Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Braselton News
Page 7A
Social
Colonscopy dread wanes with recent experience
CHECKING OUT A LAB REPORT
Braselton Clinic lab technologist Paige Pruitt (left) and nurse
Marsha Boyd examine a colleague’s colonoscopy procedure
report shortly after it arrived by fax from the Gainesville Endoscopy
Center.
BOY THROWS OUT FIRST PITCH
Wyatt Otto, a third grade student at Bramblett Elementary School,
recently threw out the first pitch at a Braves baseball game. Otto,
8, is shown with Martin Prado, an infielder who caught the ball and
autographed it. Otto lives in Hoschton.
Domestic violence awareness
march, vigil planned Tuesday
Although many of the
phobias we develop in our
youth gradually fade with
advancing maturity, there
are a few that manage to
crop up later in life.
If you’re middle-aged or
older, you may have noticed
that a number of these fears are
based on our growing concern for
health issues that may somehow
spoil the peace and serenity of our
approaching senior years.
Long after we may have over
come our childhood uneasiness
with spiders, snakes, the dark, high
places, or crowds, the media is
constantly reminding us of new
dangers that could somehow cause
us harm or discomfort down the
pike.
This in mind, and after consider
able hesitation to discuss some
thing so personal in a public forum
like this column, I decided to put
all timidity aside and do it any
way.
Why? Because if I can save
just one life through any area of
focus in my writing, I will have
accomplished something truly
worthwhile.
Specifically, I want to share my
personal experience in overcoming
a phobia about a medical diagnos
tic procedure recommended for
any adult over 40. It’s known as
the colonoscopy and I avoided it
like the plague until a few weeks
ago.
The mere idea of having one
was right up there with driving the
wrong way on an expressway exit
ramp. And so, for a long time, I
absolutely refused to submit to a
procedure that involved inserting
a hose with lights, camera and a
small tool set on the end into the
far reaches of my tailpipe.
But more recently, two sepa
rate occurrences convinced me
to rethink my position on this
unpleasant option.
The first involved a routine phone
conversation with my mother in
Virginia. I mentioned that I had
just completed my yearly check
up with my family physician and
that he recommended that I have a
colonoscopy.
Mom reminded that, some time
ago, the same procedure performed
on my stepfather revealed that he
had colon cancer and that it was
discovered early enough to correct
through surgery. Dad is now 93,
In Focus
with Fil
Fil Jessee
filwrites@aol.com
and he has been cancer free for
more than 15 years.
The second event that motivated
me to follow my doctor’s sugges
tion was an annoying change in
bowel habits. Formerly as regu
lar as clockwork and able to eat
just about anything without any
digestive upsets, I suddenly found
myself repeatedly in a hurry to use
the bathroom after any meal and
fearful of any activity which might
delay my getting there in time.
This was an unnerving experience
that adversely affected the quality
of my daily life, and I was eager to
do whatever it took to get it fixed.
So, I decided to proceed and
scheduled a consultation with
gastroenterologist Scott A. Clark,
M.D. at the Braselton Clinic.
After discussing my concerns
and the colonoscopy in general,
Dr. Clark made arrangements for
my procedure at 10 a.m. Thursday,
Sept. 27, in the outpatient sec
tion of Gainesville’s Lanier Park
Hospital.
As that date approached, I admit
that my uneasiness grew more
intense until I had the opportu
nity to chat with Paul Morabito, a
neighbor who had just completed
the same procedure a week earlier.
“There’s nothing to it,” he said.
“They’ll knock you out with a
strong sedative, and you won’t feel
a thing. It’s the day before you
won’t like much,” he explained.
That proved to be a real under
statement. I couldn’t consume any
thing but clear liquids that day
and, toward evening, I had to take
a strong laxative to clean out my
colon. With a choice of medici
nal Drano’s to consider for this
purpose, I selected OsmoPrep, a
3- tablet split dose prescription
that seemed easier to swallow and
less messy than some of the other
options.
But regardless, I soon found out
that you don’t want to take this
stuff more than 15 feet from the
nearest bathroom. Trying to watch
a video movie that night was not a
real good idea. Turning the bath
room into a small library full of
books and a portable phone proved
more strategic.
The morning of the procedure,
I got up at 5 a.m. to take one last
dose of OsmoPrep and, after the
consequences had safely passed,
I packed a small gym bag with
extra cloths and underwear “just
in case.” My wife drove me to the
hospital for check-in at 9 a.m. and,
soon thereafter, I was outfitted in a
open-back hospital gown, IV tube,
and a bunch or stick-on electrodes
to monitor my vital signs.
The rest was a blur and, though
I do recall watching some of the
procedure on a TV monitor, it was
all over in about an hour. I was
soon home in bed, and peacefully
snoozing off the sedative still in
my system.
I felt no internal pain or dis
comfort whatsoever and, frankly,
this surprised me when the doctor
told me he had snipped off about
five polyps and a small piece of
the colon wall. And it was such
a comfort to get a real hardy meal
of meat and potatoes instead of
chicken bouillon that night.
Approximately 10 days later, my
biopsy results from the excised
polyps and tissue samples were in,
and I was informed that all but two
of these were completely benign.
The other two were considered
precancerous but non-malignant
and, since they were completely
removed, there is no danger of
their further development.
And, thankfully, I don’t have to
anticipate an encore of this event
for another five years.
Do keep in mind that a colonos
copy is not just a procedure to seek
and destroy cancer or precancer
ous conditions. It can also detect
other ailments such as colitus,
diverticulitis and a variety of other
lower digestive inflammations,
many of which can be effectively
treated with medicines and dietary
changes.
Although I wasn’t particularly
enamored by the price tag for such
invasive discovery, some $1,600
plus the cost of medical office vis
its and lab work, I am very relieved
that my tendency to procrastinate
didn’t prevent me from having the
procedure as soon as I did.
Hopefully, some of you readers
will be equally prompt to follow
through when your doctor recom
mends that you have a colonos
copy. I can’t say it’s a total piece-
of-cake, but it’s certainly not as
unpleasant as I first imagined.
Fil Jessee lives in Braselton,
where he works as a freelance
journalist. Fie can be reached at
filwrites @ aol. com.
Peace Place will hold its sev
enth annual candle light vigil on
Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., at the
Barrow County Courthouse.
At 6 p.m., the second annual
Stop Family Violence March will
start at the Ingles parking lot
and end at the Barrow County
Courthouse.
Both events are part of
Domestic Violence Awareness
The Jackson County Historical
Society will meet at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 14, at the
Old College building on North
Campus of the University of
Georgia, Athens. Members may
enter in the main door facing
Broad Street. There are no public
parking fees on Sunday.
Milton Leathers III will present
a program on Abraham Baldwin,
the university’s first president,
and Franklin College. While
Franklin College existed on paper
from 1785, a permanent site for
the “seminary of learning” was
not selected until 1810.
RAMBLE TO LIBRARY
Linda Aaron will lead a ram
ble to the Hartgrett Rare Book
and Manuscript Library, which is
Month. Peace Place is a shelter
for battered women and their chil
dren. Peace Place serves Jackson,
Banks and Barrow counties.
The candlelight vigil will fea
ture speakers, a musical perfor
mance and a special recognition
to those killed in Georgia in
2007.
For more information, call
Peace Place at 770-307-3633.
located on the third floor of the
main library. The Hartgrett Library
contains Georgia materials and
many Confederate documents,
including the original handwrit
ten Confederate Constitution of
1861.
For more information, contact
Tina Harris at 706-207-6889 or
tina313 @ mindspring.com.
Barrow Habitat to dedicate latest house on Sunday afternoon
Barrow County Habitat for Humanity will
hold a dedication ceremony for its latest house
on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1:30 p.m.
The house, located at 63 Williamson Street
in Winder, will be the new home of the Clinita
Morton family.
To celebrate the milestone for the family, and
for 10 years of building by the Barrow County
Habitat for Humanity, a cookout will be held at
the city pavilion at 125 E. Athens Street, at 1:30
p.m. The dedication ceremony will follow at
Mortons’ completed house.
“We invite everyone to join us at this special
event,” says Paul Brown, president of Barrow
Habitat. “We’H have a cookout at the pavilion
and then go to Williamson Street for the dedica
tion of the Mortons’ home.”
The new house would not have been possible
without the ongoing volunteer effort of five
Lutheran congregations in Winder, Bethlehem
and Athens. All summer and into fall, they have
taken a city lot and turned it into a new residence
for a family of nine.
Underpinning their labor was the support of
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which award
ed a Thrivent Builds grant to the Athens Thrivent
Chapter to build this home. The grant covered 65
percent of the cost of the home, and the Habitat
affiliate and the Thrivent chapter raised the rest
of the funds.
Since the early 1990s, Thrivent has built 1,000
homes for deserving families, 500 of them in
just the past two years.
“Thrivent Financial is committed to engag
ing its members in this community to help us
increase efforts to eliminate substandard hous
ing,” explained Brown. “Together we’re serving
more families and really making a difference.”
For more information about Thrivent Financial,
visit www.ThriventBuilds.com/resources. For
more information on Barrow County Habitat for
Humanity, visit www.barrowhabitat.org.
Annual membership event
for Friends ahead Sunday
The Friends of the Braselton-West Jackson Library will hold its 2008
membership drive on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m.
The event will be held at the home of Diane and Vern Lemaster, 5253
Legends Drive, Braselton.
Guest artists will include the Winder-Barrow Community Players and
soloist Tiffany Milargo.
Hors d’oevres, wine and dessert will be served.
A lifetime membership to the Friends group is $100 and $10 for an
annual membership.
Reservations are requested by calling Diane Lemaster at 678-546-
3380 or e-mailing dilemac@aol.com.
Historical society to meet at UGA
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