Colonoscopy Over! Yay!

It's done. Yay! Woohoo! Hallelujah!

I did follow the rules that Tripler Hospital gave me. Five days of no fruits or vegetables, no red or purple things, etc. etc.

Yesterday, I couldn't have any solid food, dairy products, purple or red juices. I could only have clear liquids and clear soup.

I followed everything to the letter since I didn't want to have to redo the procedure.

I put the gallon of Golytely in the refrigerator with lemonade flavored Crystal Light.

I was surprised that I could tolerate the liquid diet for one day easily enough.

At 2 PM, I took teeny 4 Dulcolax pills.

At 5 PM, I started drinking the 8 ounce glasses of Golytely every 10-15 minutes. I was really happy to find it wasn't bad. I'd refrigerated it so it was nice and cold... and actually almost good. Almost.

I was supposed to drink only half but ended up drinking more like 2/3 of it since I knew I'd have to get up at 3 AM to drink the other half. We were going to have to go to Tripler at 6 AM and I was worried I would still be going and going and going. That would not be pleasant to think about.

Then came the going and going part. I was grateful that Art had installed a bidet washlet on our toilet. It was nice to have the stream of water to clean myself and then just pat myself dry.

I set the silent timer on my Fitbit. I set the timer on my cellphone. I was ready for the day ahead.

I got up at 2:47 to a COLD morning! What the heck! It was 61 degrees outside. We don't have heaters in our houses. I got out the COLD Golytely from the fridge and started drinking it. It wasn't difficult, but I had to bundle up in warm clothes afterwards.

More going and going.

And then off to the hospital. The waiting to check in at the Tripler Admissions desk took the longest time. The admitting nurse at the Medical Specialties area was as fun as could be. I asked for the IV to be put in my right arm instead of the top of my hand but regretted it when I went to the bathroom and couldn't bend my arm. Oops!

The nurse showed me the room to change into the hospital gown and meet Art in the waiting room. When I joined him, he laughed and said, "I think you need to remove your pants too." Ummm.... How did that happen?

Soon, it was time to go to the room where it was all to happen.

The doctor introduced himself before the procedure. He was a really sweet, friendly African American doctor. They all asked me for my name, birthdate, why I was there, etc. I think I must have answered those questions about half a dozen times during my stay at the hospital.

The anesthesiologists were a lot of fun and as nice as could be. Perhaps it was because it was early in the morning and they were still fresh and cheerful. I asked if I should count  backwards and he said it wasn't necessary since people usually didn't get past 93. I told him I don't make it past 97.

And then suddenly it was over and I was in the recovery room.  When I saw the time, I was surprised that it must have taken maybe half an hour. It wasn't more than that. I think.

The recovery nurse gave me wonderful orange juice containers (TWO of them) and the best graham crackers EVER!

There was another woman in the next bed who had the procedure before me. Apparently she was still woozy and couldn't be discharged. She told me she knew 7 languages, had been a stewardess, a concert violinist and traveled the world. It was so very interesting to hear about her life.

In another few minutes she was able to leave and I insisted I could too. I knew Art would be wanting to eat something as well since he didn't go down to the cafeteria for breakfast. It was really helpful that Art could help me get my clothes back on.

We were then shown into an office. The nurse said it usually isn't necessary, but this doctor likes to meet his patients, give them a full explanation and answer questions.

The doctor was absolutely wonderful! He told Art and me that everything was very good. He showed us pictures which showed how SPARKLING clean my innards were. Seriously. I did an amazing job with that colon prep. He explained how he'd sent the camera to my appendix and then on out of me and captured all the beautiful images. My daughter said I needn't post photos of it, so... I won't. But they were really amazing. No polyps. No cancer. Clean bill of health.

And best of all. He said this would be my last one. In another 10 years, I should have a virtual colonoscopy.

Ummm... wait a minute. I just looked online. You still have to do the prep. Sigh...