Touching my Prostate

I was up on time and quickly about my routine. In the back of my mind was my doctor’s appointment and consequently the need to fast until after it was over. I was only allowed to have water. That meant no morning coffee and no eggs after a run. What’s worse, the appointment wasn’t until 945am.

I completed push-ups and curls in no time at all. I was tortured by the smell of fresh coffee and instinctively kept wanting to pour a cup. I didn’t. I played around online and quickly forgot about the coffee. If I get passed PC time the need/desire for coffee quickly abates.  

Meditation and stretching were next. Spent 20 minutes between the two. For some reason I was in a mental funk. I wasn’t feeling energized about work, or anything else for that matter. Delivered Mindy’s coffee at 622am. She asked that I close the window and turn off the ceiling fan. It was downright chilly in our room.

Downstairs I dressed fro a run wearing winter gear minus ear covers. It was again only in the mid 40s with a chilly breeze blowing from almost every direction. The forecast was calling for mostly sunny skies with a high in the mid 70s later. I ran the full 4.1 miles without issue. I had to remind myself that there would be no eggs upon my return. L  

I called for Eiknarf from the foot of the stairs. She and I set out on our walk near 715am. She was quick to take care of her business. Back at the house Mindy put the finishing touches on our lunches. I sliced some cheese for my own. She soon left for school after advising Bella to bus home to Dena’s and confirming that it was a Jimaken night. Told me to call her with my doctor’s appointment results. 

My appointment wasn’t until 945am and I had two calls I needed to be on beforehand and the first at 8am. I planned to work from home until leaving for my doctor’s appointment. As 8am neared I asked the kids to see themselves onto the bus. They were cool with it. I joined the first call promptly at 8am. It lasted until 820am, and well after the bus swooped up the kids. I sipped more water then joined the 2^nd call at 830am. That one lasted until 850a when I dashed off for a shower. 

Being very deliberate, I was out of the shower even before 9am. I hustled with my ready in no mood to be late. I was feeling stressed since I knew I’d almost certainly miss a 1030am meeting scheduled with my boss. In the end I rationalized that I’ve had my doctor’s appointment set up for nearly 6 weeks. I left the house for Dr Broyles office at 925am. By then the sunny skies from earlier were all but gone. And without the sunshine, it was chilly – raw even. 

It was a quick drive up Riverside Dr to Dr Broyles office. I arrived 10 minutes early. MY reward? I had to fill out an updated information form so they can convert my file to an electronic format. Asked for my $15 co-pay right away. I waited, waited. The same nurse for the past few years called me back around 955am. Weighed 176lbs fully dressed. I hadn’t weighed myself in a couple months and figured to be 170lbs naked. I’m sure I’m right there. My favorite weight is 163-165lbs. I need to drop about 5 or 6 lbs, this I already knew. 

Next, I was ushered to a private room where she took my blood pressure and then an EKG. I’d never had an EKG before but was more than happy to have one given my age. MY blood pressure was 118/80 – spot on. Funny thing is, one of the reasons I was adamant about setting up this full physical was because the last few times I checked my blood pressure it was reading overtly high – about 140/90.  

I asked for an interpretation of the EKG, but the nurse explained that she doesn’t know how to read it. Would give it to Dr Broyles.  Next, she took two vials of  blood then asked that I head to the restroom and pee in a paper cup. I peed in the cup as requested but wasn’t immediately sure what to do with it. I saw a basket with blank labels and a pen sitting on the commode. I went ahead and labeled my sample and then spotted a sign asking patients to place their samples in this trap door. I opened the door and placed my sample there. Good thing I labeled it because there was another sample there too. 

Back to the room to wait for Dr Broyles. It was already approaching 1030am. I sent my boss and email apologizing for missing our 1030am meeting. I like Dr Broyles but wasn’t looking forward to his visit since I knew what would be coming, namely his pointer finger. Yikes! Dr Broyles has excellent bedside manner, and is always a pleasure to chat with. Seems genuinely concerned about health concerns and questions. He explained everything he wanted to check, including asking me if I’ve had a colonoscopy lately. I had to think about it for second until it registered just what that was. No! He quickly said he would set up an appointment for one. I only asked if he really felt it necessary. His response was memorable. Well Jim, if I asked anybody who passed away from undiagnosed colon cancer if they felt a colonoscopy was necessary they would unequivocally say yes.  He went on to share that he was having one himself on April 12^th and offered that we could go together. No, just kidding! Message received. 

He checked my thyroid, heart, and carotid arteries. Everything was good. He checked my eyes, my reflexs (still use the little rubber hammer) and then a full visual body scan for potential skin cancer and unusual moles. He check my groin and abdomen. All good. He then checked my man parts while having me cough. L But worst of all, he checked my prostate. He reminded me that it hurts him far worse than the patient. That had us both laughing. All seemed good, though he sends a sample off to the lab. As we wrapped up he suggested two vaccines, one called DTap for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough), and two for pneumonia. I agreed. I ended up getting a shot in each arm.

The receptionist promised that the gastroenterologist would call to set up the colonoscopy within ten days. Can’t wait! J 

I thought I might stop by the McDonald's in route back to the office for some sustenance but last second I just couldn't get myself to pull the trigger. I've trained myself well over the years. Instead, I headed directly to the office where i snacked on the banana and unsalted almonds I brought from home. And since it was nearly 11am, my craving for coffee was nonexistent.  

Stopped by my boss' office as soon as I was logged in. His door was shut so I didn't bother knocking. It was 1115am. Instead, I sent him another meeting invite moving our meeting to 1pm. He responded pushing it out to further to Thursday afternoon. I spent the day working on monthly reports, which is how I spend most days the first week of the month. 

The day went fast. I was upbeat with the results from my doctor's appointment but overwhelmed with everything on my work plate. I was feeling a bit defeated. It was one of those days when everything seemed to be going wrong, and certainly more things making it onto my list that there were issues coming off. I reminded myself more than once that I can have an impact on that situation, positive or negative simply by my response to it. And maybe more importantly, I just needed to stay at it. 

Around 4pm an opportunity to be a hero presented itself. Long story short, one of my customer's nearby locations was pending an important upgrade, and it was enough of concern to them that one of their executives vacationing in Disney World kept checking on its status. Holding it up was a field dispatch. I offered to drive there myself and attempt to resolve the issue preventing the upgrade. They took me up on the offer. I drove there in the matter of minutes meeting one of their reps in the telecom room. Happily, I was able to correct the issue thus making the customer extremely happy.  

Now just after 5pm, I headed straight home feeling good about the way the day turned out, which was a good lesson in hanging in there even when things seem bleak. Just an hour or two prior, I was feeling down and defeated, but now I was a hero!  

I called Mindy who was wondering if we were still planning to have dinner out since it was a Jimaken night. Yes, I suggested we do Matt the Miller's in Grandview for a change of pace. Mindy liked my choice. She also recommended I avoid 270 at all costs due to ridiculously heavy traffic. I listened to the advice and took the back way down Old Dublin Rd to Trabue. 

I wasn't home long before we headed off to Grandview and Matt the Miller's. We parked at a meter along Grandview Ave. and just a short walk across the street to the Tavern. We opted for barside seating where I selected a North Peak Blury IPA. Mindy went with Stout, but can't recall which one. We hemmed and hawed over the menu eventually deciding on soup and flat bread. 

My soup was especially good, a roasted chicken and black bean. Mindy had beer cheese soup. I was just OK. We both enjoyed the shrimp and tomato flat bread, but couldn't finish. Mindy exchanged a number texts with Bella while we dined. She was at her dad's bored while Jacob and Jimaken played basketball outside. We headed home near 630pm, which is way early on a date night. We even toyed with the idea of stopping at Barley's for another beer. In the end, however, we opted to head home and take a bike ride.  

Eiknarf wasn't too pleased that we were leaving as soon as we returned. We both changed into comfy bike riding attire then bolted out through the garage. We rode east towards the back of the subdivision eventually stopping at the McVey's place where Darwin was sitting in the driveway with his young son. Connie had just pulled up after a long day at the office. We chatted for awhile, even having a loose discussion about the logistics surrounding our joint family vacation to the Outer Banks. After about 15 minutes of hanging out we headed off to finish our neighborhood bike ride and eventually back home. It was already 730pm. 

I did a little bit of writing in my blog until the kids got home. After that I did some reading in the family room until I got super sleepy and took a luxurious nap. I slept hard and didn't want to wake. At some point, I'm guessing near 845pm I upped briefly and launched onto the floor and quickly went out again. I didn't wake again until 945pm. And by then everybody else was in bed. I put my phones on charge and headed to bed, my head still in a sleepy fog. Good night moon!