John Grindrod: Prioritizing my three C’s and giving thanks

I think most of us know a little something about making lists. For the past two-plus decades, I’ve watched one of the great list makers of our times, my Lady Jane, who not only doesn’t go a day without making at least one but also keeps a calendar with every box filled with her duties. Of course, a kept calendar is simply a list in disguise. I’m a pad-and-pencil list maker, from the ones that read, “Eggs, milk, English muffins …” to lists that include weightier items, often responsibilities, the most urgent of which is at the top.

Well, during this year with those 2-0-2-3 digits that are almost impossible for me to comprehend given the fact I recall exactly where and with whom I was standing as the final seconds ticked off sending us all into a new millennium, one of my most recent lists came compliments of a few good folks who’ve earned the right to have their Christian names preceded by the title “Doctor.”

And, the concerns were presented to me in the order they needed to be addressed, thus, requiring no shuffling of the items by me. The first and surely the most urgent item I learned on a Tuesday morning in early March from my urologist, Doctor Alanzi, after I returned from a terrific vacation in Fort Myers visiting my sis and brother-in-law.

My most recent prostate biopsy from mid-February, the good doctor said, showed cancer in several places in the gland and required treatment, by one of the two R’s that many aging men with prostate cancer are given, either radiation or removal. Before I left the exam room that rather sobering day, I made my decision, that whatever the side effects would be, I was opting for removal.

During the run-up to my March 30 surgery date, I still worked my Mid-American Cleaning Contractors job servicing my accounts and, although a bit earlier than I usually do certain changing-of-the-season chores like washing windows, putting in screens, changing the lawnmower oil and returning patio furniture to the deck, I made that list and checked off each as I went. You see, I’d already been told by a couple of my pals that had their prostates removed that it would be wise to do as many heavier-lifting chores as possible before the surgery, since I’d be told not to exceed lifting any more than fifteen pounds for a couple months post-surgery.

It was also during those run-up days when suddenly the one urgent item that had all my focus was joined by another. The Gastro Health Endoscopy Center left a voicemail, alerting me to the fact that it had been five years since my last colonoscopy and that Doctor Solomon would like to have his little look-see to see if any polyps needed a closer look to ward off a different and more serious type of cancer in the colon.

My reaction was two-fold. First — and if you’ve gone through the whole colonoscopy ordeal, you can relate to this — I was instantly revulsed by memories of that odious preparation process. And, second, I had to laugh, thinking that the second doctor through the door has to wait his turn to have at me! I called Gastro Health, explained what I first needed to address and told them I’d call back a few months down the road when I was ready to become their business.

Now, I’m not sure I had a list at that point with just two doctors. But I surely had one by the time I left what I hoped was a routine dental checkup with Doctor Blanford — one scheduled months earlier, which happened to fall on the day before my surgery. Alas, for us aging folks, nothing appears easy. So why would I have expected anything routine after Doc looked at my x-rays, peered into my pie hole and proclaimed that a filling had sunk and I needed a crown.

Surely three doctors desiring to work on me indeed make a list. I immediately recognized that dental procedure as the lowest of the three priorities and scheduled that one in October during a time when our deciduous trees will be ablaze with autumnal color. As for the colonoscopy, that’ll be summer-slotted somewhere in between.

As for the most concerning cancer issue, fortunately — thanks to a whole bunch of good folks — I came through everything quite well. Doctor Alonzi and his office’s physician’s assistant, Erica Seifker, were both terrific and the support staff at Lima Memorial Hospital were so very professional. As for my home-healthcare nurse, well, that would be none other than master list-maker Lady Jane. From sleeping in a chair right by my hospital bed to staying a week with me after my discharge to tend to a very crabby guy, she proved you don’t have to have an RN degree to be RN, as in REALLY NICE!

My beautiful daughters with their considerable culinary talents were also instrumental in stocking my fridge before heading back to their lives in Columbus. Family, co-workers and friends as well as my pastor, Father Kent Kaufman, constantly buoyed my spirits with encouraging texts and calls throughout my recovery.

A check mark has been placed beside the first item on my list. Another doctor’s turn is coming soon.

John Grindrod is a regular columnist for The Lima News, a freelance writer and editor and the author of two books. Reach him at [email protected].