Surgery Time

I met with Dr. Hunn on Friday June 23rd.  She is a gynecological oncologist.  Dr. Jones who I saw first recommended I see her because he said "I was a mess." Ha! He said there were a lot of things that would make the surgery complicated and that she is the best and can handle complicated cases. He recommended a hysterectomy, so I went into my appointment assuming that is what I would do.  When I talked to her she said we could do that, but she was concerned about complications and wanted me to understand the risks. Her biggest concern was the colon.  She said if there were any complications with the colon, the worst case scenario would be a colostomy bag.  That definitely made me nervous and made me rethink the hysterectomy.  She looked at the MRI findings and all of the other information that she had and we talked through it all.  In the end she recommended that we start smaller and just go in and take out the ovary (and the giant cyst) and both fallopian tubes.  The biggest concern was the endometriosis.  Endometriosis is where tissue that is similar to the tissue in the uterus grows outside the uterus.  It breaks down and bleeds with periods, but it doesn't leave the body, it's just trapped in there. That turns into a sticky paste that can get cement like.  Dr. Jones said that makes surgery very difficult which is why he sent me on to Dr. Hunn. She also recommended that we do a endometrial ablation, where they go in and burn the lining of the uterus.  This will help with my heavy periods and could stop them all together. She thought doing those things instead of the hysterectomy would probably take care of the problems and be a lot less risky, with a lot better recovery.  She also thought it would be a good chance for her to go in there and look around and see exactly what was going on in there.  I felt really good about that plan so we agreed on that.  She had me meet with her scheduling coordinator and they had an opening for surgery that Wednesday.  I decided to take it.  I'm ready to start feeling better and have this behind me.  I was grateful it could happen so quickly.

I was starting to get pretty nervous about the surgery. I have been so focused on getting appointments and dealing with insurance that I didn't have time to worry about the actual surgery.  I was pretty anxious on Tuesday.  Luckily I had planned to go to dinner with Allison Tuesday night, so that took my mind off things. I had to do the surgery in Salt Lake at St. Marks Hospital. I had to be there at 11 AM.  I was glad it was earlier since I couldn't eat or drink.  Keith took me and we did all the pre-op stuff and then just waited.  They were supposed to take me back at 12:30, but it was 1:30 before they were ready to take me back.  I took this picture so this post wouldn't be just words and no pictures.  My mind is always going and thinking about a million things!

Dr. Hunn came in and talked to us and went over everything we were going to do. I really like her.  She is very confident, knowledgeable and also has a great bed side manner.  She told Keith the surgery would take about two hours and she would call him when it was finished.  She called Keith during the surgery because one of the fallopian tubes she was going to take out was stuck to my colon, thanks to the endometriosis, everything was stuck together. She told him that it was fine where it was and it would be more problematic to try and remove it.  She got his permission to put an IUD in since they didn't take out both fallopian tubes.  The IUD will also provide progesterone and that helps with endometriosis. Keith said that was fine.  She called him after the surgery and told him that it went well, but it was more complicated because there was so much endometriosis.  She said everything was stuck together and it was difficult to get it separated and get it all out. She told him that it was very good that we didn't go with the hysterectomy because she would not have been able to do it without a colon specialist.  She said they got the big cyst and the ovary out and she could see why I was in so much pain.  She felt like the surgery was a success and should produce good results for me.  She told Keith she wanted me to stay over night because of the complications. They  had to put a drain in one of the incisions to get all of the blood out.  She was worried I would be in a lot of pain and thought it was best that I stay over night. She came in first thing Thursday morning and went over things with me.  She said the cyst was a bit smaller than it originally measured and it looks like it ruptured because there was dried blood in there so she was really glad we got it out. She told me it was very good I came to see her and these are the complicated cases that she specializes in.  She grabbed my hands and said, "I'm so glad you are my patient and I will take good care of you."  I really like her.  She said she will want to see me once a year and continue to monitor things.  

Caitlyn had to work and Jonah was at football camp while I had surgery.  Hallee and Wyatt would have been fine alone, but Paul offered to have them over and they were really excited about that.  It was a relief for me to know they were  having fun with their cousins instead of staring at their screens.  I think they were both a little nervous so I was glad they were not sitting home alone.  Paul came and picked them up and brought them to their house.  It was so nice of him, especially since he was solo parenting while Tiff was at girls camp. The kids had a blast swimming and playing in the water all day.

Caitlyn picked the kids up on the way home from work and bought them dinner.  Jonah offered to skip football camp so he could help take the kids to dance.  It meant so much to me that they were all so willing to help.  I was really disappointed that I had to stay in the hospital over night.  I wanted to go home so bad.  Keith stayed with me until about 9 PM and then he headed home to sleep and be with the kids. Hospitals are so hard, you feel so vulnerable and you kind of feel like a prisoner that needs permission to do anything. I was very sore and felt exhausted so I just stayed in bed that whole first day.  I also had a catheter, the drain, an IV, oxygen and leg compression things on, so it was hard to move.  I wasn't real impressed with the hospital, I had to really push for pain medications and my IV would kink and set off an alarm throughout the night and it would take them 15-20 minutes to come in and turn it off.  At 3 AM a nurse came in with a scale and woke me up and said she needed to weigh me.  I was disoriented and was trying to figure out how to stand up with all the wires and I finally said, "why are we doing this now, can we do it later when they take the catheter out?"  She said, "sure, sorry" and left.  It was very strange.  The day nurses were a lot better.  They told me all of the things I had to do before they could discharge me so we got to work getting all of that done.  I just had to be able to walk around well and pee on my own.  I was so happy when they unhooked everything and I could get in and out of bed without a problem.  The drainage tube was really long and it felt so weird when they pulled that out. That morning I felt terrible, but I got some pain medication and then I started feeling better and had more energy.  I was discharged at noon.  I was so happy to be going home.  Keith and I stopped for lunch and then headed home.  I got right in the shower when I got home.  That wore me out, I rested most of the day after that. I was able to sleep some which was so nice because I did not sleep much in the hospital. 

 Caitlyn had this waiting for me when I got home.  She is so thoughtful. Matt and Lori sent pizza's Friday night and that was so nice.  We all ate that night and had some left over for later too. Mom and dad came the next day and brought subway. Mel offered to come and help and so did Tiff and Paul.  Gary and Julie fasted for me and everyone made me feel very loved and cared for. I sure appreciate that, it feels good to know people love you and care about you. Keith worked from home Thursday and Friday, although I don't think he got much work done.  Hallee and Wyatt were constantly checking on me and seeing if I needed anything. 

On Saturday we had tickets for all of us to go to the Saratoga Springs Temple open house.  I couldn't go so Keith took the kids.  Jonah had to work so he didn't go.  Before that they went to Damon's baptism.  I was so sad to miss that.  I love that boy and would have loved to see his excited face that day. He is such a special boy, he just makes you happy by being around him. I was sad I missed that and the temple. I'm really glad I went with Hallee and Wyatt while Gary and Julie were here. 

Keith and Caitlyn told me that Damon was so cute! And they all enjoyed the temple. 

Cayden met them at the temple. That temple is very close to his house.  

I'm coming along in the healing process. I haven't had to take much pain medicine.  The hardest part is finding a comfortable position to sit in where my incisions aren't being pinched.  It's also hard to sit up from laying down, I don't have stomach muscles right now.  I'm getting a bit restless and stir crazy, but I get very tired when I try to get up and do too much.  I'm trying to be patient and let my body heal.  I'm so grateful to be done with the surgery.  I'm excited to heal and start to feel better.  My kids fasted for me yesterday.  They usually only fast until after church, but they fasted until dinner.  Wyatt said it was hard, but he wanted to do it for me. That means so much to me. I'm so grateful for my family that takes such good care of me.