I’m somewhat surprised to say I love my urologist, even after what he did to me today, and that’s saying something.

Dr. Seth Capello has upended almost all of my stereotypes about male doctors.

He is warm, honest, thorough, and empathetic. He listens and explains unromantic stuff most engagingly. And it’s a tough job. Lots of men need him, but very few want to see him.

I sure didn’t. I never expected to love my urologist. I would sure he would be a sour, abrupt, and clinical physician, just like the last male orthopedist I saw who never bothered to learn my name.

This is thankless but important work, and Dr. Capello loves every minute of it.

I can hardly imagine doing what he does all day. We all fight for our dignity and balance, but urology tests those who come in contact with it. Dr. Capello has no airs: he sees doctors as plumbers and patients as people in need of plumbing repair.

Sooner or later, old men get to meet a urologist. It is a ritual of aging.  The plumbing gets old and rusty.

I get the point. Good plumbers, like good doctors, are precious and hard to find. Dr. Capello is a great doctor. I trust him completely and am happy to put myself in his hands.

I was under the impression that I had been cleared of the possibility of having cancer, a problem that arose after microscopic blood was found in my urine.

I think it was what I wanted to hear, not what I was told.

But I really wasn’t cleared of cancer, at least not until tonight. I think nobody wanted to scare me, and I chose not to be scared.

I underwent some tests tonight to determine: a/did I have cancer after all? And two, was I eligible for surgery to deal with some prostate and bladder problems?

The good news is that I definitely do not have cancer, and the additional news is that I am eligible for and have agreed to the special and fairly new surgery Dr. Capello believes will set me straight.

Another operation at a hospital, my third of the season.

When I say I am lucky, I mean it.

I feel like some amazing craftsmen and women are renovating me.  If he says I need it, then I do. And so far, no one wants to mess with my head.

Every procedure makes me healthier and stronger. Everyone has improved both my quality of life and my health.

Dr. Capello is a very funny man; he did a skit acting out a dispute between the prostate and a bladder that would make him a star on YouTube.

I’d pay to see it. I am paying to see it.

My surgery will be in an operating room, and I will be anesthetized, which means my cardiologist will have to approve. I should be home in one day; Dr. Capello would like to do it before the end of the year.

I thought this was just old man stuff, but I realize that is a dumb way to look at it. It is serious and needs to be dealt with, another lesson about the poison of old talk. I’ve paid dearly in my life for avoiding good doctors for years.

I have learned my lesson.

Maria came with me to make sure I understood things clearly. She agrees that surgery is a very good thing; she also loved Dr. Capello. He is on top of it.

Dr. Caprello even acts out a dialogue between an unhappy prostate and a pissed off bladder. But when he’s not funny, he’s clear and open. Even I understand what was happening.

I was too busy laughing to get scared. Next time I’ll take a video. I didn’t quite grasp what had happened until I was on the way home; I was still laughing.

I felt liberated after the visit.

Good doctors in a good hospital – this procedure will be at Saratoga Hospital –  taking good care of me. Not too many people on this earth can say that, and this week, I will give thanks for that again and again.

After that, I am told, I face many months of peace and my good life.