Because Microscopy saved my life.
I have been into Microscopy since 2011. I find it
very interesting and very useful to me. I bought my first
microscope because I wanted to discover what was wrong with my
lungs. I had been suffering for lung problems for nine months,
during those 9 months, I had pneumonia and bronchitis a few times.
Two CT scans (9 months apart) found that there was some damage to
the lungs. However, 3 doctors and 1 pulmonary specialist (from the
VA health care system), could not find the cause. At the beginning
of the problems, I had suggested a sputum culture to help
us find the cause. But the first doctor (member of the VA
healthcare system, who had studied medicine in India) said: "We
treat the symptoms, we don't look for the cause of the symptoms".
And I replied to her: "But if we find the cause, and
eliminated the cause, the symptoms will disappear". Then I
realized that, may be, a semester of logic is probably only an
elective in the Indian medical curriculum, although she had done
some residency in the Cleveland Clinic (in Florida).
So I bought a microscope and some agar petri dishes, and did my
own blood analysis and sputum cultures. And I discovered, and proved
empirically, that I had two types of fungi (mold) growing in
my lungs and one type of bacteria that feeds on mold. I then took
photos of the cultured mold and micrographs (digital images from
the microscope) to a friendly cooperative intelligent doctor, who
trusted my data and saw no need to have a (probably incompetent or
corrupt) commercial lab, verify my findings. He then gave me the
proper prescription, and I avoided going into sepsis and dying.
Also, on a different year, when a local lab failed
to find any intestinal parasites. I did my own microscopic
analysis, of my feces and a culture of my feces, and found some
hook worm eggs in the feces, and in the culture found eggs, and a
hook worm that had hatched after 3 days in the culture jar. Some
Mebendazole (Vermox) eliminated the intestinal parasites.
And now, microscopic analysis of my blood, is helping me find out,
the reason for the constant anemia (fatigue) and muscular
& joints pains that I have.
Here are images from the sputum culture: