I Keep Hearing the RotoRooter Jingle in My Head

Did a thing Wednesday. I went into a UVA Surgery Center in Culpeper and came out with a bit less soft tissue! No, no face lift. Nah, it wasn't a lipectomy. Nope, nothing so exciting as an appendix or a gall bladder. 

I let a relative stranger (albeit a very nice gentleman with whom I apparently share a love of many Virginia wines!) insert a green laser into my body at a particularly sensitive entry point, and "vaporize" a good deal of obstructing prostate tissue. This ain't your momma's PowerPoint pointer! This guy wasn't just pointing at stuff! He was VAPORIZING portions of my body!! 

In all honesty, it went very smoothly. I have a very strong family history of prostate cancer, so I have spent my adult life diligently keeping up with regular yearly checkups, getting PSA tests and trying to get doctors to actually examine me. My numbers have always, thus far, been good! Fortunately, my particular prostate issue, while extremely aggravating, is totally benign. 

Unfortunately, the icing on this rather macabre proverbial cake is getting sent home with an indwelling Foley catheter! Now many of you may know about my many years working as a surgical assistant. I have both inserted and removed many catheters in those years. But fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I never had the "opportunity" to experience this from the patients' perspectives. Until now. And ya know, I'm not a fan. This particular Foley that I am "wearing" has a 45 cc balloon, which is full of at least that much saline...although I swear it's a gallon and a half! Then, just to remind me that I just had surgery, I suppose, the bore of the tubing that exits this most sensitive area of my person to carry away liquid wastes, feels like it must be some of that white tubing from which they build patio furniture. Or at least a 22 rifle barrel. 

Oh, and I get to remove it myself in the morning! Well, again, the truth is he asked if I wanted to remove it rather than make that hour and fifteen minute-drive tomorrow. I probably had one of those testosterone-fueled, hold-my-beer moments and said, "Sure! No problem!"

But after that hour and fifteen minute drive home today with this thing feeling like a fence post in my lower half, I am actually glad my ego got its way and I can remove it myself, in my own home, in my own time, my own way. Hopefully most of the neighbors will be working and so, won't hear me scream. 

Now, while I hope this little day-in-the-life tale entertained you just a little, or even made you smile or chuckle, that was not my primary objective for sharing. This is simply a great wat to remind all you men out there to stay on top of your own health! All men should be getting a PSA, or Prostatic Specific Antigen test, after turning 50. Some high risk men should start even earlier, say 40 or 45. Talk to your doctor. It could save your life!

#oldmandisease

#bph 

#talktoyourdoctor

#youoweittoyourself

#youoweittoyourfamily

Sara Bareilles' New Song, "Home" Hits Close To, Well...Home

 

This new Sara Bareilles song, “Home” hits me in the chest each time I listen to it. It’s from an album called “GOOD GRIEF” that she’s about to release in August of this year. (2026)

It opens my grief box, and certain sudden realizations just begin to overtake me: the grief I still carry from the loss of my mother; the grief I still carry because, although I was around him all my life, my father died without ever understanding how to know or love me; the grief I hadn't named but now recognize as the deep impact of the Covid pandemic; the grief for our dying democracy; the grief I carry for dear friends lost in accidents, and in horrid struggles with disease. 

Then, by fate or mysterious algorithm, this podcast, All There Is, appears in my feed on YouTube. 

Understand…I’m a HUGE Sara Bareilles fan! Sara’s poetry, her complex melodies, and her incredible voice are beyond stunning, in my opinion! She’s a storyteller with all the special talents needed to convey those stories in the most pleasing music!

I also have always loved and respected Anderson Cooper. His award-winning reporting, his excellent debate moderation, and his most empathetic humanity are enviably inspiring. 

Watching this interchange, including the backstory of the song, just squeezed my heart until it hurt.

Sara’s brilliance. Cooper’s raw emotion. Her descriptions of our “humanness” and the importance of sharing our grief, our stories, and the discussion that ensued about how we are all basically the same, with so many of the same needs, and about learning to understand what is truly important, and what is just bullshit…it was all so familiar, like I knew it, but it had been hiding within me, and they were shining lights in there and saying, “here they are! This is what you know is important! You must have just forgotten!”

Then this edition of this podcast kind of threw the lid back on  my grief box and shoved my head in it, and held me there, like some high school nerd getting a swirlie! I watched them as the listened to both “Home” and “Salt, Then Sour, Then Sweet” and I sobbed! But to be fair, so did they! It was just so much at once. And they weren’t done!! They then played a video of Gavin Creel, one of Sara’s best friends, now deceased, playing and singing one of Sara’s most beautiful songs. More sobbing! 

All that said, I also began to understand more deeply the connections that I do have, that I am blessed with, and thank the universe for those people around me who make my life more wonderful, just by being open and honest and available. 

I’m sharing all this because I honestly hope you will go watch the entire video. I promise, despite the heart-wrenching subject matter and conversation, you will be touched, enlightened, and hopefully changed. The link is below.

https://youtu.be/OQLNyoCZZV0?is=IKfoU94dfMBkFY5i