PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE

                                    

I really hate to discuss my illnesses with people in this forum but this spring I was presented with some bladder issues. Until you have this problem you really do not appreciate the complexities of the system that helps you get rid of unwanted water. For years, you simply found an appropriate place to do it and did it and yes for you ladies, I understand the places to do it are not as readily available as they are for us guys but be that as it may be. This is the one advantage in the world they can’t take away from us---right boys.

For most of my life I have taken the elimination of bodily wastes’ for granted. When the urge came upon me, I simple looked for the right facility, or place and accomplished what was needed. Elimination was as second nature for me as thinking and breathing and required neither a lot of skill or practice. People have learned, when changing the diaper on a baby boy, to stay out of range of that thing or risk getting wet. But alas as old age has crept in, certain functions have seemed to lose their way, as well as their pressure and I have had to acquire a whole new set of skills. For you see, you simply can’t just decide not to go. It’s no time to be stubborn.

I used to think the brain was the leader of the pack of bodily organs when it came to the complexities of the human body. That when the brain shut down, all worldly functions seemed to cease to exist. After all, I was taught while being a Firefighter that the absence of brain function was the absence of life and so you were simply declared deceased. This always seemed to me to minimize the importance of other bodily functions, as not really being all that essential to life but old age can tell you different.

You need to think of the body as an old coal fired furnace. As long as you shovel in some coal, add water to the boiler, take out the ashes and relieve the steam, things seem to work okay and you have heat. But quit shoveling in the coal, and get caught with too much water, it chokes itself off and the fire goes out. Quit taking out the ashes and you simply run out of room. You need to keep that perfect balance to maintain a good working body. But as the furnace and boiler get older they sometimes develop leaks or valves that won’t open up at all and trouble starts brewing. Unfortunately you can’t just tighten up the packing nut or throw in a can of stop leak when these things happen.

We have long held neurologist and brain surgeons in high esteem in the medical world. But I am here to tell you that proctologist and urologists play a very important part in keeping us up and running and unless the back door is taken care of, the front door and what’s above it might just as well close up shop. As for me, I now embrace, what I used to think of as just another bother. As for right now, I have to go-- and quickly I might add.-- I may even have ashes to haul.