Now, I know this is not an easy subject to discuss. It is even harder to have to endure the examination. Yet this is not a thing that can any longer be ignored nor should it be. Yes, I know that real men do not go to the hospital to see doctors especially when there is no obvious problem. Still I argue that real men take care of themselves in every way. And that taking care of themselves may have the reciprocal effect of benefiting men’s families. Still the most important benefactor is the man himself; after all men are just as important as everyone else.

Let’s get straight to the matter at hand. Last year the Veteran’s Administration Clinic in Fort Worth decided it was time that I had a colonoscopy. This was a matter I knew was coming and should have been addressed a couple years ago. It was something I was not looking forward to. Now, I was not concerned that I was inflicted with cancer; God had been taking excellent care of me. I had never been invaded before and wanted nothing to do with any invasions. Insofar as I am concerned that aperture is for one purpose and one purpose only. Hence my grave concern about the introduction of any object into my being.

To say that I had some apprehensions about this invasion is to put nicely the concern that I had. The class that I was required to attend did little to squash my concerns. The risks involved barely seemed worth me surrendering my “virginity” yet I knew that it was more than prudent for me to take care of this one and only body that I will ever have. God has given certain wisdom to doctors and that wisdom should not be taken lightly. Nonetheless the day soon approaching was not one I was looking forward to. It was a day that I did not want to come yet it was a day that must need come to pass. And so the day came.

It is important to keep in mind that I have never been sedated before. The closest I came was when I cut my hand as a Corrections Officer that that cut required stitches. I was given “laughing gas” and I can say there was nothing funny about it. I was told the effect of the sedation would be very much like that gas. I must also admit that day I went in kicking and screaming. Now, I did not cause a ruckus in the clinic however I did let the nurses and clerks know that this was something I was not looking forward to. This is especially true when I was placed in a room whose walls were thin white curtains with others just a breath away from me and told to remove my clothes; all of them. I was then to put on this mini dress that barely covered my essentials. To say that I was uncomfortable does not begin to tell the tale.

In the clinic there were a number of people fussing over me. Silly jokes were being told to make me at ease. Nurses were doing this and that while a doctor dropped by ensuring that all was well. Then came the time of the event in which I was wheeled a few yards away into a room wherein more care takers would fuss over me. I heard the doctors give instructions as to the type of medication I should be given. Then there was the voice of one care taker saying “You are going to feel something cold” and I did. The next thing I know there was a voice saying “All finished.” I heard the words and I knew what they meant I just did not know that I was finished. Boy, if that is like being high that is a feeling I never want again. And then I heard a voice saying that a polyp was found and being sent to the lab. That did not quite sink in because, frankly, I was still circling the airport.
Look, I am no doctor and have very little knowledge of medical processes. This is why I regularly see my doctor and that is because I love me. While that may sound a bit arrogant it is very necessary for men to love themselves. When a man loves himself he will do all to take good care to protect himself in all possible ways. This is even true for men of faith. It is because of faith that all is well with me. God has seen fit to allow me to have very good health and that is a thing I do not take lightly. Part of the reason I am doing well is because I head the advice of doctors whose responsibility is to help me be well.

Men, stand up and be men. Love yourselves enough to see your doctors regularly. And when the time of the colonoscopy comes let the doctors and other care givers do their jobs. The right crew will have your best interest at heart and will do all to protect you in every way. No, it will not be easy yet it is very necessary. Do it for your wives. Do it for your children. Above all do it for yourselves. You are the most important person in your world and deserve the blessing of good health. With that I can report that the polyp found in me was benign and I am doing well. So, men, remove the robe of hesitancy and go take care of you.