The Vasectomy One
This one is a little odd but hey, it’s my corner of the web so I guess I can say what I want. I had a vasectomy. It’s been on my todo list for at least 2 years because my wife and I are done having kids. We love our kids, we’re very thankful for them, but raising kids and even having kids is hard (that is another story) and we don’t want to do that again. So now, it’s done. Chapter closed. I’m happy and she is happy.
The actual procedure was like going to the dentist but different. You are lying under a light but the light isn’t shining in your mouth, you can chat with the Doctor but you don’t have a bunch of tools in your mouth, you get a local anesthetic so it doesn’t hurt much but still hurts, and you’re done in 15-20 minutes. I went home and tried not to move much for a few days but honestly, I had no real pain or discomfort after the procedure. There is a small percentage of men that feel pain afterwards (sometimes persisting for months) but most people will be like me and walk away amazed at how simple that was. I still need to do a lab test in a few months but that is no big deal. Perhaps the most painful part of recovery was watching Johnny Mnemonic and trying to overlook the plot holes.
The chat with the Dr. Follows though, that was worth the $850 price of admission. I had no idea of the quiet rivalry in this field. In BC, there are basically two doctors that perform vasectomies: Dr. Polluck and Dr. Follows. Dr. Polluck has been private for years (more than 10 years, if I recall correctly), charges about $2,000, and will perform 5-6 vasectomies in an hour. Dr. Follows was public for most of his career but in 2025 switched to private and performs about 2 vasectomies per hour. I chose Dr. Follows because he is closer to where I live but I’m glad I did. He’s nearing retirement and has been in the business for 20 years and performed over 18,000 procedures. He talked about how hard it is to run a clinic on the $150 provided by public health funds but he believes it is good for society so he persisted. I like rooting for the little guys. As a bonus, I earned a nifty souvenir pen:
One final note about the title. I have yet to find a person who lived in North America in the 1990’s who didn’t watch Home Improvement. The first time I ever heard the term vasectomy was in 1996 on that show and I’m probably not unique on that that. I recall Tim not wanting anything to do with it “I have to shave ping and pong?!” but eventually being convinced it was a good idea when his hardware store buddy told him it improved his sex life. Did I get a vasectomy because a fictional TV character talked about it 30 years ago? Probably not, but the show left an impression on me and opened me up to the idea. It makes me wonder, a little, what impressions TV shows are leaving on people now and what that will look like in 30 years. Is TV still an influential medium? Are there still shows that everyone watches or do we just find a niche and watch in isolation?