and the winner is...

Last night I had my regular visit with Dr. Ray. We talked at length about surgery and the surgeon I was leaning towards. I left his office confident in my decision to go with Dr. Schoettle, the neurosurgeon. I drove straight to ICON to have a professional piercer remove my navel ring. It’s a captive bead ring and all of my attempts to get that sucker open have failed. This is the first time it has been out since I got that piercing five years ago. And that’s one of the things on my “To Do Before Surgery” list that I can cross off.

This morning I made the call to schedule my surgery with Dr. Schoettle. It will be Friday, October 20. That’s the only detail I have for now. The surgery schedulers will call me back with the time and more specifics. Wow, reality (and a case of nervous stomach) has set in.

To all of you who participated in my fun little “Pick the Surgeon” game the majority chose Dr. Schoettle. I think he’s younger than he looks in the picture I originally posted. I know he graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School in 1978. Also, in person he doesn’t really resemble Alex Trebek, as someone suggested. Here is a group photo from the Neurological Surgeons group. One of my favorite things about Dr. Schoettle (you know, other than being a very qualified, knowledgeable, and caring surgeon) is that he has a brain ring. Yes, a neurosurgeon with a gold brain ring. I asked him about it Tuesday and he took it off and let Mom and I look at it. His mother, a jewelry maker, made it for him. She also made a heart ring for his heart doctor brother. I really like a doctor would a good sense of humor.

Evidently a POINT OF CLARIFICATION is needed. Dr. Schoettle does not have a piercing. It’s an actual ring that he wears on his finger.