When was the last time you...

Today I had to go to Samsung Hospital in Seoul for my yearly colonoscopy (this was the 2nd one I've had now).  Yes, I know most people don't have to do this until they are in their 50's, but unfortunately, I have the privilege of experiencing it much earlier in life.  This is to check to see how my colon is doing with my ulcerative colitis, and to make sure that nothing else more serious has developed (polyps, cancer, etc.).  So, while it is a really un-fun experience, I know it is necessary and would rather be aware of what is going on than not know anything.  For those of you who have never experienced one, pray you don't have to!!   Actually, the procedure itself is not that bad but it is the prep that is the worst.  Here is how my day started:

I woke up at 5:30 am to shower because I had to begin drinking the oh-so-delicious (NOT) concoction to "flush" my colon at 6 am.  My procedure was not scheduled until 4:30 p.m. because my work made me teach my one class from 9:45-11, even though I was having to take an entire sick day to leave early.  Ugh.  Here in Korea they act like people are never sick or something, and they don't know what to do if you have to be gone.  They couldn't figure out how to get someone else to cover my class, because the other 3 foreign teachers at my campus all have a class at the same time.  The funny thing is, Michael was able to actually take a vacation day from his work today so that he could come with me, even though we aren't supposed to take days during intensives, and so he didn't even have to go to work at all today--other teachers just covered his classes.  So, I was the one having the colonoscopy AND I had to go to work.  How lame.  Anyway, back to the prep.

Last time I did this, the doctor told me to buy a bottle of stuff called Miralax, and pour the entire bottle into 64 oz of gatorade or something and drink it.  Here, they gave me a different solution, called Colonlyte.  It was a bottle that held 500 ml and 8 packets of electrolyte powder stuff that you are supposed to mix into each 500 ml serving.  Basically, I had to start drinking 500 ml of the stuff at 6 am and every 10 minutes, drink another 500 ml.  This is half a liter (1/4 of a two liter bottle), every ten minutes, for those of you unfamiliar with the metric system.  So basically in 80 minutes I had to down 4 liters of the nastiest concoction that you can imagine.  Basically, the water tasted like salty seawater mixed with plastic, gelatin, and sweat.  It was seriously so digusting, I had to gag several times.  Just when I would swallow one batch it seemed like it was time for the next.  I tried it one time with cider (like sprite or seven-up) and it still made me gag.  I just can't explain to you how incredibly nasty it was.  Seriously, they need to come up with a better way to do this.  I would almost rather eat nothing but chicken broth for a week than to have to drink that stuff again.  Come on, the least they could do would be to add some strawberry or cherry flavoring, you know?  I was researching online later and someone recommended adding a packet of Crystal Light to the stuff just to make it a little less gagworthy.  Wish I had some of that!!   Anyhow, it ended up taking me longer than 80 minutes, more like almost 2 hrs to completely down the stuff, but finally I had finished AND the work was being done within.  haha I will spare the lovely details, but suffice to say that my digestive system emptied itself out pretty quickly after that.  The good thing was that it had pretty much finished by the time I got to work at 9, and I only had to run to the restroom ONCE during my class.  What a relief! 

Anyway, you probably didn't want to know all of those details, but I am a "prefacer" and I cannot tell a story without giving all of the background information.  I've got to "set the scene": that way you can actually feel like a part of the story!! :)  So, fast forward a couple of hours until we arrive at the subway station nearest to the hospital.  I was planning on hailing a taxi from the station to the hospital because I didn't want to have to walk in the freezing cold.  But lo and behold, a bus pulls up and all of these people get off of it while there is a huge line to get on.  I looked closer and the sign and realized it was like a shuttle bus to take people to the hospital, and it was free!  So, we hopped aboard this very nice bus and rode in style to the hospital.

If my wonderful friend Ji Yun had not gone with me to my initial appointment last week I would have been so lost in the place, but praise the Lord she was able to go with me to translate and so I pretty much knew where I needed to go for everything I had to do today.  I also have to say now, thank you to everyone who prayed for me.  God definitely graced my visit today.  I had been pretty nervous since last week, but once we got there everything ran perfectly smooth!  I had to have a blood test, which turned out that I am slightly anemic, but I think that is to be expected considering the amount of blood I lose when my colon is flared up.  

When I got to the place to have the colonoscopy (I had to go to the Cancer Center, which of course is a bit unsettling) they were very nice and one of the nurses spoke English pretty well so she helped me get ready for the procedure.  The first thing I had to do was to take off my pants and undergarments and put on these special hospital pants (no gown).  This part was hilarious to me, though, because these pants have a hole in the backside with a flap that covers it up so you don't have to walk around exposed.  It was hilarious to see people walking around with flaps over their butts (myself included).  I couldn't stop laughing.  Too bad, no camera.  Then, when the nurse came over to help me fill out the paperwork, she started asking me some questions, such as what kind of medicines do I take, do I know I can't drive after the procedure, etc.  Then she said in a very sweet voice, "When was the last time you...(here I thought she was going to ask about my time of the month as they usually do ask women, but no, even better)  When was the last time you...poo poo?"   Now I am a grown adult and have had to control myself when kids have said funny things, but I was not expecting the words "poo poo" to come out of this sweet Korean nurse's mouth.  I hesitated for a minute, and then I just had to laugh, even though I felt extremely juvenile.  It was so funny.  I quickly composed myself and answered her--basically she just wanted to make sure I had followed the prep procedures and had nothing solid left in my body.  But then she left and I just started cracking up for like 5 minutes.  That was really what I needed to make me laugh and put me at ease, so from then on things went fine.

The procedure took 30 minutes, of which I remember nothing.  I definitely opted for the sedation, there is no way I would be able to handle being awake while a long tubular camera is poking and prodding through my innards.  I can't even handle seeing the needle that takes my  blood, or the needle being inserted for an IV.  I get very woosy at the sight of blood and needles.  Anyway, afterwards Michael got to come back and talk to the doctor with me.  The doctor did tell him that he had to give me twice the amount of sedative as they usually give people, and he had to give me something to wake up as well.  Not really sure why?  Maybe I was talking too much and driving them all nuts.  HAHA  So then, he showed us some photos of my colon, which was kind of nice to see because my doctor in Little Rock did not show me any last time.  The results showed that the colitis is now limited to my (get ready for the yucky words) rectum and just the left side of the colon.  Last year at this time, it was affecting my entire colon, from one end to another.  So, to us, this was really good news.  There were also no polyps or growths, which was also good news.  He did, however, have to do a biopsy, because he thinks that I may have some kind of virus in my colon, which is causing it to flare up.  He said that he feels my disease is somewhat steroid-dependent, which he wants to get away from (and I completely am happy to hear that--I LOATHE steroids!), and since being on steroids lowers your immune system, he feels that could be a reason why I may have gotten a virus.  I have a follow-up appointment scheduled for Feb. 6th (the funny thing about Korea is they just schedule you an appt. without even asking if you are available that day and time--I guess they figure you can work it in somehow) and I think at that point we are going to discuss possibly changing my daily medications, since what I am taking does not seem to be working well enough to keep me in remission for long enough.  Dr. Kim also gave me his card with his email address and a phone number and told me to contact him in 5 days about the results of the biopsy, so that makes me feel good knowing that I have a way to contact him directly.  This man was so nice.  He told me last week that he was booked up with colonoscopies for the next 3 months but he would work me in.  When I got there today there were already 5 other patients waiting to go, and they took me back first.  What service!  Koreans really are so good to foreigners, especially in the hospitals I have heard.  

So, all in all, the experience was MUCH better than I expected it to be and I am so thankful and relieved about it.  I think this has been the most difficult part of living in a foreign country and not speaking the language, but praise the Lord that He always takes care of us!  Please do keep me in your prayers when you think about it in the future as well.  Most of the time I try to kind of play it down, like the disease is not that big of a deal, but it is pretty serious and can be very scary at times.  I am blessed that it is minor compared to what so many other people have to deal with, but it is still not always easy to live with, especially considering the risks it can cause with pregnancy and the possibility of developing cancer later on down the road.  I just have to remind myself that my life is in God's hands and He has a plan for my life, no matter what that may involve.

Thanks for reading this far if you have.  Sorry it may have been too much info. for some.  I just feel like this is an easier way to get things out to people so I don't have to repeat myself over and over.  Plus, I know that EVERYONE has been dying to hear all about it!  HAHA

In other news...it looks like we will be going on a ski/snowboarding trip over Lunar New Year with some friends from church.  That would be the 2nd to last weekend of January.  This is our biggest holiday of the year--we get Monday and Tuesday off because it is Chinese New Year!  We had originally wanted to take a 4 day trip to Beijing or the Philippines, but that ended up being too expensive, and we are trying to save money here.  So, we are opting to stay in Korea, but next year, hopefully, we can make a trip somewhere warm for Lunar New Year!!

I am really trying to keep updating the blog more often this year.  It was not my New Year's Resolution (I have decided never to make any again), but it is just something I want to get better at.  I have never been good at keeping a journal, so why did I think I would be good at blogging??  I am also trying to convince Michael to blog more.  Maybe you will see a post from him sometime soon.

~Leslie

P.S. No good blog is complete without a couple of photos.  Take a gander.