Let me start by saying that this post is so personal, you might not want to read it.  It’s about my vasectomy, so fair warning.  The reason I’m doing this is because most guys that have this done only get it done once (there are exceptions, but most are this way).  I know I’d never imagined that I’d sign up to have a doctor operate on a perfectly functioning part of my body and make it not function.

Three years ago, my wife and I had our second child.  I was afraid to be a father the first time, but this time was different.  With 5 years experience, I felt like this would be an occasion of joy not fear.  Ellie was born on November 14, 2006.  She was healthy and immediately the favorite play-thing of her 5 year-old sister.  I started getting a feeling that Ellie would be the last child I’d be having.  This made me a little sad because I love my girls so much, but happy to follow the leading I was feeling (in case you’re not familiar with this blog, I believe in a God who lovingly interacts with His creation, leading them better than the greatest parents lead their children).

I talked with my wife who agreed that she was feeling the same thing.  That doesn’t mean it was an easy decision to come to.  In the interim, there have been lots of challenges in our marriage.  I’d been underemployed for a while when Ellie was born, so we really couldn’t afford the operation, not that I knew how much it cost.  My sick-time at work was iffy at best.  Then I got a job with my current employer.  The benefits were better and from time to time I thought about getting a vasectomy.

A year ago I was at my church’s men’s retreat and a friend of mine came in a bit of pain.  I asked him what was up.  He told me that he’d just had a vasectomy.  I really didn’t know much about the procedure.  We were close enough that I asked him about the cost (after all you only need to know about that once).  He told me that it was just the co-pay from his insurance.  I filed that away.

This year we changed from traditional insurance to a high-deductible plan.  My wife had a back problem in the fall, so in November we hit the maximum.  That means that all covered medical procedures are free for the rest of the year.  I also noticed that I had 9 days of sick time at work that I needed to use before the end of the year.

My wife and I still prayed about it.  It seemed like the answer remained that we’re done having kids.  I called the insurance people to see if it was covered; it was.  I made an appointment with the urologist knowing that I had a small window to get it done in.

I arrived at the urologist’s office and was shown a very dated video about the procedure.  He examined me and told me a little more about how he does it.

More about that in part 2.

Paul