Gifts of Love From Co-Workers

This is the gift basket that my friends at Macy's gave to me when I returned back to work!! I was in tears reading their sweet messages of love and support.  I am so very blessed to have such great, loving, and caring people in my life and my place of work. 

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU

 

Daily Motivation #19

April 4, 2014: Post-Op Appointment!

     It was finally my post-op!!  It seemed like it had been forever since my surgery.  I was still recovering but each day I was feeling better and better.  I told the doctor that I was still in some discomfort on my right side.  I wasn't sure what it was, but I told him that the only way I could describe it was by comparing it to an ovarian cyst.  He told me that he thinks that I will have a little pain and discomfort for the rest of my life there.  He said that when they went in to do surgery they noticed that my ovary was not in the correct position.  It was sitting in this little shelf extremely close to the tube that connects your bladder to your kidneys.  He said that the position it is in, will most likely cause the discomfort that I am feeling from here on out, and most likely it was something I was born with.  This could happen with an infection, but I don't have enough scar tissue in that area to make him believe so.  It was just my anatomy.  With that being said, if I were to ever have to do IVF, they may not be able to use that particular ovary to retrieve eggs from.  It was just too close to other things and it could not be moved out of that position.  It was just too risky.  He said to do IVF and utilize that ovary, they would probably have to do things a bit differently as a precaution, for example like possibly go through my stomach. 
   The doctor said that he was a bit shocked when he went in to remove the wall of the cyst.  When he cut it open, he expected to see my ovary because we were under the impression that it was an ovarian cyst.  Well....it wasn't.  When he cut it open, fluid gushed out.  It was a different type of cyst!!!!  See what had happened was.... scar tissue from my previous surgery formed to my body and then filled up with fluids.  This explains why the "ovarian" cyst never shrunk with all the birth control attempts.  That's because it was something different and not something that would respond to birth control.  Just my luck, right?!
     My incisions were looking great!!  I had to have two cycles before I was able to try to conceive again.  So it was just a bit of a waiting period which was fine, because it gave my body time to heal itself.   I was excited that things were going well and I had another procedure behind me. 

  This is my right ovary in the improper position.   All tucked inside its own little space. 

         The tube you see to the left of it is what connects your bladder to your kidneys. 

 This is my left ovary and what the right one should look like.  Hanging out in the abdomen in the proper position. 

Keep it Moving & Embrace the Process

                         Embracing the process in order to find peace and happiness. 

The Healing Continues... :)

During my healing I had the best friends and family members taking so much time out of their day to take care of my and make sure that I had everything that I needed.  Their love and support is so endless and it means so much to me.  I seriously don't know what I would do without some of them.  My niece and nephew even surprised me and came over to snuggle and we watched Frozen together.  My brother even cooked for me!  Thanks a million for all of the unconditional love. :)
 

 

 

Post-Operative Healing & Recovery

I was home from surgery.  Although this surgery was very similar to my previous operation, the healing and recovery felt a bit different.  I felt more drained from this one for some reason.  Maybe it was the medications used, and maybe that's why my recovery time was so much longer.  The pain from the gas was making me miserable.  I woke up the next day in tears from the pain.  I don't take pain medicine, so I just endured the pain and tried to sleep it off.  The gas continued to travel up my body and into my neck.  No position was comfortable.  Not laying, sitting up, walking, showering, nothing.  It would just take time.  One of the great things about this procedure is that they just re-opened my previous incisions, instead of creating new ones.  I couldn't wait for my post-op appointment to find out all of the details.  So for the next couple of weeks, I would be resting and relaxing. 

                                 

                                   Post- Surgery bloat from the CO2 Gas inflated into my abdomen

 

                           

                                                                              The first look at my stomach

                                                   One of my incisions and post operative bruising

                                                                        Post surgery stomach & bloating

                               My babies taking good care of their momma and keeping me company :)

March 14, 2014: Surgery Day!

Surgery #2 was finally here!  Of course I was a bit of a nervous wreck but I felt a bit more calm than my previous surgery.  I guess because I was a little bit more familiar with how things would take place.  I was instructed to take 2 weeks off of work to recover this time around, which was a bit longer than my previous surgery.  I didn't have to wake up until 7am, but I woke up way earlier anxious to get this over with and thinking it was time to go.  Of course I wasn't able to go back to sleep.  We got to the surgery center and they did all my paperwork, you know, the usual protocol.  I felt like everything was just going by so fast.  After my paperwork was done they quickly got me dressed, put in a bed and my iv was in place.  My family came back to be with me until the doctor came, and all the anesthesiologsts came to talk to me.  Of course I told them my fears as usual.  I was a nervous wreck.  They were doing their best to keep me calm.  Before I knew it, it was time to be rolled into the operating room.  They had given me a little something to calm my nerves, but it definitely did not feel like enough, because I was still sort of mentally freaking out.  When we got into the operating room, they had me wiggle onto the operating table under the big lights.  I kept thinking, when are they going to knock my ass out??!!  I felt them strap my legs down into some massaging bands.  The next thing I knew, I had an oxygen mask on my face, I looked back and saw my doctor, and I was out!  

Surgery was done!  I woke up in a panic.  I've never experienced anything like this from medication before, and I've had several procedures done.  I woke up with my body feeling very suppressed.  I couldn't move or talk.  I still had an oxygen mask on my face, and I started to hyperventilate.  I just felt like I couldn't breathe deeply enough and I couldn't really talk.  I ripped my oxygen mask off and started to freak out trying to take deep breaths.  The two nurses in my recovery room were very calm and put my mask back on.  I kept taking it off and they kept putting it on.  Once the panic left and I felt somewhat normal, I got the shakes.  When I googled this, it said that it is called post-anesthesia tremors.  I'm not 100% sure if this is what I had, but I could not stop shaking.  My entire body was just shaking like crazy.  The nurse asked me if I was cold and I told her no, and that I didn't know what was going on.  She said that it was my body's way of metabolizing the medications and that it is normal to experience this after anesthesia.  Although I wasn't cold, they put this huge heated blanket on me.  It basically blows hot air inside of it and puffs up.  I loved this blanket.  I wanted to take it home.  Sure enough, it changed my body temperature and the shakes subsided.  I was starting to feel as great as I could for just having a surgery.  

I stayed in recovery for quite a bit, but the nurses were very impressed with my progress.  They made sure that I was able to use the restroom and drank enough water before I was released.  Soon after that, I was released and heading home.  Surgery #2 was complete!