Fixer
Every cell in our body contains a chemical substance called DNA, arranged in units called genes. Genes direct the growth, development, and function of the human body; everything from eye color, to height, to how often cells divide. The human body works in a splendid magical way, usually, it’s as simple as imagining the fact that when a human cell divides, DNA replicates which means it has to copy and transmit the exact same sequence to its daughter cells. And just like everything in life nothing is perfect, while most DNA replicates with high fidelity, mistakes do happen.
Fortunately, most of these mistakes are fixed through various DNA repair processes by recognizing imperfections, therefore, fixing the problem. But some replication errors make it past these mechanisms, thus becoming permanent mutations, and here comes the role of surgeons, to repair what the body couldn’t repair.
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Life itself is similar to this enchanted phenomenon, everything that happens to you during your casual day can be a mutation, you get up every day trying to do your part as perfectly as possible just like DNA, but as we said before nothing is perfect. Life mutations vary, it may be as small as someone shouting at you with no reason, or as big as being involved in a toxic relationship. Each time you feel down out of something beyond your control, each time you feel betrayed, cheated on or hurt. Each fight whether it’s small or big, whether it’s vital for your future or not, whether it’s with your parents, spouse, colleague, friend, or even a total stranger, a mutation occurs, the sequence is no longer the same. We are all born the same, with no mistakes, jealousy, shame, or anything, and therefore no mutations. Then life happens, and life isn’t perfect, not perfect at all, and you find yourself starting to change, with each mutation, you find yourself way different from the way you were before. Some mutations are beneficial that can change your life for the best, and some are harmful that accumulate and cause cancer, others on the other hand may be neutral with little or no effect at all. Some of those harmful mutations can be fixed through the repair mechanisms or what we call defense mechanisms which operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings including denial or refusal to experience any hostile incident.
As for the body some of those mutations make it past our defense mechanism, and here comes the role of the surgeon, who is in fact that special person you meet, the one who makes a difference in your life, who fixes what the body couldn’t fix, who helps out to take those cancerous cells outside of your body. Some patients are easy, ask for help, cooperate therefore survive, on the other hand, some patients are difficult to deal with, they refuse any help offered, they insist on staying in the bubble they made for themselves and therefore suffer. Sure enough, this is way harder than fixing real body mutations, letting someone in, and fixing what life mutated will never be as simple as doing surgery. One can only hope!
We are born the same, but our environments are different making our mutations different. But remember always that these mutations don’t define us, fixing what’s broken is never too late whether by being your own fixer or by letting your surgeon do the work. Find your fixer, find your surgeon.
Written By: Wala Mansour
