers who have fought for freedom and for a better life. I am thankful for my good health and for a beautiful country. :)