So it’s been over a month since my last post, and I guess you could say I’ve been busy.
After posting about the “7 Adventures on my Bucket List”, I began to prepare myself for a “major” personal adventure. On Friday, June 12th, I had a total hysterectomy. I’m out of work for a couple of weeks to recover, but for a workaholic like myself, I have a feeling that these two weeks are going to pass by at a snail’s pace.
A total hysterectomy, you ask? Why yes, a total hysterectomy. And here’s where it gets personal, probably a bit TMI for some people’s tastes, so you may want to stop reading here, but if you’re brave, curious, or just want to know about my lady bits, then by all means, proceed with reading.
One may ask why, a woman of 42 like myself, would have a total hysterectomy when I’m years away from menopause. Well, after two wonky endomentrial biopsies which showed hyperplasia (a pre-cancerous condition), I opted to have my lady bits pulled out. I hadn’t used them anyway, but with the combo of hyperplasia, heavy periods, and pain, I think I made the right choice.
My doctor, Dr. PKJ, basically told me, after giving me my surgical options, that she couldn’t explain why a young, thin, healthy woman like myself, would have two abnormal endometrial biopsies. I was just tickled that she called me “thin” that I wasn’t thinking much about the small risk of cancer I had hibernating in my lady bits. So after a couple of months of research (there is a lot of scary crap out there on the inter-web so take what you read with a sip of vodka and you should be fine), questioning friends and family members about their surgeries (thanks, Keisha, Susan, mom, and others), talking to Dr. PKJ with my husband present, and going on some medication, I felt confident that this surgery would be successful!
Side Bar: Let me tell you, the hot flashes that come after surgical menopause make me feel like the Human Torch from the Fantasic Four. I had the occasional hot flash prior to surgery, which at times made me fling off my lab coat or sweater at the office, and my kind friends/co-workers fanned me with patient charts to help me cool off.
Anyway, back to my story… I wasn’t wanting to be like Angelina Jolie, who proactively had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed due to her increased risk of ovarian cancer. You can read her NY Times opinion article, entitled “Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary of a Surgery”, which explains her reasons behind what she did. And just so you know, she explains that she did not have her uterus removed, just her fallopian tubes and ovaries.
I love what she said in that article: “I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system. I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family… Regardless of the hormone replacement I’m taking, I am now in menopause… and I expect some physical changes. But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared.”
I’m not going to lie and say it was an easy surgery. I was told the surgery was easy and went well, but the post-op recovery didn’t go so well. I made the foolish decision to have a Diet Coke in post-op recovery and ended puking it back up later that evening while plopped on the toilet trying to urinate so they wouldn’t cath me. I couldn’t eat for the nausea. Crackers tasted like sawdust, especially since my mouth was already like the effing Sahara Desert. I tried a few small bites of scrambled eggs Saturday morning, but couldn’t bear the taste. Water was my friend as was the three popcicles I had prior to being discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon.
When Dr. PKJ stopped by my room Saturday mid-morning, she told me told me that everything went well. I had some endometriosis hanging around, my appendix was slightly plastered to my abdominal wall, and I had some problems with being intubated due to a narrow airway, but otherwise, everything went well. I had robotic surgery and I joked with her about playing video games inside my lady bits. I’ve been her patient for 12-13 years and I will be her patient for many more years to come. She rocks!
My wonderful husband, Mike, slept by my bedside, helped me get out of bed a few times in the middle of the night to help me get to the bathroom, walked with me down the hallway (because I was told I had to), and sweetly purchased me some high-dollar Junior Mints and Milk Duds from the hospital gift shop.
My friend, Katy, came to the hospital on Saturday morning, lifting my spirits with some beautiful flowers and her positive and loving personality (and thanks for the doTERRA ClaryCalm). Even the doctor I work with, Dr. G, sent me flowers and said if I had wanted a vacation, all I had to do was ask. And my work-partner-in-crime, Cindy A., is the “shake” to my “bake”. I truly work with some amazingly awesome people and I appreciate their texts and calls.
So all of that being said, I’m back. Back to blogging, back to Instagramming, back to reality, but not yet back to my job as a Registered Medical Assistant at PSA. I can’t lift anything over 10 lbs yet, and I can’t drive for two weeks. So the newly purchased car that my husband bought me will have to wait a couple of weeks for me to sit behind its steering wheel.
So let’s get this blog back on track and get back to enjoying everything life has to offer!
Have a great day!
