The new blog

I think this might be my new blog destination. I won't go live with this until I have it ready to go

The OBGYN

I had a first this week. I had my appointment...with my brother...at an OBGYN. Apart from it being obscenely awkward, I had a really good time. We were celebrities there. Scott and I were the first male patients they've ever had in the office.

I'm sure you're probably wondering what I was doing there. Yes - well, my family as a very long line of cancer patients, more specifically almost entirely breast cancer (including my grandfather). My mother, her sister (my aunt) and mom's dad and my dad's dad have all had cancer. When my wife went in for her most recent appointment, my family history came up in conversation. Her doctor told her about a new test that their office recently began offering. It's called a BRACA test - a blood test that can let you know your risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. If the test comes back positive my brother and/or I are have a 6% chance of having breast cancer in our life time. Yes - breast cancer.

I learned that only .05% of males ever contract breast cancer, but with my family history chances are much, much higher for my brother and I (if the test comes back positive). The doctor said it's about a 50% chance of the test coming back positive. And if so, we would begin yearly MRI screenings.

Fortunately our chances are good (very good) of not getting ovarian cancer.

I had a pretty good time in there - my brother was extremely uncomfortable (along with all the people in the waiting room and most of the nurses). It made it even better that they called us back together. I kept putting my hands on his belly in the waiting room just to add to the curiosity.

I dared my brother to get up on the table to "saddle up" before the doc got there, but because there was no paper on the table, and what normally goes on in that room is altogether foreign to both of us, he wouldn't do it.

Most memorable moment of the day - watching the doctor teach my brother how to give himself a breast exam.

Tell me that is not the coolest thing ever

It might be funny tomorrow

Conner (2 years old) just woke up. He woke up in the usual way. I was out in the family room watching tv when I heard the door knob turning. It usually takes him a few tries to get the door open. If he ever has trouble he calls and his mom or I come running. I thought I heard one little rattle, then silence. I dismissed it, thinking he was not yet awake. A few moments later I heard that same little rattle, then silence once again. After the third sound of a half-attempt-turn-of-the-knob, I thought I would go check in to see if it was in fact my precious son. As I turned the knob, a little, innocent voice, before I even had the door partly opened said timidly, "sorry daddy". This has only happened one other time, and it involved a pile of little Conner poop on his brother's floor. It should have been no surprise when as I opened the door, I was nearly knocked over by that very same smell. The smell was accompanied by the sight of smeared poop all over the walls and dresser. When I asked him what he had done, all he said was "sorry daddy" again, then burst into tears.

He was rushed to the bathroom, where he was stripped down, dumped in a hot bath and scrubbed repeatedly. As I scrubbed down the walls, Indie, our dog, decided the story wasn't quite good enough, so she came in and pooped right beside me.

It might all be funny tomorrow.