Up until I was 52, I thought I was normal. I knew I was circumcised, but I really did not know what that meant. I knew I did not have a foreskin, but I've never seen one on another guy, and I had no idea what a foreskin was.

That changed on Saturday, August 9, 2008.  I was suffering from a severe case of acute bacterial prostatitus (ABP).  My urologist recommended surgery. Having a healthy dose of skepticism and wishing to be an informed patient, I began researching ABP and my options, both surgical and non-surgical. That Saturday I learned about male genital mutilation, commonly called circumcision. Until that day, I never realized what had been done to me when I was born. I was appalled and I finally understood the reason for some of the irritation and pains that I experienced with my penis.

As I got older, I noticed that sex was no longer as satisfying as it used to be. It was taking me longer and longer to climax during sex. My wife noticed it too and said that I take too long. I could masturbate fine, but sex could not stimulate me like I needed to be. My penis was becoming less sensitive as I aged.

I also discovered foreskin restoration that same day. It only took me only several hours of research to decide to restore. Foreskin restoration seemed to offer a solution to my lack of sensitivity. Because I had a Foley catheter in my urethra (bad case of urinary retention), manual tugging was my only option. I had prostate surgery 3 days after I started restoring, and, except for the 24 hours around my surgery, I have been steadily tugging.

Fortunately, I was loosely cut.  I am a CI-2, maybe a CI-3 when flaccid, and possibly a CI-4 erect. My skin immediately became more flexible and mobile as I broke down the adhesions formed between my shaft skin and my penile structure.

I am 52 and can never remember when my glans was not irritated. I now know that the irritation was from the sensitive mucosal tissue of the glans rubbing against my clothing. Also, the area surrounding my frenulum, particularly near my circ scar, has always been painful to touch. I have lots of flat brown areas separated by valleys of red skin. I learned from my research that when my foreskin was separated from my glans during my circumcision, that those brown areas were scars from the appliance used to separate the tissues. The redish areas were unsullied inner foreskin.

I want to restore to return my penis to its natural state, or as close as possible.  I want to reclaim what was taken from me.  I plan on documenting my journey here.  I am eager to reach my destination, but, because the journey will be long, I plan on making the most of every tug of the way.