"The dreaded Roto-Rooter, the coming of age..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #305)

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer  
amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.

Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i

with his best friend and spiritual adviser,
 Ivanka "Costco" Obama, The Bipartisan Dog!

Sunrise/weather/ photos August~2020

(These photos made it to Hawaii News Now)

Photos courtesy,

James "Kimo" Rosen

Blog #2059~Kimo's world #305

The dreaded Roto-Rooter, the coming of age...

Aloha Readers,

Were back, blogging like the good ole days. 

No politics, no current events,

nothing to divide us, just real-life experiences 

that I hope you can relate to and bring a smile to your face. ;-)

James "Kimo" Rosen

Publisher/ Blogger-n-Chief,

dakinetalk blog

Many of my Facebook friends

wondered where I was on Thursday, August 12th. It was the first day in over 4 years I had not posted a daily set of sunrise photos on Facebook. 

They say better late than never. I had been procrastinating this day for many years.

  I finally had the dreaded Roto-Rooter procedure, commonly known as, 'the coming of age for seniors' or best known as the colonoscopy. 

Fasting and drinking the gallon of the prep solution and living on the toilet the day prior to the Roto-Rooter procedure was the toughest part. There is a joke that says it all; "if 2020 was a drink it would be a colonoscopy prep." ;-)

These days at Wilcox hospital you are required to get a COVID test 3 days prior to any invasive surgery or procedure. What are the odds that 3 days prior to my coming of age,

my para-transit bus driver told me they too were having a Roto-Rooter done the same day as me?  (The beauty of a small town, island) I am proud to say this past week I had instruments going up through parts of my body no man has ever been before.  

The vast majority

of people arriving for a COVID test stay in their car and the testing crew comes to you when it’s your turn. I do not drive, therefore took the bus to the rear of Wilcox hospital where they do the testing and a nurse saw me and immediately said, "Unko let me get a chair for you under the shade of the tent!" (The sign said, COVID tests in the rear, I thought they were in the nostrils?)  ;-)

I sat patiently until my turn when another nurse swabbed my left nostril, after 5 spins of the swab, I sneezed before she got to the right nostril. 

The sneeze triggered a cramp in the stomach and I told the nurse I must get up and walk it out.  This would not have been so bad; however, I was the only walk-up amongst over 20 vehicles in line and all seemed focused on me.

 They must have thought I had a reaction to the test.  I’m jumping around like a crazy man trying to walk

off a stomach cramp. I believe a few vehicles got it on their smartphones. I still haven't seen it posted anywhere on social media?  Finally, my right nostril was swabbed.  Both the nurse and I smiled.  2 days later my test results came back negative.  

Propofol, the drug rock legend Michael Jackson overdosed on is the pharmaceutical of choice for anesthesiologists to anesthetize patients during Roto-Rooter procedures and can be deadly when not monitored by an anesthesiologist. 

Once I was under propofol the colonoscopy was over in what seemed like 3 seconds.  

The prep ain't(sic)fun, I wound up calling the hospital  2 hours into my preparation after drinking almost 1/2 gallon of the solution. Usually, it takes

15 minutes for take-off.The nurse told me that diabetic's GI systems sometimes take longer and to drink some hot chicken broth, which was allowed on the limited fast, sure enough, 3 minutes after that it was like a hurricane and an evacuation was ordered, then ordered numerous more times before the night ended. 

Don’t be like me and put off this potentially life-saving procedure.   The procedure itself truly

surprised me and went like clockwork--however, the event itself was a real experience and adventure. 

The day before I got my will in order and called one of my beneficiaries to tell them where everything is hidden should I not make it for some reason.

The best news for this guy in his mid 60's,

no polyps or cancers, however, the underlying conditions still lie with severe nerve damage from a spinal abscess that nearly took my life back in 2005.  

I have learned to live with the many pains that come with age, or as they say, it's better than the alternative of reading of my obituary in the morning paper...

This blog also appeared in the Health and Fitness section 

of the 12-09-20 edition of the Garden Island News!

https://www.thegardenisland.com/2020/12/09/lifestyles/the-dreaded-roto-rooter-the-coming-of-age/

Hana Hou, (Encore)