Unusual Experience 不寻常的经历

It is common knowledge that when a person is 50 years old, he or she should begin routine colonoscopies, every ten years for most people. In my case it was earlier. The first time was in 2011 when I was only 46, the second one in 2016 and today was my third.  I was at a higher risk after a mastectomy on my right side in late 2009. My previous gastroenterologist retired last year so I was refereed to a new one, Dr. G, at the same medical center. 

Out of curiosity I googled Dr. G and found out that he earned his medical degree from Addis Ababa University Medical School in Ethiopia with top honors before some impressive work in the United States. He had many research publications. He also had authored several chapters in books used as references for practicing gastroenterologists and surgeons. I felt I was in good hands.

My memory plays funky tricks to me, or better said, my brain chooses what to remember and what not to. For example, I did not remember at all my second colonoscopy until my initial visit with Dr. G!  He brought a copy of the last colonoscopy report which had no abnormalities. But I had no memory I had it! On the report it was recommended that I should get a procedure done every five years. But Dr. G had a different opinion after interviewing me. He wowed several times after I replied to his exercise question with "yoga two hours every day". He looked young and thin and had a gentle smile on his face. I liked this new doctor. He suggested that I still get this procedure done and if the results were good, he'd push the next appointment out ten years! I liked it that way! 

Then I was guided to a super nice scheduler in her mid-thirties. She had the earliest appointment at the end of October, and I had no problem with that. I knew with Covid ongoing all of the medical centers were packed. Then she told me there was a cancelation this upcoming Friday, asking me if I'd like to take the slot. Of course! I accepted it as I so wanted to get this over with. There were only three days to go. I wouldn't have to worry too long about it. 

Following the exact guidance on a sheet of paper the lady gave me, Thursday morning I started the colonoscopy prep. In my experience the prep is the worst part. But Dr. G promised me that it was easier than it used to be. As a yogi I eat pretty healthy compared to my husband. So I should not have much trouble to cleanse. Opening my eyes at 7:30am I began a clear liquid diet. I chose to drink black coffee mixed with water, as I don't drink sugar loaded fruit juices from grocery stores. I was also allowed clear chicken broth or vegetable broth. But I don't like them. I stayed away from red and purple food dye. 

I managed to keep busy in the morning besides drinking my Kaffeschorle (a mixture of coffee and water). By the way this word was invented by me when joking with Curtis as he knew what Apfelschorle meant in German. By chance I got into a conversation on Facebook and I somehow suspected it wasn't from the person it was supposed to be.  I picked up the phone and called my friend whose account it was. Exactly as guessed, it wasn't her! My friend was an old colleague of mine who was forced to retire early and she had not receive the government money that false person claimed.  Haha! We caught up on each others lives and promised to meet sometime later. I will write an essay about us sometime. Everybody seems so busy right now, especially during this Covid time. That call sufficiently spared me from thinking about food for a good hour.

To kill more time and forget the hunger I had a video chat whining to my son about how famished I was. He helped cheer me up just seeing him. It was the second quarantine day for him. He took a Ring Fit with him and felt sore. We talked about the possibility of doing his third week of quarantine. Perhaps instead of doing it in Sichuan, he could do it in a hotel near his fiancée Ye.  She's a very smart girl taking online classes this semester at San Francisco University. She couldn't come over to the States because of the Covid. Will see how things play out. 

I refused Curtis' suggestion to drink apple juice as I never liked those kinds of drinks. I'd rather eat fresh fruit. But of course I cannot eat solid food today and tomorrow. I managed to do my daily yoga routine although with less power than usual.  If I had known what I would suffer I would have listened to Curtis and took whatever fruit juices he got for me. 

Following the instructions at 5pm I drank the first bottle of a fluid called "Clenpiq" that Dr. G prescribed. It was not difficult to drink but it was loaded with something that tasted salty. I am a very salt sensitive person. I swallowed it down with a cup of clear water. Every hour I drank a cup of water until 10:30pm when I drank the 2nd bottle of Clenpiq. I had to wait until 12am to finished drinking 3 more cups of water as required. We watched an old 007 movie to kill the time. So far, so good. 

I had the colonoscopy procedure scheduled for noon the next day. But from the very moment I opened my eyes, I was already feeling collapsed! I took a sip of water at 8am and that was all I could have before the procedure at 12pm. I was not able to do anything except crashing on the sofa with my eyes closed. I was dizzy and sweating when I had to walk! I knew exactly what this was: hypoglycemia, the deficiency of glucose in the bloodstream, caused by the fasting and cleansing. Usually my blood pressure is low and that could also have contributed to the suffering. It seemed a long time until Curtis drove me to the hospital. All the way I had my eyes shut. Curtis walked me to the reception and I collapsed on a chair not able to talk to the front desk lady. There were many patients in the waiting room. I heard nurses coming in and out calling names. I was lead into the room to a small chamber to be prepared for the procedure. A young and pretty nurse set up the IV for me. She tried several times to locate the right vein and it was painful. But today I didn't care...Finally Dr. G came by and talked to me a little. I was so powerless and could only smile back to him... I was wheeled to the procedure room and the anesthetic kicked in...  

"Wake up! wake up!" Feeling pats on the cheek I woke up knowing I was back in the prep room. A little later came Dr. G showing me the printout of test pictures. The result was good. "See you in ten years, Zoe!" said Dr. G with smile. It was a happy moment. I had spent 3 hours in the hospital. 

On the way home with tiny bites I ate the peanut butter sandwich Curtis prepared for me. It was the most delicious food in the world!  And I was craving oat soup!  The rest of the day I could feel my power was coming back to my body slowly. Not able to practice power yoga, I did meditation and stretching instead.  Watching another 007 movie to close the day. 

Today is a new day! I feel powerful and energized! Although it's Saturday Curtis had to go to office to make up for the projects he was involved. I stayed home and watched the three hours long new episode of "Street Dance of China" Season 4. Dancers were marvelous!  For yoga practice I did one of Jonah Sensei's classes. This was the 3rd time I practiced this class. Love this Power Vinyasa Flow!

通常一个人到了 50 岁就应该开始常规结肠镜检查，每十年检查一次。我的情况比较特殊第一次做早在 2011 年当年时我只有 46 岁。第二次在 2016 年而我完全不记得有这次。今天 2021 年我该做第三次了。我在 2009 年底右乳切除术后被归类于于风险较高的人所以每五年需要做一次肠镜检查。我的专家医生去年退休了，所以我成了同一医疗中心 G 博士的患者。

 

出于好奇我在谷歌上搜索了 G 博士，发现他以最高荣誉获得了埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴大学医学院的医学学位，之后在美国从事了一些令人印象深刻的工作。 他发表了许多研究论文，他还在书籍中撰写了几章，用作实践胃肠病学家和外科医生的参考。 我觉得找对了医生。

 

有时候记忆会开些奇怪的把戏比如说我的大脑是选择性记忆。我根本不记得我的第二次结肠镜检查，直到我那天去看 G 医生时他给我看上次结肠镜检查报告没有异常我才发觉我根本就忘记做过第二次！报告中建议我每五年完成一次。当时G博士问了我些问题后??就有了不同的看法。而且他听我说“每天瑜伽两小时”回答他的锻炼问题后多次感叹。他年轻消瘦皮肤黝黑，脸上始终挂着温和的微笑。我喜欢这个新医生。他建议我还是把这个程序做完，如果结果好他会把下一个约会推迟到十年！我喜欢这样！

 

然后我就被引到一位大概三十多岁的女工作人员跟前，她有点超重但态度超级好。最早可以约到10月底我觉得可以。我理解因为Covid疫情的持续发展，医疗中心到处人满为患。然后她告诉本周五有人取消手术，问我愿不愿意填空。当然！我很乐意接受了。想着早了早好。而且离检查只隔了三天我不必担心太久。

 

按照那位女士给我一张纸上的明确指导，星期四早上我开始为结肠镜检查做准备。根据我的经验而且众所周知准备工作会是比较难过的部分。但G博士向我保证现在的方法以前好多了。作为一名瑜伽人而且与我老公相比，我吃得相当健康的。所以我应该不会有太多清洁的麻烦。早上7点30分睁开眼睛，我开始流质饮食我选择喝加水的黑咖啡。因为我不喜欢喝店里买来的含糖果汁饮料。我其实也可以喝清鸡汤或蔬菜汤。但我也不喜欢。按要求只要不是红色和紫色的流质就好。

 

除了喝我的Kaffeschorle就是水和咖啡混合之外，我还尽量保持忙碌状态。顺便说一下，这个Kaffeschorle 词是我和柯蒂斯开玩笑发明的，因为他知道德语中的 Apfelschorle 是什么意思。正好今天我在脸书看到有人找我问我知不知道个赚钱的门路，一看我就知道不是我认识的人发的。我就拿起电话给她打电话果然不出所料根本不是她！她是我的一个老同事，今年初被迫退休，她说根本没有收到那个冒牌货说的钱。哈哈！我们互相交流了各各自的状况，还说以后见面等等。以后我会专门写一篇关于我俩的小文。大家这个时候每个人似乎都很忙，尤其是这个Covid疫情时期。这次通话避免我一小时内没有想到吃啥的问题。

 

为了消磨更多时间，尤其是今天特别饥饿的情况下我打开了视频跟儿子聊天。忍不住向我儿撒娇老妈我有多饿。他也只好鼓励我坚持一下。这是他在天津隔离的第二天。他还带着RingFit回国了，刚刚锻炼完有点累。我们讨论了一会他第三周隔离在哪里隔离。不去四川隔离的话他可以在未婚妻小叶家所在城市里的一家旅馆里隔离。小叶是一个非常聪明的女孩，现在旧金山大学第一个学期上网课程。由于Covid疫情她没办法得到签证美国。将来怎样还要看事态发展。

 

我拒绝了柯蒂斯的喝苹果汁的建议，因为我真的不喜欢果汁。我宁愿吃新鲜的水果。但是你知道我今天和明天都不能吃固体食物。我尽量保持自身日常，而且还做了我的日常瑜伽但不是平时做的力量瑜伽。如果我知道第二天会遭受什么，我会听柯蒂斯的话喝他给我的任何果汁。

 

按照指示下午5点我喝了G医生开的第一瓶名为“Cleanpiq”的液体。不难喝但它充满了盐份。我是一个对盐非常敏感的人，喝完马上一杯清水冲了下去。然后我每小时喝一杯水，直到晚上10:30我喝了第二瓶Cleanpiq。坚持到凌晨12点才喝完所要求需的3杯水。为打发时间我们看了一部007老电影来打发时间。一切到现在为止还算好。

 

肠镜检查安排在第二天中午。从早上睁开眼睛开始我就已经感觉很崩溃了！早上8点喝了一口水说是在中午12点手术前应该喝的。可是我什么也做不了只能闭着眼睛倒坍在沙发上。一走路就头晕出虚汗！我很清楚这是典型的低血糖症，因为禁食和清洁血液中缺乏葡萄糖。而且我血压很低可能跟这个也有关。柯蒂斯开车送我去医院似乎过了很长时间，一路上我都闭着眼睛。到了医院的接待处，我摊在一把椅子上，根本无法与前台女士交谈。候诊室里有很多病人，听到护士进进出出喊着不同的名字。我被叫道一个小房间躺在床上。年轻漂亮的护士为我接上静脉注射。她试了好几次找输液点弄得我很痛，但是今天的我根本不在乎……G医生终于走过来和我聊了几句。我一点力气也没有只能回他一个微笑……我被拉到手术室不一会麻醉剂效果上来了……

 

“醒醒，醒醒！”感觉脸颊上有人在拍，我醒来才知道我已经回到了准备室。过了一会儿G医生给我看打印出来的检查结果和图片都挺好的。 “十年后见，佐伊！” G医生微笑着说。那一刻是我一生中最快乐的时刻。我在医院一共呆了3个小时。

 

在回家的路上我小口咬着柯蒂斯为我准备的花生酱三明治。那真是世界上最美味的食物啊！我还想吃燕麦粥！在这一天剩下的时间里，能感觉到力量慢慢地回到我的身体。无法练习力量瑜伽我做了冥想和伸展运动。我们看了又一部007电影以结束这一天。

今天是全新的一天！ 我感到活力满满！ 虽然是星期六但柯蒂斯不得不去办公室弥补他参与的项目。 我呆在家里看了三小时的《中国街舞》第四季新一集。舞者们太棒了！ 今天的瑜伽练习我练了Jonah老师的一堂课。 这是我第三次练习这节课，超喜欢力量流瑜伽！

（初稿于2021-08-28）