Vasectomy Holiday - Slightly TMI

Vasectomy Holiday (It should be a reggae song)

I'm starting this post today, Thursday @ 2:36 Pm. I had my vasectomy performed at 1PM on Tuesday this week & this is a bit of a dump of how it went down.

MB's parents dropped me off at the specialists rooms a little early as I planned on having to fill out some forms and the like, after the surgeon had seen his first appointments I was up. We had a brief chat in his office, my GPs referral outlined that we had baby #7 on the way it was pretty obvious that my mind was made up. He explained that a small number of patients cannot be done under local on the day for a number of reasons (he didn't elaborate but I assumed this would be due to anatomical issues, couldn't locate the Vas etc etc) He discussed the procedure to me, there are several, he uses steel clips to clamp the Vas and stitches you up afterwards, some do it with a stitches on the Vas and no external sutures). His method meant I could shower the same day which made me glad. He also explained the risks of infection, and that this could sometime be in the form of inflammation and swelling 6 weeks later. He also explained that sometimes additional bleeding inside the scrotum could result in a hard lump that would dissolve over time. I signed my consent as he elaborated on the time it could potentially take before I could be considered infertile. It was then time to move to the procedure room.

We headed down the corridor, I thought I would have butterflies and feel a bit anxious but I was pretty collected (despite it being on my mind steady for the two weeks leading up to it. I removed my jeans and trunks and hopped up on the table/bed and laid back as he examined me. Lying on my back with him standing to my right he quickly located the right side Vas and then the left. This was slightly unnerving as it involved quite a bit of paddling round in my scrotum. He then explained that he had no issues locating each vas and confirmed he would be able to complete the procedure then and there. He then shaved me, (which was also a unique feeling), washed me with antiseptic (freakin cold it was) then gloved up and got ready to begin. He showed me the tiny steel clips he would be using and assured me no patients had ever reported setting off a metal detector. I looked out the window at the clear blue sky as he once again located the right vas, this was quite awkward, it didn't hurt just really made me squirm, once he had it located he injected the local anaesthetic which aside from an ever so slight pinch was hardly noticeable at all. He started to make the incision, which judging on the need from what I could tell was on the right side bout midway from front to back. I felt a twinge of the scalpel so he stopped then injected more locate and proceeded. I talked constantly through the first side, more so to take my mind of what I knew was going on. In this regard it was probably a bad move to watch the video on you tube as I could mentally picture everything he was doing. I yacked about MB, the children, Mr C's nevus, moving building straw bales and before I knew it I saw his hand go up as he completed a stitch. "All done" he said with a smile, "time for the left".

He went to locate the left vas which he did from the front as he remained standing on my right, this was extremely unsettling, I jumped and immediately broke out into a sweat as he located and vas. I was relieved to feel the needle go in as it knew I'd soon feel less uncomfortable, it really is a strange feeling having someone did around in your balls. He made quick work of the left side as I chatted more and more and before I knew it there was the familiar site of him completing a stitch and I knew I was home free.

I sat up, dripping with perspiration (from the heat of the room more so than anything else) I looked at my balls, which after 32 years of good service looked foreign too me, shaved & discolored from the antiseptic wash. I asked where the stitches were so the doc showed me a stitch on the right side of my scrotum and one on the front side. I went to wing my leg over the the side of the table and felt something touch my leg which came as a shock until I realised it was my scrotum, which was till numb.

The doc explained that I could shower and wash off the antiseptic that day and that within a few hours i'd feel pretty sore and more so the next day or two. he instructed me to to get home, take some panadene and have a glass of whisky. My only question was naturally "Is Red Wine OK"?

I made an appointment for the next week to have the stitches out and do a check up and walked out the door. I immediately texted MB to tell her all was done but I was a bit shakey. I then called her to elaborate on how I felt, told her all was well and then called her Mum & Dad to come and pick me up. I had planned for to spend a few days at my in-laws after the procedure so we headed home via a chemist for some panadene.

That night I wasn't really as sore as I expected to me, more slow on my feet and hesitant to move quickly, sitting was a little uncomfortable but all in all I was feeling pretty good. MB's mother cooked me a delicious lamb roast which we washed down with a nice bottle of red before MB/s father and I retreated to their upstairs big screen TV to watch tron. I didn't feel like sleeping or lying down and after some Facebook messaging with Jo decided to break out the paracord and attempt a two tone bracelet. this killed an hour (as it didn't work the first time and I had to unravel it and start again. and by about midnight I was ready to lie down. Unfortunately I had trouble getting comfy in bed and opted for several pillows between my knees, setup my laptop chatted to MB on MSN (which was sooooo good) then put on an American hot rod playlist and watched several episode before finally falling asleep some time after 3am.

I woke at 7:30 and went to the toilet and had a fair amount of discomfort walking so I decided to hop back in bed and watch some more movies and TV eps of American Hotrod on my laptop. I chatted to MB with video chat at about 11am then again at 3pm, at this point I thought it best I get up, shower and have breaky, which was really a late lunch. I cooked a chicken fillet for a roll and watched some TV for about an hour before getting back in bed around 4:30PM. I then watched more TV on my laptop and when I heard MB's parents arrive from work headed down to say hello. MB's mother cooked another great feed of veggies and a t-bone for me with hot jam roll and ice cream for dessert, I was feeling truly spoilt.

After dinner I watched "The Departed" on the big screen before hitting the hay around midnight, I fell asleep almost instantly but woke at 3am feeling pretty wired so I watched more American Hot Rod til about 5am before sleeping til 9:30.

Today I wanted to get some work done so I connected and caught up on all my meetings, emails and documents for review. I love technology, I have my phone setup as a 3G wireless access pouint and am connected on my laptop from bed. which brings us to about now.

It hasn't been anywhere near as painful as I expected, There is considerable discomfort but pain wise it is very tolerable. My balls went from tomato to beetroot over a few hours but now look semi-normal (albeit shaved). I'll probably submit this then have a shower I think. While the quietness here (read silence) is very relaxing and who would complained about the spoiling i'm getting I am very much missing MB and the children with the exception of a family holiday in the first year or two of going out we haven't spent this much time apart in 17 years and I'm really missing her. Tech is great though with IM and video chat making it bearable. I know its been a stretch for her with all the children solo whilst still feeling ill 24/7. A friend of ours was kind enough to take Miss L overnight and then miss P for an afternoon with her girls which i'm sure made things a little easier at home as those two generate the most noise, mess & washing I was due to go to work for an important meeting tomorrow arvo but don't really feel like making the drive or the train ride or sitting in an office chair all day so My boss has setup a conference for me to dial in. I'm hoping to grab a bite with a mate of mine tonight because MB's parents will be out at a wake. This will also allow me to get them a new DVD player as theirs has issues and doesn't play divx.

Until next time.....

Home Ed Camp (Slightly Pic Intensive)

How does one some up camp fest 2011??

Firstly you may want to peruse my previous postings on last years camp to get an idea of the sorts of things we got up to. This is the 4th year the awesome camp has been run, we missed year 1 because Miss P was born and year 2 because of Mr C's first round of tissue expansion.

After arriving dead on time for the camps commencement last year we decided to arrive a few days early this year. With Camp starting at midday on the Tuesday we arrived around dinner time on the Saturday prior to soak up some sun and chill before switching things to overdrive. The first thing that greated us was a full lake Hume, last year the water was barely visible but with this last 12 months and the drought breaking rain we were extatic to see water withing 100 metres of our cabin door step.

After settling in and unpacking le boos we decided to hit the pool. This also served as an opportunity to catch up with other home ed families we already knew from regular catchups or last years campfest. I made up a spag bowl for the whole fam and MB went and checking in with Jenni (one of the awesome organisers). Our first night was somewhat rowdy as the children all had excess energy so we stayed up watching movies til we all passed out.

Friends were reunited

The mouse that roared
Green hair washed out pretty quick
Chillin'
Grrrrr
Lounging about
Day 1 Sunday started at midday (yes we all slept in) after doing up a batch of porridge, toast and various cereals for the whole fam we headed straight for the pool and spent the majority of the afternoon there. We were invited to a pub meal with some of the other families but as we had already taken meat out to do a BBQ. Instead we teamed up with another family who also have 6 children and did a bit of a BBQ smorgasbord, I made up a batch of rissoles using 4 different kinds of sausage mince which surprisingly turned out fantastic, we also fried up potato "chips" that MB had hand cut earlier. After chatting for ages and cleaning up we ended up at the pool again. The evening included a sleep over whereby miss L swapped with our friends son (aged between B & T). Sunday was Also MB's birthday however the cakes I had planned to bake were a little difficult to cook in our oven that wouldn't light so we settled for a candle in a rissole, only I forgot candles so.... year..... MB was still happy :) Our Home Ed Friends from Adelaide handled out dozens of glow sticks so the evening was spent watching the children from afar in an extra terrestrial light show.

Day 2 Monday Started slightly earlier than the previous had with us all up by 10AM, to be honest I tried to recall what we did this day and for the life of me cannot remember, no doubt it involved swimming, and an attempt at fishing, I was amazed to see the boys catch a small fish on a hook with no bait. MB and got to spend some time chilling by the pool chatting with friends while the children all socialised with their mates. We ended the day with another impromptu BBQ with 4 adults and 12 children, fun was had by all.

Day 3 Tuesday First official Day of Campfest. With the camp officially starting at midday and a compliant stove agreeing to behave I spent the morning making a giant batch of sausage rolls (for lunch and snacks over the comming days). As the day progressed more and more families arrived and we started to get an idea of just how big this year was going to be. We all filled out info sheets and placed them on a central board and made introductions.

They did the ropes challenge






Day 4 Wednesday Campfest Day 2 Our first full day of camp started with activities, we completed the low ropes cousre first followed by a hike to the top of one of the nearby hills, this was somewhat of a challenge for me as I was left to carry Miss P & Mr C up. Once at the top we were all allowed to paint our names on a water tank. The night Saw the Trivia night and I have to say as somewhat of a trivia boffin I found at least three quarters of the questions a little on the difficult side. Inspired by this Mr B went on to organise a Kids Trivia" More on that later.

After walking up the hill we painted our names on the water tower
Miss P had the easy ride down
Stopping to pose of course
T waited for us so he could take turns piggy backing his little sister
Miss H was very content to watch from the pram

Electronics (Making an electric motor)

C was very impressed with Air hockey
He and I swam the most hands down
His swimming improved so much in the first few days
Linesbaby
One of our friends injured herself and had to spend a night in at Albury so we joined our tables for dinner, 10 kids with 2 adults
Mmmmm a mouthful of sand


Day 5 Thursday Campfest Day 3 Our second full day of camp started off with more low ropes followed by boomerang throwing. As dinner arrived Mr B who had been somewhat dismayed by the level of difficulty of the Wednesday trivia went on to organise a kids trivia night. He recruited some friends to sign up teams, he rallied prizes for every team he recruiter myself and one of the other dads to jot down some questions. He then went on to run the whole night s the quizz master, I scored and despite the "adults" table winning by a narrow margin they were promptly disqualified (which brought emense cheers from the kids). I was so proud of B, to see a ten year old step up, organise the whole thing from scratch including prizes then go on to read all the questions it was amazing. It brought tears to my eyes. They also abseiled again.

B Off the tower
C was a little nervous

Boomerang throwing (DUCK!!)
The kids found some great climing trees and swinging ropes
More ropes
B helping his little sister
Everyone chipping in to help the little ones
Its MY platform!

Face plant smiles
I helped with some of the meals
Chess masters
Before noticing mum with the camera
After
MB helped out with an impromptu swing display
Miss H was clearly Bored
I have a bit of a confession.................... I love to bead
B running the kids trivia night
Day 6 Archery



Too cool for school
Day 7 Obstacle Course
War paint





End of day 7 talent show, miss L and one of her friends did a dance
Miss H getting down with her boogy

Slightly sun burnt, Very tired
Disco
yeah it was hard getting a shot without shaking the camera as I cracked up laughing

Learnings:
- Diversity is awesome, we had so many families from the country, the city, from diferent countries, different nationalities, different religions it all added up to a brilliant group, parents and children alike.
- You cant beat socialisation, most non home ed peeps say "what about socialisation?" as soon as you tell them you home school. The best part about a socialising amongst other home schooled children is that they all get alone (more or less) there aren't the cliques or the other negative factors you find in a school playground.
- Footwear. Our biggest challenge was that the activities scheduled each day required closed toe footwear but with the amount of swimming our children where doing thongs were there preference so there was more than one occasion where we had to go searching for a pair of Miss P or Mr C's thongs. It was also just as chaotic finding socks for each child as they would take their shoes off to go swimming and leave them everywhere. Next year there will be one pair of closed toe sandals for each child to avoid constant swapping and lost socks. On a positive I wore my trusty Merrels and never pulled up sore despite hours on my feet.
- I Said it last year and we never got around to doing it but Walkie Talkies are a must for next year.

- Its hard work wrangling a large family spread over a place as big as camp fest, next year we may look at inviting MB's parents

- Cool down. With Camp finishing on the Sunday and me returning to work monday I'm pretty tired now, next year I think we shall take 3 days either side.

Awesome things I saw:
One of the highlights for me was hearing my 9 year old son Mr T and his mate (also 9) discussing creation theory vs evolution theory then digressing to covering greek mythology and how certain things crossed over to the bible. EG. Hercules was a demi-god who had a father who was a god and a mother who was mortal, does that make Jesus a demi god?"

Thats my memory dump of camp, there are heaps of parts i've missed, if you want to know more I suggest you sign up for 2012

We stopped at the Etamogah pub on the drive home, it was kind of lame

The look on MB's face tells what the condition of the place was like

Maids day off?
Le Boos


Well earned kips on the drive home