Hyster Sister Club

So life is going good.  No major health issues have come up.  YEAH.  About time!  But there are a few loose ends that I want tied up.

As you may remember from reading, I have suffered from Endometriosis and Fibroids since I was 17 years old.  It has not been an easy journey.  23 years I suffered with this.  In and out of the ER.  Too many drug therapies which I wish now I had never done.  Too many laparoscopy surgeries to try help me along and clean things up.  My womanly parts have been through so much in 23 years.  And I was not going to be using them to have children.

A few years back, when I had my last laparoscopy surgery, my gynecologist said that there was nothing more they could do with surgery and there would be no more laparoscopy.  He said that we would either have to control this with medication or I would have to think about a hysterectomy.

As you know, I don't like giving up on my health.  But this was one area that I was tired of fighting with.  Every month was hard on me.  I wasn't going to do any more medications.  I had done enough and nothing had helped and I wasn't putting my body through that toxic mess anymore.  I had to make the choice.  So, when I turned 40, I told myself that it was time and I signed the papers to consent to surgery and wait for the call.

I got the first call in January of 2016.  I declined surgery at that time as I had just started a new job 3 months earlier.  I didn't want to take all that time off so soon after starting my job.  I told them to put me back on the list and to call me later in the year.

The call came late August 2016.  Surgery had been booked for September 12.  I had an immediate flood of emotions.  This was going to finally happen!  BUT, it was the day of my husband's birthday!  NO!  Talk about bad timing!  But I kept the appointment and then called my husband to tell him that I have ruined his birthday for this year.  He of course laughed at me and said he didn't care and what was most important was that I was finally getting this surgery done and we could move on with this stage of our lives.  So so thankful for the most kind and supportive husband EVER!

I only had a few weeks to prepare for this surgery.  And I went into go mode.  I did a cellular cleanse to help get my body in tip top shape before going under and having all that trauma done to my body.  I was cooking up and storing bone broth for the healing process after. I upped my essential oil routine to help make sure I didn't get sick and to ward off any germs in the hospital. I was making sure my body was prepared before hand and after the fact.  The body is amazing and takes care of you and will do so all the more if you help it out.  I was more than ready physically.  I also readied myself mentally and emotionally for this.  I had a great support group of some women who had been through this surgery recently.  I was able to pick their brains about what to expect and what to be ready for after.  Preparation is so key!

A great website that I was directed to was HysterSisters.  What a great resource!  http://www.hystersisters.com/  If you are going to have this surgery, I highly recommend you check this website out.  So helpful and resourceful.  And you become a Hyster Sister!  😃😊

The morning of September 12, 2016, I was the most calm and prepared as I have ever been for a surgery.  I knew this was the right step for me.  I didn't even get nervous when they gave me the IV (I hate getting IV's!).  Before I went into the OR, I placed my hand on my abdomen and said a goodbye to all the parts that were about to be leaving me.  I was so ready for this.

The surgery went well and I was so thankful that my health care benefits allowed me to have a private room.  THIS was KEY to recovery.  Having my own space was golden.  Just me and my husband able to hang out and do and say as we needed without interrupting anyone else or being interrupted by anyone.  Well, besides the nurses coming and going at all hours of the day and night but hey, they are just doing their job!  If you can get a private room after surgery, do it!  You will not regret it one bit.

There were some firsts for me with this surgery.  I have never had a catheter before.  Thankfully they put it in when I was asleep.  The only annoying part was the nurse coming in early in the morning (around 1 AM) and waking me to say that they could take the catheter out now as it had been 12 hours or they could wait until after 6 AM to take it out.  I thought this was the most bizzare question to ask me at that time of day!  Please, leave it in!  This means I don't have to try and get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I can just lay here and sleep and rest and heal!  Please nurses, you should maybe ask this question earlier in the evening so that the plan can be made before interrupting what little sleep one actually gets in the hospital.  Again I know they are just doing their job but seriously!!

Things went really well in my first 12 hours of recovery so I was able to go home the next day.  There is no place like home! Recovery is not joke, you need a lot of help.  You are not able to lift more than a loaf of bread.  You can't open doors etc as that is too much strain on the abdomen.  You need to take this seriously for a proper and successful recovery.  I couldn't drive until at least the 6 week mark of recovery.  And even then, that was really hard.  You don't realize how much pushing pedals works those ab muscles!  You literally have to rest, have people help you out and not do a thing for at least 6 weeks.  This is crucial!

I was very lucky to have lots of people come and help me out during the days and I got plenty of rest in my recovery.  Huge shout out to my amazing husband as he was so key in taking care of EVERYTHING and making sure I got the proper recovery.  Well, almost...that is for the next entry!  Stay tuned.  Life is always throwing curve balls.