THE GENIUS AND DRUGS

The genius and I are on two different planets when it comes to taking medication. If I’m going to have any kind of medical procedure I want to have all the drugs I can get, especially if it involves pain. He, on the other hand, has resisted taking anything, aspirin or otherwise, ever since I’ve known him. (“It’s not nature’s way.”)

But about three weeks ago he was tired of fighting the pain of a consistent back ache, so he began taking Advil. He didn’t take much, about 4-6 a day, but it was enough to cause some internal bleeding. So off he goes to the doctor to have some tests run.

I have had both a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, so I tried to tell him what to expect. “You won’t remember a thing. You’ll just go to sleep and wake up and it will be all over.” I went with him to the doctor so that I could drive him home.

When they called me back to the recovery room, I expected to see him all dopey and shaky, but no, he was as alert as ever. He said, “I didn’t have the sedative; I told them I didn’t want it.” So all he had was a little bit of pain killer for the endoscopy in order for them to get the tube down his throat. The colonoscopy was done without anything!! I was amazed, but I don’t know why; I should have expected it.

Later, I asked him why he did it that way and he said he didn’t want to fog up his mind with medication. And he also wanted to know what was going on during the process. He asked the physician questions throughout the examination about what was taking place, etc. I’ll bet that the doctor doesn’t see many patients like him.

I’ve thought about this since then and I’ve come to the conclusion that he has much more courage than I have, or most anyone, for that matter. He would rather endure the discomfort of the exam than to harm his brain, or to waste a day sleeping off the drugs. How brave is that??

The good news is that the bleeding was caused by the Advil and there was no sign of anything else. And the back is better due to a cortisone injection.