May 21st 1996
Life was good. Business was good. I had just a bit of a cold that wouldn’t leave me alone. Nick, my son was 2 1/2 years old. A happy, healthy young boy who couldn’t wait to leave for our trip to Disney World in a couple of days. We were driving down to Florida and staying with great friends near Orlando for ten days. A much needed vacation we were really looking forward to.
But first, a quick trip to the doctor. The first time in many years that I had been to a doctor. I needed to get something for this nagging cough before we left. I set up an appointment with a nearby office and was to see a brand new physician that was new to the practice, Dr. Ciecko. A nice, soft spoken man, Dr. Ciecko examined me and prescribed an antibiotic for my condition. We spoke about a few health related tests that I should be thinking about. I was 35 years old and told the doctor that I had a family history of colon cancer. Dr. Ciecko thought it might be wise to draw some bloodwork in case I wanted to have a colonoscopy done in the future. A quick trip to the lab and I was done with my visit. Thanks, Dr. Ciecko.