SURGERY UPDATE

I thought I would just type a quick post on how I was doing as I've had several people ask. Today I'm doing great....last week, I wanted to die! I didn't tell a lot of people I was actually going in for surgery. For one, it was scheduled pretty quickly. For two, it wasn't a huge procedure. A couple of years ago they found a benign tumor on my right ovary. The only time I really could feel it was when I ovulated on my right side, so, every other month. TMI? Anyway, the pain has been steadily getting worse and I was also curious to see if I had endometriosis. I've never been checked for it. So, last month when I went in for my yearly, I talked to by OB and we decided to remove the tumor, check for the endometriosis and then remove any blockage he could find in my fallopian tubes. Again, maybe tmi? It was an outpatient procedure which required anywhere from three to four incisions and then filling the stomach with CO2 so they could better access the organs they needed to.

I was super nervous about the CO2 because I'd heard such horror stories of how painful it is when it leaves the body. It actually travels up and out through the shoulders. One friend told me it felt like she was having a heart attack for days. Another said it was worse than giving birth. Um, thanks. So, Tuesday the 15th rolled around and at noon I was checked into McKay Dee Hospital. By 3:30ish they were rolling me into the OR and that's about all I remember until I woke up once in post-op and then finally really woke up in the recovery room. My OB told the Bubs that everything had gone well. I had three incisions but the tumor (which was a lot bigger than anyone had anticipated) was gone and although I didn't have endometriosis, I did have blockage in my tubes which they flushed. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Flushing out your tubes....such a car thing! I was SOOO sick trying to come out of the anesthesia and then had to be on oxygen for about four hours. They couldn't get my oxygen levels to rise (they should be at 95-97 and I was at 85-87) which was a huge concern for them. I also couldn't keep anything down because I was nauseated. They gave me three different kinds of nausea meds, but it wasn't until they had the pharmacy mix up a super powerful one for me that I actually started to feel a little better and could keep the coke and crackers down they gave me. In order to get out of recovery you have to do three things: 1- Keep your oxygen levels up. 2 - Be able to keep down coke/crackers which means your nausea level is down. 3 - Have a pain level of 5 or less. I missed being admitted to the hospital by an hour and a half. They close recovery at 10 pm and we didn't end up leaving the hospital until about 8:30. I was SOOO excited to go home! I actually felt pretty good Tuesday but by Wednesday was in sooo much pain due to the CO2. It hurt to stand, it hurt to sit, it hurt to move and laying down made the pain unbearable. So, I didn't sleep for about four nights. There's not a lot of good tv on in the early morning. Poor bubs had to deal with a mini breakdown on Thursday. I was soo tired and didn't feel good because of the pain meds they had given me. The bubs has been the absolute best. He took almost all of last week off and wouldn't let me lift a finger. Such a great husband!

Anyway, now that this post is forever long! I'm starting to feel a lot better. I actually was able to sleep most of last night and have just a little left over pain in my shoulders/back/tummy. I can DEFINITELY feel the incisions now and where they removed the tumor, but I'll take that pain over the CO2 any day. I'm planning on going back to work tomorrow. I was going to go back today, but ended up being a little too ambitious yesterday and made one of the incisions bleed. So, today I'm taking it easy and catching up on sleep and maybe just a teeny tiny bit of housework.

Thanks everyone for the prayers, positive thoughts and calls. They've all been super sweet. Also thanks to the Bubs for being the BEST husband in the world. He's been such a trooper and I secretly think he was kind of relieved to go back to work today! He also pointed out that he didn't go running at all last week in order to make sure he was around to help me with whatever I needed. I think it was driving him crazy as running is a huge stress outlet for him. So Bubs, by all means, please go running today!