I'll be honest about why this particular topic is attractive to me. It's because it allows me to mention a good friend of mine whose life journey has been nothing less than fascinating and, yes, revolutionary.

Jason Koger

I've known Jason Koger for a very long time. His mother once worked with my mother at the hospital. His dad might have, too, but I'm less clear on that. Regardless, he's one of the good ones, to say the least, and in 2008, he lost both his hands in a four-wheeler accident. Through the miracle of myoelectric prosthesis, Jason has new hands and continues to shatter every concept I might have had about how far we can take technology. He travels the world demonstrating this life-changing development.

World's First Hand Transplant

I was reminded of Jason while searching through a collection of Kentucky "superlatives." I stumbled upon the story of the late Dr. Joseph Kutz, a man who, along with his partner, the late Dr. Harold Kleinert, helped the University of Louisville medical school program's profile explode on an international level.

Their revolutionary strides in microsurgery led to the world's first successful hand transplant surgery in 1999. In 2010, Kutz and his team performed the first double hand transplant surgery, and it took 17 hours.

Four years later, Kutz and his celebrated surgical staff conducted a clinical trial that examined the use of body fat as an agent for fighting rejection, post-transplant.

I've always wondered why there was such a large cluster of world-class hospitals in downtown Louisville. While I don't have a definitive answer to that question, I get I could make a good educated guess at this point.

20 States With The Worst Medical Shortages

According to 24/7, These are the worst 20 states with medical shortages.

"To determine the states whose residents were most affected by both prescription and over-the-counter drug shortages, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report by the LendingTree insurance subsidiary ValuePenguin, a consumer spending data site."

The Most Intense Medical TV Shows Ever Made

Everyone is going to be okay. Maybe. 

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