There Should Be No Shame in Preventative Care
Yeah, some medical procedures are embarrassing, but they might just save your life.
Before we begin, let me warn you that there is an image of my dad’s abdomen post-surgery. It’s quite jarring, but he allowed me to share it as a warning to people who forgo preventative treatment. If you’re squeamish, look away… But, please, do read on.
Five years ago, dad called me at work to talk about the abdominal pain that had haunted him for days. He wanted to know what to do, since no amount of antacid or pain medication was helping. I told him to call and make an appointment with his physician. While I do have a doctorate in public health, I’m not a physician. (Even if I were a physician, I would probably find it unethical to treat a loved one. You know? Conflicts of interest and all.) A day later, his physician called me at dad’s request. He was sending dad off to get a CT scan of the abdomen. A day later, we’d be on the phone again, because the CT scan revealed a mass in dad’s large intestine.
The following weeks were all about managing dad’s pain for a few days before surgery, then going through the surgery, being at his bedside, and leaving him in good shape before returning to the States. (I’ll spare you the story of having to travel to dad’s hometown in Mexico…
