Thorough, Clear Direction for Colonoscopy [Tim Goodwin]

I'm Tim Goodwin. I live over at Lake Thompson, Lake Henry in the summertime. And I have another place in the Black Hills.

Why did you get a colonoscopy and EGD?

Well, I had a family member that had a colonoscopy and came up that one of the polyps was cancerous. And so they said it's in the family. And then I had a maternal grandfather that died from colon cancer. And so the doctor said to me, "Hey dummy, you know, you're 68 years old, you've never been to the doctor before." Because I've never been sick. The last time I was at the doctor was when I was six when I had my tonsils out. I had a total physical and then she says, "You have to get a colonoscopy. None of this stuff, we're gonna send you a box on the back. You need to go." And so I said, "Well, do you want me to go to Watertown, Brookings, or Sioux Falls?" And they said, "Brookings is the best place there is." So, I said, "Okay, you set it up for me." So, they set it up with Dr. Oey and I came over for a colonoscopy because I was 68 and never had anything done before.

How was your colonoscopy prep?

I took the stuff the day before, which wasn't as bad as everybody said it was. I watched the Twins game, which is enough to give you diarrhea in the first place. If you've even watched the Twins this year. And so, during the Twins' game, I drank the stuff, did everything I was supposed to run back and forth to the bathroom. Sometimes I had to put it on pause because that wasn't time for a commercial and it was over and I went to bed that night. I didn't have to get up. And I think the thing that really made it probably better for me is I came in ahead of time and met with the doctor. She went through everything with me. Then she gave me everything in writing. Because I'm not gonna remember, it was like three weeks later when I had it done. And I just looked at it, did everything like they said. And that might be the key too. I didn't deviate, I did exactly what I was supposed to do. And it was flawless. I mean, I think I had to take four pills at 4:00 in the afternoon, four at 7:00, and then drink the stuff. And I mixed mine with Gatorade. So, it wasn't bad tasting. I just cleared my system out. Like I said, I slept all night. I didn't have a problem at all.

So, I know, if anybody's worried about the prep, it isn't as bad as everybody says it is, as long as you do what they tell you to do.

How did you feel after the colonoscopy?

I woke up because I heard this beeping sound, like, I thought maybe I was laying in the road and, like, a front-end load or something was gonna back over me. I thought, well, they still have to do the procedure. I mean, I just woke up, it was, actually, the blood pressure machine that was beeping and I just woke up and I said, well, okay, when are we gonna get... You know, like, I was maybe a little bit perturbed, like, "When are we gonna get on with this?" And it was over. And I have never felt better. I had never had any pain. I didn't know anything. I mean, it was absolutely flawless.

What were your results?

It's a good thing I came. In the colonoscopy, I had nine polyps and so they took biopsy and got rid of them. But they were all benign. And then when they went into my stomach, the gastro, whatever it's called there was two, and one was rather large. They took part of it off and checked it out. And it's okay, but now I have to go in again to get that removed, but I have to go, they don't do that routinely, so I have to go to Sioux Falls for that.

Because I waited so long and I had nine polyps and then two in my stomach, so 11, actually, they said, "We want to check you out in 2 years." So, I have to do the thing again in two years, which is fine. It was flawless. You could have me go every year. I don't care. It was, like, total professional, it was not inconvenience really at all. They were just all professional people.

What was your impression of Dr. Oey?

She was totally professional but also very engaging. She wasn't where she talked over you, she talked to your level. And you gotta really come down if you're gonna talk to my level.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

I guess, the whole thing from the day I stopped into the De Smet Clinic, till I walked out of the hospital here, was totally flawless. Everybody was professional. You couldn't ask, I mean, there's nothing I could do to even say, if you asked me what they could have improved, I don't know what it'd be. I mean, you know, give me lobster after I got a surgery. I mean, what would it be there? You know? It's like, it was just totally flawless. And any of the war stories and horror stories, everybody told me none of them were even remotely became true.

What would you tell someone who is avoiding a colonoscopy?

You don't want to be like me because I probably got lucky that I waited that long and I did have, you know, polyps and stuff and they could have become cancerous. So, and I had nine in my colon and two through my stomach. So, it was probably not wise. I mean, I shouldn't be a poster boy for that. It's probably poster boy for how not to do it. Do you want to have cancer and die or do you wanna live? And if you want to die, you don't wanna die from cancer, you know? So that'd be my recommendation. It's a quality-of-life issue.

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