Alice - trying very hard to extend my years

Alice has been VERY persuasive with me making sure my health is optimum and I will live a long time. She has strangled my jelly bean count, diminished my consumption of meat, and constantly nudges me to have eat less salt. Since we have been together she has persuaded me to go to: the podiatrist, the dermatologist, my first GP (General Practitioner), and others. Vitamins from Life Extension every morning including vitamins A-Z. It takes multiple swallows to get all my pills down.

Now, for the most exciting date of all….. A colonoscopy. It has been 12+ years since my last one.

My first colonoscopy

I will never forget my first experience with a colonoscopy. I remember waking up in a room with a dozen or so other post colonoscopies. All of us waking up and wondering where we were. The doctor was visiting the patients one by one. The patient right next to me who was there with his son, spoke no English so the son had to translate the words form the doctor. I will never forget the words. “I am sorry to say you have cancer and may have less than 2 months left to live….” I saw the oriental son with tears in his eyes translate the message to his father. Next up was ME. Now I was really worried. The doctor confirmed I had diverticulitis and no other real issues. I have been battling with diverticulitis now for well over 2 decades.

Fast forward to Alices request/demand I get my next colonoscopy. It just so happened she was also due for hers. We decided it made most sense for us to schedule the procedure on the same day. A date (actually the day before) that will go down in infamy.

Preparation date is the date before. No food is allowed and we started with multiple ex-lax pills. We were simultaneously coordinating all our prep work. Next up: a $100 each PREP kit called SUPREP BOWEL PREP kit. Multiple doses of this nasty tasting stuff with 2 gallons of water during the day. It is a REAL good thing we had 2 bathrooms.

Time for the pooper scooper

It started getting real miserable at about 5:00 pm. We both kept a meticulous LOG of how much liquid making sure we downed 2 gallons. Thank GOD we had 2 bathrooms. Two gallons in and two gallons out. How miserable.

At about 8:00 pm I looked at Alice and I said, “you look exactly like I feel…

After hundreds of trips to bathroom I finally fell asleep at about midnight.

We drove to the Gastroenterologist for our 8:00 procedure in Boynton Beach. Alice went in first and I followed her about 30 minutes later. I woke up to a smiling nurse not knowing where I was. The doctor met with me soon thereafter and told me all was well with no cancer polyps found. He also told me I had diverticulitis all over the place. Surprise, surprise.

Alice’s results … ALL CLEAR!

We took an UBER home and could not wait to end our fast with some real food.

Time for me to start blogging again

For those of you who have read a few of or the select few who have read all my blogs, you may have noticed I stopped writing blogs almost a year ago. There are many reasons for this neglect. I discovered very few people read my blogs or at the very minimum acknowledged they had read them. If you have not read my blogs and this is your first one you will find that I am a very honest and transparent writer. Transparent even to a flaw. Perhaps blogging for me is more about inter perception than blogging for external reasons, perhaps even like a personal journal. I know it is healthy to sit down with pen and paper and write down your thoughts. Perhaps this entry is for me and a select few may enjoy some of my thoughts here.

If you want me to continue writing my blogs, a little encouragement may be necessary lol.

If you have not read some my my blogs here are a few of the more popular ones or maybe my favorites:

The Shy man with a Camera

https://tesphoto.squarespace.com/blog/2018/8/16/the-shy-man-behind-the-camera\

My Birthday Wish

https://tesphoto.squarespace.com/blog/2018/9/11/my-birthday-wish

Ten things you probably don’t know about me

https://tesphoto.squarespace.com/blog/2018/9/17/ten-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-me

The moment you find out your child is schizophrenic

https://tesphoto.squarespace.com/blog/2018/9/21/the-moment-you-find-out-your-child-is-schizophrenic

Five things you probably don’t know about me

https://tesphoto.squarespace.com/blog/2018/10/14/5-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-me

N95 Mask, Face Shield and gloves soon to be worn on my trip

Day 1 -travel to Denver Colorado

Flight from Fort Lauderdale to Austin Texas

The Fort Lauderdale Airport seemed almost a ghost town when I arrived. My flight was on Spirit Arlines with a connection and layover in Austin Texas. My round trip airline cost was less than $140.00. I paid in advance for 1 checked bag which cost less than $40.00 When I made my reservation there was a COVID-19 disclaimer which required acknowledgment that I have NOT been sick nor in contact with anyone who has been sick for the last 14 days, and my temperature is NORMAL. I was extremely surprised and was expecting a mandatory temperature check to get on the airline, but there were no checks at either the Fort Lauderdale Airport or the airport in Austin. I was surprised and disappointed.

My flight to Auston from Fort Lauderdale was about 50% occupied and therefore there was moderately good spacing between guests. Luckily I had an isle seat. I wore an N-95 mask, face shield and gloves during my entire flights. I noticed only a few other passengers had on shields and no one else had gloves on. Surprised again. Drinks and beverages were served for a $ on the plane. Of course that meant you take your mask off to eat and drink. Again, moderately surprised and disappointed.

Flight from Austin to Denver

The Austin airport was even more ghost town than Fort Lauderdale. However my plane was at least 95% occupied with two rows of 3 each on the plane, Same situation with masks, shields, and gloves.

Another disappointment: not organized formal way to debark the plan with safety and social distancing. When the plane landed, everyone stood up and crowded the isle in a rush to get out of the plane Why did the airline allow this? Organized departure by row would have given us all safety and social distancing

Denver International Airport- Arrived at about 10:00 local time. Again the airport was a ghost town. So different the the hustle and bustle I was used to in this airport for the last 30 years or so. Does anyone remember the old Stapleton International airport that preceded the Denver International Airport?

Stay tuned for my blogs on Days 2-6.

Our most interesting date: A dual colonoscopy