I’m Spending My Day on Medium, Close to the Bathroom

I’m having a colonoscopy tomorrow

Image created by Bing Image Creator

If any of my readers remember, I was hospitalized three times with a bowel blockage in 18 months. To determine the cause, I’ve had an MRI, tried the FODMAP diet, and attempted a video capsule endoscopy. The MRI showed nothing. The FODMAP diet helped decrease diarrhea, bloating, and stomach pain.

But before I could have a video capsule endoscopy, I first had to swallow a capsule without a camera to ensure the capsule would not get stuck. This failed, but luckily, the capsule dissolved after three days.

My doctors said it would be too dangerous to do the endoscopy for fear the camera would get stuck and need to be surgically removed. The last option was to have a diagnostic colonoscopy. And tomorrow is the day.

If no one has had a colonoscopy before, the actual procedure is not bad at all. It’s the preparation that’s a killer!

Four days before the procedure, I had to quit eating high-fiber food. Two days before the procedure, I had to stop eating solid food at 9 pm. The day before is the worst.

Today, I can only have clear liquids, such as tea, coffee, apple juice, broth, or jello. At noon, I took two laxative pills and prepared two 28-oz. bottles of Gatorade mixed with 8 oz. of Miralax laxative. Starting at 5 o’clock, I have to start drinking one of these bottles every 15 minutes until it is gone.

At 5 am tomorrow, I have to begin drinking the second bottle until that bottle is gone. I have to arrive at the hospital at 10:15 for the procedure. Shortly after this, I should be out like a light and wake up with the procedure finished, hungry as hell.

Needless to say, I won’t be doing much today. That is why I am spending the day on my laptop, engaging on Medium, and being as close to the bathroom as possible.

After this procedure, I hope I will find some answers as to why I have had three bowel blockages. If the colonoscopy reveals nothing abnormal, it will be good news. There is the possibility that the Ibuprofen I had been taking for my arthritis pains caused a stricture in my large bowel. I no longer take Ibuprofen, so hopefully, that stricture, if it existed, has disappeared.

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Steve's Weekly Digest for November 24 to November 30, 2024

Welcome to Steve's World. ​ Letchworths State Park, New York Goodbye November. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the Christmas and New Year holidays. For some of us, we also look forward to a long, cold, and snowy winter. This past week, I wrote articles on Thanksgiving, of course, especially an unpleasant surprise after my Thanksgiving meal, Writing on Medium and Politics. I also republished a personal story from 2019. I hope you enjoy them. ​ Check out my recently published Medium stories. ​ How I Became Obsessed With Google AdSense | by Stephen Sovie | Write A Catalyst | Nov, 2024 | Medium This Too Shall Pass. It might be like a kidney stone, but it… | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Nov, 2024 | Medium The Cleansing of America. When will mass deportation begin? | by Stephen Sovie | Steveso Thinks | Nov, 2024 | Medium Do We Have to Live With the Aches and Pains of Old Age? | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Nov, 2024 | Medium A Wish for a Happy Thanksgiving to All My Medium Friends | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Nov, 2024 | Medium What the Hell is Happening to Medium? | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Nov, 2024 | Medium We Had a Wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Nov, 2024 | Medium What? Another Weird Medium Trend? | by Stephen Sovie | Never Stop Writing | Dec, 2024 | Medium Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. If you are not a Member of Medium or cannot open the above links to my articles, you can click on the link to my blog, Steve Sovie’s World, where you can read them for free. Cato would like you to visit his blog, too. Cato the Cattle Dog​ You can also visit me at these Social Media Sites: Patreon and Bluesky​ As always, thank you for your support. ​ $5.00 Please Help Support My Writing If you like reading my articles and would like to support my writing, I would appreciate it if you could donate a little... Read more Send a tip ​ 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205 ​Unsubscribe · Preferences​ ​

We Had a Wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner

But the dessert was a surprise!

This would have come in handy! Photo by Amy Reed on Unsplash

Yesterday, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner celebrating with our neighbors. My family lives about five hours away, in the snowbelt area of Central and Northern New York, and quite frequently, driving is hazardous during the holidays. So we don’t like to take a chance of being snowed in. My husband’s family lives in Malaysia, and naturally, they don’t celebrate the holiday.

We are fortunate to have fantastic friends who are our next-door neighbors. Since we moved here, they have invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their family. This year was no exception. Our neighbor usually orders the largest fresh turkey available from our local turkey farm, as at least 16 people are usually in attendance.

We had finished our sumptuous meal and were enjoying a variety of tasty desserts, my favorite part of the meal. I had utterly stuffed myself and was looking forward to a bit of rest. Suddenly, a neighbor who lives across the street was at the door saying the sewer had backed up, causing sewage to leak into the basements of several homes on the street.

My husband rushed home to find we had minimal leakage, but the house wreaked of the smell of sewage. Two houses across the street had raw sewage pouring into their basements from basement utility sinks and toilets. The only thing I could think about was that I had IBS, and I couldn’t go too long after eating without needing to go to the bathroom.

Of all days for this to happen, when large families were gathering to indulge in a heavy meal. There were no public bathrooms nearby, and most stores were closed. There was only one gas station about three miles away.

No one knew who to call in such an emergency, and no emergency numbers were listed for our town. Finally, one neighbor called his friend, a town supervisor who sent the town highway department to assess the situation.

Luckily, they found the blockage and opened the sewer within an hour. Three hours after finishing a hearty Thanksgiving meal, our holiday nightmare was over. I was relieved, in more ways than one.

I hope you all had a happy, uneventful Thanksgiving. If not, please share with us.

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A Wish for a Happy Thanksgiving to All My Medium Friends

And thank you for your support

Photo by SJ 📸 on Unsplash

I’d like to wish a very warm and happy holiday to my fellow American friends who are celebrating Thanksgiving. May all your hopes and dreams come true, as you give thanks for friends and family.

As you sit down to either a traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey and all the fixings, or you celebrate with a meal in keeping with your family’s ethnic traditions, remember that we are all one big family-the human family.

Even though many Medium members living all over the world don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving on this particular day, rest assured you are included in our Thanksgiving thoughts as we gather together in the spirit of love, hope, and gratitude.

Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

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Do We Have to Live With the Aches and Pains of Old Age?

They’re no fun, but they’re a part of life

Photo by Philippe Leone on Unsplash

It seems as though I awaken to another part of my body hurting every morning. Sometimes, I lay in bed and count how many aches and pains I have. This morning, instead of getting out of bed immediately, I contemplated my aging process.

When I was much younger, the only pains I could remember were growing pains as my arms and legs lengthened in adolescence. Now, the bones are doing the opposite as I lose height.

I am 76 years old now. My pains started about ten years ago. I began to realize I couldn’t engage in the same activities I did when I was younger, like running or walking, without hurting my knees. I don’t think I could run now if I tried. Tennis was out, as was any sport aside from bowling.

I began developing COPD, and the asthma I suffered from as a youth returned. So, if I did anything strenuous, my breathing would create more problems than my decreased physical stamina. But I am not talking about being unable to perform athletically, like when I was in my twenties.

I have arthritis, sciatica, a pinched nerve in my lower back, and bursitis in my left shoulder. I know why I have those pains and what I can do to help relieve them. I know the pain worsens when the weather gets bad. I can’t take NSAIDs, so I suck it up.

The aches and pains I want to talk about are those that come out of nowhere for no apparent reason. For example, this morning, I counted slight pains in my right shoulder, my left knee, my right elbow, and my left ankle. I could also feel small, weird pains in my stomach. I have undiagnosed stomach problems, so I have these most days, and it’s probably gas-I hope. Why am I having these annoying little pains?

When I managed to crawl out of bed, I could hardly raise my arm to turn the bathroom light on. I hobbled into the bathroom to begin my morning routine. My hot shower did wonders in relieving most of my pains. When I got out of the shower, I stretched, improving my bursitis-affected shoulder's range of movement.

I ate my breakfast and drank my tea; I have IBS, so I can’t drink coffee. I unenthusiastically took off for the gym to engage in my workout routine. I felt happy when it was over but glad I had completed my exercises. With a slight spring in my step, I walked to the car, knowing that this euphoria would not last.

Only a couple of hours after lunch, I developed a pain in my ankle when I walked. “Where did that come from?” I asked myself. It was just another mysterious pain, reminding me I was getting old. I sat down on the couch for a while to catch up on the news and rest from my workout. A half-hour later, every muscle and bone in my body felt like I got hit by a truck. My joints were as stiff as a corpse.

Tonight, I know I will go to bed to rest my achy bones and sleep like a baby -until morning, when it all begins again, with new pains in new locations and old pains reminding me of my age.

I don’t like the aches and pains, but I accept them, knowing I can lessen their intensity with stretching and exercise. I don’t always feel like going to the gym, but I know if I sit on my ass at home, I will soon be crippled by the aging process. I also know the alternative to the aches and pains is unacceptable. They are all part of life.

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The Cleansing of America

When will mass deportation begin?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

During his campaign, Donald Trump said that immigrants poisoned the blood of our country. He has also called Mexicans criminals and rapists, you know, exactly as he is. He has accused Haitian immigrants of eating our pets. He has called immigrants animals, monsters, and killers. He has accused some countries in South America of emptying their insane asylums and sending the patients to the U.S. He had absolutely no proof of anything, yet you believed him.

He had promised if he is elected, he will deport illegal immigrants on day one. You must have agreed with everything he said, and harbored the same hatred and racist views as him because you voted for him.

On January 20, 2025, Trump will do exactly what you wanted him to do. He is planning on deporting millions of illegal immigrants on his first day in office. The cleansing of America will begin.

You can be assured that the vast majority of the deportees will be Black and Brown people, with the exception of some Ukrainians, as a gesture to Trump’s idol, Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s plan initially targets illegal immigrants who have criminal records. Then, the undocumented aliens will be the next to be deported. It will be virtually impossible for documented family members and American citizens not to be caught up in the mass deportations. But that is the price Trump and his fascist administration are willing to pay.

You won’t see any white Europeans deported at first. Their turn, and yours, will come when it’s time to eliminate those who are “different,” such as non-Christians, LGBTQ+, and anyone opposing Trump and his fascist regime.

Once the deportations have succeeded in bleaching the American population, Trump will have succeeded where Hitler failed. Our country will be white and Christian, ruled by millionaire white men, where slave labor is once again the foundation of our agricultural system.

All of you rabid MAGA followers will be relegated to leading relatively meaningless lives dedicated to serving the rich and privileged. You will receive meager wages with which you can hope to support yourselves and your families, according to what Trump’s government will allow.

Speaking of families, women will most likely provide for future workforces, as the government will say when and who will become pregnant and by whom. Once again, only heterosexual couples will be allowed to marry once they have been approved by the government.

This may not be what you wanted, but hey, you got rid of those damn immigrants and made America white again. I’m sure your immigrant ancestors must be proud of you.

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This Too Shall Pass

It might be like a kidney stone, but it will pass!

Photo by Ronin on Unsplash

I am not a religious person, even though I was raised a Catholic. I haven’t been to church in years, as being gay, I was sick of sitting in church hearing the priest calling me an abomination and saying I was going to hell. Usually, it was one of the same priests who was actively molesting altar boys while the bishop was covering up his deeds.

I live in a small village in Western New York State, which, despite having a college, is quite a Conservative community. We have one of each of the following churches, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, All Souls Universalist, and Baptist. We also have quite a few storefront evangelical churches. But the Baptist church in town stands out from the rest.

The pastor and his wife have been called “Hippies” by many of their good Christian neighbors, mainly because they don’t dress or act like traditional members of the clergy and have progressive views. I guess you could say they are “liberal,” you know, like Jesus Christ.

The church also does weird things, such as ministering to homeless teens, giving them free warm meals and clothing, and providing free holiday meals to the poor, regardless of who or what they are, minus the preaching. I’m not saying the other churches don’t serve the community, but they tend to serve only the members of their own churches.

There is a digital sign board in front of the church emphasizing that “ALL” are welcome. The sign also delivers timely and supportive messages to the entire community. However, the messages are not always well received by all.

To the dismay of the other good Christians in the community, the church proudly displays its support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month every June. Did I mention the church is the only church that performs same-sex marriages?

The day after the election, I passed the church and noticed a new message on the signboard. It read, “This too shall pass. It may be like a kidney stone, but it will pass.” Feeling depressed, this message cheered me up and gave me hope for the future. I am sure the members of the neighboring churches were clutching their collective pearls!

I very rarely give kudos to churches or religious organizations, but I felt this one deserved a shoutout. If I ever decided to return to church, this one would be my church of choice. I would be welcomed as a worthwhile human being in the same manner as Christ would do.

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