Hyster-versary?

 I got an email this morning from a very helpful website called HysterSisters.  I don't think I've visited the site in 16 year (give or take).  I haven't really needed it, but when I did I was glad that it was there and that a friend recommended it to me as it was full of excellent information and guidance.

As you may have guessed, the site is dedicated to information and support for women who might be having (or have had) a hysterectomy.  And according to the email that I received this morning, it was 16 years ago today that I went in to have a hysterectomy.  

Hysterectomies are not something that are generally talked about.  But why not?  It's icky, but icky stuff is talked about all the time.  So I've decided to share today what I can remember (which isn't a heck of a lot) from 16 years ago.

First of all, this wasn't something I WANTED to do.  But due to a HUGE fibroid I was having monthly issues (see I can be somewhat tactful) and I being pretty anemic my gynecologist told me that was something we had to do and not put off.  (I had been at my job I held at the time for less than a year and really didn't want to take short term disability, but...)  So my surgery was scheduled for this date, sixteen years ago.

What do I remember?

  • Doctor wanted me to do a prep before the surgery.  (The same kind of prep that one might do for a colonoscopy.)  I had a difficult time drinking the "stuff" and what I did get down took a long time to work.  (But it did work.)  I was up for most of the night and watched Mad About You.
  • My surgery was scheduled for very early in the morning and my mother took me to the hospital.  It was hot and I was wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts.
  • I remember very little about the pre-surgery stuff.  I do know that I emphasized several times that I had an egg allergy.  (Do you know that there is egg/egg byproduct in some anesthesia?)
  • It must have been a slow time at the hospital as I had my own room (no roommate) on the maternity floor.
  • My co-workers (or my boss at the time) sent me an edible arrangement.  (I never did get to eat it.)
  • I talked to someone from the office after my surgery.  I don't remember who.
  • My mother said I gripped onto the pain medication button and wouldn't let it go.  (Can you blame me?)
  • I was supposed to be in the hospital from Tuesday-Thursday, but ended up staying until Friday because I kept getting really bad headaches and throwing up.
  • The hospital kitchen sent up food that I couldn't eat due to my allergies.  (Freaked me and my mother out.)  As a result for the days that I was in the hospital all I ate were pretzels that my parents brought for me.  (The hospital did provide ginger ale and I drank a lot of it.)
  • My pastor (who has since retired) visited me Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  I will always appreciate that.  The pastor at the church where my son was at nursery school (who was also a friend of my brother and sister-in-law) also came to visit.  
  • I watched a lot of Family Guy.  (It seemed to be on a lot during odd hours.)
  • I was thrilled to be able to get up and take a shower Friday morning before I went home.  I used the entire bottle of baby shampoo that they gave me.  I looked gross!
  • I was so happy to be home.  I somehow got upstairs and crawled into bed (with lots of pillows behind me).  My husband made me Taylor pork roll on an English muffin (first real food I had eaten).  We watched The Sting and I feel asleep.  (I think The Sting was on whatever cable channel we were watching at the time a lot that month!)
  • Despite my not eating and having my uterus removed, I didn't lose a pound!
  • I was given pain pills when I went home, but didn't need to take them all.  Over the 5 weeks that I was home I wasn't in too much pain, but I was uncomfortable and swollen.
  • I did a lot of walking up and down my block.
  • My wonderful neighbor made food for my family and invited my son up to her house to play and go in the pool.  He couldn't swim at the time, but I knew I could trust her.  She was amazing and a natural caregiver.  (She passed away several years later and I still miss her tremendously...so does everyone who knew her.)
  • Several co-workers gave me gifts before I left.  Many of them were books and it was that summer that I discovered Jodi Picoult with her powerful novel Change of Heart.  I’ve been a fan ever since.
  • We had a power outtage while I was home.  It was hot and my parents came up from the shore and drove us down there where it was cooler.  (They had power and a/c.)  I didn't sleep well that night and I made my parents bring us back home the next day (when the power was restored.)
  • While I was feeling crappy, I wanted to go to work.  When I finally started to feel better and was cleared to go back to work, I didn't want to go.  (Hey, it was summer!)

All in all, or at least as far as I can recall, it wasn't fun, but it wasn't horrible.  It was something that needed to be done.  And to be honest, I was glad to no longer have to shell out for maxi-pad any more.  (Of course now I occasionally have to use the "other" pads for another issues that females of a certain age sometimes have.  Is that TMI?  Yes, but it's also true.)

 Happy Hyster-versary to me.  It was never part of my life plan, but the event was part of my life.

 Note:  If you or someone you know is exploring or undergoing a hysterectomy, I HIGHLY recommend checking out https://www.hystersisters.com/

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