Cut That Out

When I was about five years old I had my first surgery. The doctors removed my adenoids and tonsils. I don’t remember too much about that operation other than I had a sore throat, the lingering smell of ether, and a supply of Jell-O and ice cream being given to me.

My second surgery was for carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist. The increasing numbness would worsen after driving for half an hour or peeling a “pan of potatoes.” The surgery was almost fifty years ago by a skilled surgeon who made a large incision to release the compressing band around the sheath of nerves that caused the problem. The scar nearly follows natural lines of my palm and wrist, so it barely noticeable.

My next surgery was the removal of a Pilonidal cyst. My father Carl Beck had the same problem and had the cyst that develops near the tailbone removed. I’d been bothered by the cyst’s frequent filling with fluid that was caused a lot of pain. Sitz baths relieved the pressure until it clogged. I had to have it lanced to relieve the pressure. When that healed I had it removed.

Eventually my left wrist began to have the same symptoms of carpal tunnel. and I had to have surgery on it. This operation was almost 40 years after the surgery on my right wrist. This surgery was done with minimal cutting. The surgeon lifted the flesh away from the nerve bundle and snipped the tightening stricture. The scars blend with the natural creases of my wrist. They are even less noticeable that scars from my first surgery.

The latest and hopefully my last surgery was almost a year and a half ago. It was a triple bypass surgery on my heart. The first symptoms of feeling out of breath while hunting deer made me deer I was getting old, but when I saw my doctor for follow-up exam, I mentioned that I felt chest tightness when I walked to the mailbox. I was scheduled for a treadmill stress test and I lasted all of three minutes and forty seconds. That test caused me to have a cardiac catheterization which in turn caused me to be hospitalized for open heart surgery. It was crazy how the timing and each step was like a funnel, directing me to make the choice for surgery. There were a few hiccoughs and side trails along the way to the bypass, but it’s time to cut out, cutting out.

By the way, in preparation for open heart surgery, I had my first manscape…from neck to ankles and …I didn’t like it.