A Day at the Surgical Center

Clouds over Yoe, October 2024

I have reached that age where I needed a colonoscopy.

Frankly, I put it off for a year. Three weeks ago, after my annual physical, I called and made an appointment. I thought, “Oh, it’s September. They’ll put me on the calendar for November or December.”

No, WellSpan could get me in right away. “How about the week of the 14th?” I said. This week is less pressurous at work; November’s catalog went to press last week, and I’d start writing December’s maybe Wednesday, but more likely Thursday. (Surprisingly, I started writing it this morning.)

Over the last few days I did my prep, first with some dietary changes, then with a clear liquids diet, and finally yesterday and this morning a prep liquid. The paperwork suggested the prep liquid would be gross. I didn’t find it so.

I will not discuss the effects of the prep liquid. IYKYK. But it seemed to go well, and I felt pretty confident I’d done all I could do.

The procedure itself… well, I was unconscious. Literally, I laid on the examining bed, they hooked up oxygen and IVS, I said something like, “Oh, is it coming in through the nose? I can smell it…” and the next thing I know I’m in the recovery room. I feel like I’d been dreaming of work.

So.

Colon looks good.

No polyps of any kind.

I do have hemorrhoids.

I do this again in ten years.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I literally haven’t eaten in days.

Published by Allyn Gibson

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *