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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 BRASELTON TILE FACTORY #1 IN CUSTOMER SERVICE g | •Tile • Supplies • Installation • Design 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. r i More than 1,000 Books Hardbacks - $2 • Paperbacks - $1 v y 9907 Davis Street • Braselton, GA (at the corner of Hwy. 53 & Hwy. 124) 706-654-0819 770-962-1254 Open Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 3 p.m. On the sidewalk in front of Lanier Technical College 631 South Elm Street • Commerce, GA 706-335-9549 * LOWEST TICKETED PRICE. 40% OFF all Christmas PVC. Excludes some select items, custom floral, custom frames and food. All Craven rules apply. 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