One of three Cardinal fledglings of Mrs. and Red. I can’t get over how exciting it is to see their family after my favorite bird couple have lived in our yard for two years.
Yesterday was what I called “Prep Day” for a medical procedure we are encouraged to do at age 50 and every 10 years afterward — if all is clear.
My day included a liquid diet of Jell-O, broth, apple juice, ginger-ale and tons of water. Accruements included one full bottle of Mir-a-Lax powder (14 days worth) mixed with Gatorade along with Dulcolax. For dessert there was magnesium citrate taken at 2:30 a.m. this morning.
Red keeping an eye on his baby. Red has daily tasks with his fledglings in our yard. Look at how short the baby’s tail is. It will grow as he or she gets older. We have to wait for red blotches before we know for sure if it’s a boy or girl.
I talked to my friend in Santa Barbara who said, “Thank goodness they no longer make you do all that prep.”
“Really?” I guess different doctors have their own protocols. I told her my regimen for Prep Day and she said she didn’t have to do that except wake up in the middle of the night for magnesium citrate.
I mentioned to my son about my upcoming procedure and said, “I see all these ads on TV that you can do a simple blood test instead. I’m going to opt for that.”
He told me that his wife did a blood test. Her doctors told her she was fine. Until she wasn’t and was in ER in excruciating pain. They finally discovered she had cancer that was bumping up against Stage 4.
Consider that as your Public Service Announcement for when you hit 50 years old and beyond.
So I went through craving solid food, being hungry for a day and all that annoying prep to make sure. Here’s to a good outcome, fingers crossed, and ten more years!
It seems we are going to doctors more and more as we get older. Or maybe it’s just the recent ankle and foot surgery and my husband’s knee replacement plus endless PT. I can’t wait to get through my battery of healthcare appointments and have some fun!
On Another Note:
Before I schedule my posts, I read them over and edit. Sometimes I get blocked. Two to four icons of my face pop up and I get a message that there are too many contributors.They are little markers with my face and name. There’s no way to save what I’m working on. My choice is to exit and leave with unsaved changes. Also there’s a button to copy the post. But it doesn’t work. It’s very annoying.
Has anyone else had this issue in WP? Do you have other WP issues lately?
I am enjoying your Cardinal excitement Elizabeth. As for “that” procedure, I have had that every 5 years since turning 50. The original stuff was horrid and fasting for 2 days I ended up with migraines. Now it’s 24 hours 2 litres of lemony prep that comes in powder form and I breeze through the 48 hours now. Damn you family history 😂
I’m sorry you are going through this every five years. But it’s what has to be done in your case and we need to stay healthy. I’m glad you are enjoying my cardinal family!
I know. It is something I am used to now
I had a rough day yesterday, being so hungry and too many liquids to get through. Today I was so exhausted and weak. They told me I was coughing through the procedure while I was out of it. That didn’t help. I wasn’t coughing before or afterward. Twelve hours later I’m feeling better.
Coughing would make the surgeons job harder. The best part is in the recovery room and get a sandwich and cup of tea 😁
Lucky you to be offered tea and sandwiches. I got a ride in a wheelchair to our car. But I did want to get home!
It is standard in Australian hospitals after most procedures to get a snack and cuppa especially for those who have fasted for at least 24 hours. They made me walk though 😂
This is the first time I wasn’t offered ice water, a juice or snack. I’ve always been offered that after any procedure like my foot and ankle surgery this year. Maybe they wanted my bed. Funny you had to walk!
It does seem to be a case of get ’em in, get ’em out
This was the busiest and biggest surgery center I’ve seen. The nurse was proud and told me it was the biggest in the area. But, I was impressed with how efficient they were with everything from check-in to the end.
Check in to “end” 😂
😂
I had a few issues with things I thought I deleted or changed appearing in posts. in my post today I noticed three things that I really thought I fixed, so yes, have sVing and cor section issues
That’s what my issue is too with WP. How annoying to put in the work to fix things and then the corrections disappear.
so annoying
Indeed!
There’s the option also of doing Cologuard every three years, especially if you are very low risk after the original “procedure”. Doctor can order it and it’s sent right to you. Maybe consider that going forward…
No issues with WP lately but my Chromebook just did an update that seems to be messing with some things on websites
Thanks. I will look into that. I had a rougher day today than yesterday! Also the WP glitches with tech never end.
I love seeing the babies! Thank you for taking us along on your Cardinal journey, Elizabeth. Best wishes on your procedure for a good result. I had this done about three years ago and went through the same sort of things you are doing. It is NOT fun but it must be done. It is so difficult to not eat!
I’m glad it’s over, but I have no appetite today. That’s after wanting to eat yesterday all day long! I’m happy you’re enjoying my cardinal family.
The cardinal fledglings are just precious Isn’t is special that Red and the Mrs. feel safe enough in your yard to bring their little ones?. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Thanks! I finally noticed the fledgling’s short little tail. The other two have longer tails which means they are older. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!
So sorry for having to go through all that prep! It’s truly tough. Hoping you get a clean bill of health soon!
Thanks! The doctor is supposed to get back to me within a week. They think everything is fine.
That’s good news!
Thanks!
Hi, Lori, I’ve been trying to read your blog and I get an error message when I click on your name or WP link. I finally googled it and found it today! I look forward to catching up with reading your posts.
Oh….baby Red. What a cutie…especially the pic of showing how teensy the little one is compared to papa. Thanks for these! And I hear you! The last time I had to do “the prep” I heard from friends that there was an alternative…but also heard the full purge, so to speak, and alllllll the prep is better, procedurally to get good pics. Here’s hoping you’re resting well. Definitely not fun, but important. We know that. Sending love! 💝
Thanks Vicki! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos. It was tough day yesterday and today. Setting the alarm at 2:30 a.m. for my last dose was tough. Then we had to get up at 5 a.m. I’ve been napping off and on today.
Take care…rest up! ❤️❤️❤️
Hopefully, it’s all behind me now! 😉
Look at you! Haha! Yes!!! 🤪❤️🤪
😂
I’ve been putting mine off until next year when my Medicare kicks in. Not a pleasant thing to prep for, indeed!
I have not had the WP problem—I hope you get it fixed.
That makes sense. We are going on medicare next year, but my primary doctor kept telling me that I was late and needed to get it done. It’s been 13 years. Also, with all my DIL has been through with colon cancer, I felt I needed to follow through. It seemed harder than it did last time! Maybe I’m less tolerant of discomfort?
The WP problems come and go. I think I’m through it and it comes back.
Love the photos, and you can start seeing a little bit of red on the left wing. Awesome! It’s good to do the procedure because if they see polyps, they will remove them and send them to the lab for analysis. Besides, it’s the best nap ever, so why miss it? The prep is really a pain, but it’s just one day every 5 or 10 years, so it’s not bad at all.
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I have one baby Cardinal covered in red splotches. This one is quite young by the length of it’s tail. It makes it hard for them to fly well with an almost non existent tail.
Yes, it’s good to get this done. It’s been 12 years since I’ve done it. My friend in Santa Barbara said she’s never been out for the procedure but had a “conscious sedation.” I prefer the nap!
It’s going to be wonderful to see them grow and develop those colors. I agree with you about the procedure. It’s one of those things that need to get done.
I’m enjoying seeing them as they grow. I learned through my DIL that I shouldn’t put off this test. She complained to her doctors for five years of symptoms but they ignored her because she was in her 30s. I can’t get out of my head how much easier it would have been on her to have the cancer caught four or five years ealier!
That’s terrible, and I hope she will be okay in the end. My Army doctors, and now my regular doctor, recommended the procedure every 5 years starting at 50. When I did mine, they found a polyp and removed it. The test came back benign.
It will be three years in August that our DIL had surgery. She had six months of chemo. At five years if she’s clear, she will have the same risk of cancer as anyone else.
I believe doctors are now realizing that people in their 30s are getting cancer these days. Hopefully more are getting checked and doctors aren’t ignoring their complaints.
Yes, let’s hope for that. Prevention is everything these days.
Absolutely! Five years is too long to wait. I’m so relieved I went through this yesterday.
I’m about to turn 53, so a couple more years before my next procedure. I think an annual blood test is a good alternative while waiting for the five-year cycle, especially since the procedures are very expensive.
I think that’s true over the age 50. It didn’t work for my DIL her 30s. I go to my primary tomorrow and will have annual blood test for everything else.
Her case is sad because she even told her doctor. It’s just insane that the doctor didn’t support her. I’ll be changing doctors if they don’t listen to my requests.
Absolutely. She was told to drink more water and eat more fruit. Because of her age, they didn’t do a colonoscopy. I wonder if that will change and be more common for younger people?
Crazy! And then doctors wonder why they are getting sued. I read somewhere that they are looking at changing the timelines for some of the recommended routine exams. We’ll see how far those discussions advance.
That’s good to hear that they are looking into changing timelines for routine exams. I hope it goes the right way!
Yes!
👍🏼
I’m glad you have your wonderful birds to enjoy and that we have to enjoy them too, thanks to your beautiful photos.
Sorry about you feeling bad with the prep. Totally understand! My doctor let me do Cologuard this year, which I was happy about. It’s so much easier!
The issues I have had with WP are only them hiding posts from me or my posts being hidden from others. Crazy and annoying. Hope your issue gets fixed.
I was sicker the day after prep day. I feel like I lost a whole two days being miserable. I’ll talk to my doctor about Cologuard. That’s one of my main issues with WP too. I don’t see people’s posts and they don’t see mine, either.
Ugh on being sicker the day after! I hope your Dr will allow you to do Cologuard for next time.
It is annoying! I hope WP can fix it, but its been going on for awhile, so I don’t know.
I did want to do the blood test, but my son convince me not to. I’ll ask about Cologuard. I haven’t contacted WP about my glitches, because they come and go. I get ready to complain and the glitch doesn’t exist anymore!