A few days before Santa Claus came to town, and amidst the ubiquitous chatter of Christmas holidays and whatnot, I had a colonoscopy.
It was my second time; my first was in 2012 when my MD at the time suggested that I have the procedure done because of a wake-up call in my family [more importantly for my peace of mind].
My doctor at the time set up that first appointment, for what for me was the unfamiliar, with one of his colleagues. It was scheduled for a few months down the road, I guess to allow me some time to prepare for the unfamiliar.
A colonoscopy is something I had been hearing about; needless to say for me it was weeks… of anxiety thinking, wondering… what I was in for, what to expect. I was anxious, apprehensive, and more. Call it fear of the unknown. All I could envision was an operating room (I had been in one of them on a couple occasions) with surgical tools slicing through my flesh with blood flowing…
Images notwithstanding, for me the body is akin to an automobile that must be properly maintained to make it function well. I don’t own an automobile, but I make an annual visit to my body mechanic (Dr. X.) to ensure that all the parts and systems are functioning normally (at best at one hundred percent”). If there are any abnormalities in a given year, I schedule another appointment.
So my date for that first colonoscopy finally arrived. I was overwhelmed, all sorts of wild thoughts running through my mind just couldn’t wait for it to be over. I had done all the preparatory stuff: fasting, etc. That first time I said yes to the sedative. But that “after effects” feeling was well… unpleasant.
So on my second time around, December 20, I arrived at the hospital at my appointed time, met with the ‘colonoscopy’ team each one with some related function and information to impart – listening to how the procedure is carried out, reading various documents, etc.
What was the most distressful aspect of that second colonoscopy procedure? The over 24-hour preparation (fasting… liquid consumption only, including Jell-O) prior to, then a few more hours the morning of, the procedure. I was starving.
[Aside… Now I have a slight idea of how those millions of people we often see in the news in various parts of this crises-fraught world just about everyday feel, as they exist for days, weeks… with scant little to survive on. I tried to imagine not having food or water for days. Hunger, in my view, is akin to torture.]
The next is slight discomfort during… no, at the beginning of the procedure. If you opt for a sedative you will temporarily check in-and-out during… If not you could see your inside and the plumbing network. It was like TV, and I wanted to see the show, something I missed that first time because I opted for the needle.
Interesting, that’s all I can say.
In about 20 minutes the show was over; when all was said and done, akin to an exam, I passed with flying colours… It’s all I wanted to hear from the doctor. He wrote his report, along with my next appointment, 2022, and handed me a copy. And I was rolled out of the operations room into the “recovery room.” But I had nothing to recover from. In the interim I was offered some juice and biscuits to remind me how important eating is for our well-being. I was hungry.
Then I was discharged… happy with another important aspect of my ongoing pursuit of good health. And with Christmas just a few days away, I figured I might as well take care of one more matter, part of my annual health regime, a blood test (or as the medical practitioners call it, blood work). I haven’t heard from my doctor yet, so I’m assuming all is well as far as the results go. As the proverb goes, “No news is good news.”
Using the money analogy, call it “good health in the bank.”
A positive way to start the New Year.
Nope! There’s nothing at all wrong with chasing wealth, except poor to bad health – whichever you deem better, or worse – and the inability to enjoy your wealth. Looking at it either way—poor or bad—makes enjoying your wealth a moot point, more ominously, a dead issue.
So yes, my third colonoscopy is scheduled. There won’t be any trepidation, no anxiety, fear, or other feelings like those that overwhelmed me that first time in 2012. All because my good to excellent health over the years has made me mindful of the reality that healthy living is what matters first and foremost. That’s never lost on me; it’s embedded in my psyche.
“God willing,” I’ll be there, albeit another handful of years weighing down my aging… but hopefully still relatively healthy body. You know, just like that vehicle some people nurse, but still drive all these years. Truth be told, many of you probably take better care of that thing than your personal health.
Well, with the help of the Almighty who, in one way or another, inspires me daily to live a relatively good and healthy life, I believe that I’m good to go another decade or two, three, four…
So as 2018 unfolds, here’s wishing you and yours happiness and long sought wealth throughout this and future years, along with good health to help enjoy your wealth. After all, what does it matter if you possess (great) wealth without good health to enjoy it?
Christmas is over. Yes, it was ‘damn’ cold, but nice, the operative word being nice, as it’s supposed to be.
As I see it, Christmas is nothing more than a week… 10 days of merrymaking and celebrating—with varying amounts of relaxation, and rest, depending on your personal health—a reward for having made it through another year of that “dreadful rat race” unscathed. It always calls for that annual requisite celebration. But that’s old news.
Hope you had your ‘physical’ cos’ it’s on with the 2018 business at hand.
