“My name is Susan Record and I’m 52 years old, married with two grown children. My parents are still living and I have two sisters, one older and one younger. My family is very close and my sisters and I are always doing something together, the story about to share is one thing I never thought my sisters and I would do together, but so glad we did!

I have always been very faithful about going for my yearly exams with my gynecologist. As I like to call it to get my tires rotated (mammogram) and have my oil checked (Pap smear). When I turned 49 my doctor started talking about me having a colonoscopy.  Of course I said “Oh no my exhaust system is fine, no need for anyone to go bothering it!”   I felt that my privates where invaded enough, no need to go there! So of course for two years he asks every time I saw him and I said no thank you.

So summer of 2013 arrived I was in Cancun Mexico for the first time with three wonderful girl friends. We had just had four great days of fun, food and sun! Love summer, what a way to start it off, it’s going to be a great one!

As I was getting ready to board my flight for home I get a call from my daughter (Makenzie). She tells me my Dad is in the hospital, tests are being done, but not sure what is wrong. He is very weak and they are giving him blood. I quiz her about what could be going on, she is an RN, but she won’t say anything for sure. So it’s time to board the plane so I tell her I will call when we land in a couple of hours.

Well a couple of hours turned into four! Storms! Can’t land the plane we just keep circling to see if the storm will pass. We have circled so much we must go to another airport to refuel. I’m going crazy! I’m just about ready to scream! They have got to land this plane so I can call about my Dad! As soon as the wheels hit the ground I’m calling to see what is going on. Makenzie is crying, so of course I’m crying my husband Chris gets on the phone and just keeps saying everything is going to be okay, they have found a tumor, but everything is going to be okay. Well my world crashed! My Dad, no, no not my Daddy! I just wanted to get home and see him.

Finally we land at our airport, just a few more hours and I will be home! NOT! Flight delays! Every flight is delayed!!! I was supposed to arrive in Lexington at 10:00pm; well I finally get three at 3:00am. My feet hit the ground and straight to the hospital where my dad is. I get there at 4:00am. My mom is awake, Dad is sound asleep, and she tells me they are going to do a colonoscopy around 7:00am.

Time for colonoscopy, my sisters Kathi and Allison, Mom and I are all there. I just keep thinking there is nothing seriously wrong, he will have this test everything is going to come out fine and this whole tumor thing is just a growth not the “C” word. Please lord, let it be so!

Here comes the doctor, please lord help me be strong! The doctor does not say what I or anyone else wants to hear. Dad’s tumor seems to be coming from the colon and is attached to his stomach. The tumor will need to be removed and yes it is cancer.

The doctor starts asking about family history of cancer. My mom tells him of my dad’s brother who passed away and he had colon cancer. He asks if we all have had our colon’s check. Of course we all say no. Well, he states, you should. Someone joking ask he can do us all at the same time, ha, ha! Well yes! My mother immediate asks when? Whoa slow down mom! Let’s get thru one thing at a time. Our main concern right now is our Dad. We all promise we will do it, but just not now, now is not good.

It was a long hard summer! Dad had surgery the first part of July. Had to remove 1/3 of his stomach and part of his colon and spent 14 long days in the hospital. He started preventive Chemo treatments in August and is scheduled for his last one at the end of February. All sign show that he is cancer free. We are very blessed and I thank the lord every day for my dad and mom.

So during all this time I see post on Facebook all the time from one of my dear cousins, who lost her mom, who was very dear to me, to colon cancer about colon cancer awareness. How early detection is a key. I think about her mom what she went thru, about what my dad has gone thru, if only they had had a colonoscopy. But still I can’t seem to make myself make that phone call!

Then one day sitting at work my sister Kathi text me, just made my appointment for Monday to see about scheduling my colonoscopy. OMG! She did what, well if she did then I will too!

So I call the same doctor, lady answers the phone. Hello my sister has an appointment with you on Monday to see about…uh..what is it called, you know one of those butt exams that they put you to sleep. To myself I say, LORD why can I not remember any medical terms!!! She said a colonoscopy? Yes thats it. Well my sister has an appointment with you on Monday Kathi Hudson, I want a time with her or close to and by the way we will have another sister she will be calling, we are all going to do this together and Dr. Spoonamore said he would. Can’t not even image what this woman thought! Allison the baby sister, who has not turned 50, does make her appointment also. We are all set!

Monday appointment time has arrived; I pick up Allison at work. She tells me she has just tried to give us (Kathi & I) away to one of the girls she works with who has no sisters. Then she is all I can’t believe you all are making me do this! Sure, sure Allison, you would not let us go without you! Next we stop to pick up Kathi, then on to the doctor’s office. They call one name and all three of us head to the door, not sure what that poor nurse thought. I said they are with me and I’m with them! We are all doing this together! She asks, really? YES we all reply.

We are talking with the doctor, so when do you all want to have this done. Kathi states, I was thinking Spring Break. Well let me tell you Allison and I about went thru the roof SPRING BREAK! Oh hell no! You got us here and we are not waiting until spring break (that would be first week of April our appointment was on February 3). I would never be able to wait that long, I would talk myself right out of it! Allison agreed. So the doctor said I can do it next Tuesday the 11^th, we all agree.

On our way home we stop by our local CVS to purchase our Go-go juice (as I like to call it) we all pick the grape flavor and then we get our enemas. Like we said we are in this together! Oh and by the way I think by this point Allison has said at least 10 times, I can’t believe you are making me do this!

Monday February 10^th cleansing day! We all working half a day so our first bottle of Go-go juice was to be drunk at 1:00. I got home around 11:30 by noon I’m thinking, why wait start drinking and get this over with! First big gulp…not to bad a little sour, but I can do this. Second gulp, oh lord this is way to sour for me, one more big drink, you can do it! I finally get it down. So of course I text my sisters, since we are in this together we will keep in touch all day with each other thru text from our thrones! Let the fun begin! Just drank my first bottle…not to bad but a cheeseburger for lunch would have been better! Text from Kathi, Oh my the more I drink the sourer it gets!!!! Guzzling water now!!

Some of our other comments for the day.

OMG every commercial on TV today is about food!! I know I keep changing the channel! Oh here is a good one it’s about prune juice! I would drink prune juice today if I didn’t have to drink the other bottle of our Go-Go juice!

Oh lord, Oh lord, gag, gag just drank my second bottle, did not think I was going to get it down!!

I took my 2^nd one 1^st so I will have it easy!!

Oh yea go ahead a joke now, just wait until you start drinking it!

Just downed my second bottle so far not too bad, but my butt hole is raw!!!!

O!M!G!

What’s wrong sister, your butt raw, ran out of toilet paper, starving?

All the above except for the TP, Eddie must have thought I needed a lot he got 2 12 packs!!!

He knew you were full of it!

Well I decided to just set on the pot and look at facebook!! It’s a lot easier than running back and forth!

Enema time! More comments.

Oh lord that burned my raw butt!!!

Done! Now let’s see if I can get some sleep!

Sleep hell you won’t be able to stay off the pot!

Well I will just sleep there!

I’m freezing!

Me too!

Wrap up and go to bed! See you in morning, we are almost thru this!!!

We all arrive at the hospital at 6:00am, with our husbands in tow. Our mother also shows up for the blessed event! I think she was worried how we might act, poor mom. Kathi goes first (the oldest and she would have it no other way!), Doctor comes out she has a normal colon…of course I tell him the only thing she has normal!! But thank you lord! Then my turn, when I wake up Allison is already in the back, but I’m told that my colon is also normal, thank you Lord and please let Allison be okay. Prayers are answered, she is also okay, we are all relieved!! We leave the hospital together.

At home later in the day I open my laptop to check Facebook. The first post I see is from my cousin Patty, it’s a picture of our dear Judy (Patti’s mom), and I tear up and think about her, if only they had done what I had just done. Yes it’s a not a great experience, but for me doing it with my sisters made it somewhat fun! I make a post of my page (this only the 2^nd time I have ever posted something on FB) about what I had just done with my sisters (a short version). I want to maybe make someone stop and think, hey that would be nice to have someone to go thru this with hey I could do it with my sister, my brother a friend, whoever.

Well I could never have imaged how many comments I had to that one post. Even had a girl say that she told her sister that her and their brother needed to do this. One way to spend some time together!

So if that post will encourages one person to go and have their exhaust system checked, it was worth it all!”