Feces or Playdoh

I was told today by my attending that it is a right of passage to remove a fecal impaction manually. I brought the unfortunate elderly lady to an iso room, gowned up completely, and began my work with a generous portion of surgilube.

This lady's impaction filled most of a bedpan. pulling it out was tricky because it was sticky to the walls of the rectum and it kept sliding away. Once I removed my finger I would have a little glob of sticky playdoh like substance that I flicked into the growing pile in the bedpan. Then back to the task.