Surgery Story

I got to the hospital at 11 a.m. on Friday. They got me checked in and we got to the waiting room and they called us back almost immediately. They took me into a little room and I got dressed and they had teams of people come in to talk to me. A pharmacologist, the anesthesiology team, the resident who works with Dr. Sharp, Dr. Sharp himself, some RNs, etc. Then it was time to wheel me away. They wheeled me back to the OR. It was stark white with bright lights. I tried to imagine it like Grey's Anatomy but their ORs are very dark. They got me over onto the other bed, which had a soft little hole for my tailbone to go into so it didn't get too sore. Then they put the mask on me and I remember waking up in recovery and seeing my mom come into my room after recovery. I think I was finally coherent around 5:30 that night.

Things went well. The surgeon said it was a lot more complicated than they anticipated. It wasn't attached to my uterus at all, it was attached to the ligament that holds my uterus in place and is a really dicey area. The ligament carries the blood supply to my uterus. They told me if the fibroid would have been any deeper they wouldn't have been able to get it out and would have been intertwined with my uterus blood supply and they would have had to do a hysterectomy. My mom, me and Dallin all cried. I feel so blessed and grateful. It would have been absolutely devastating to wake up and know that kids were no longer an option. I feel so loved and watched over by a Heavenly Father who lead me to the tumor and a surgeon who was able to get it out. The surgery took longer than expected but couldn't have gone better, given the circumstances. It was close to my ureter and that blood supply so they were EXTRA careful. They didn't end up using the robot but were still able to do it laparoscopically. I lost about 400 cc of blood (200-250 cc is normal) but my crit levels came back fairly normal that night and the next morning.

That night I was sore and had to wait for my meds and only slept in hour increments until about 4:30 a.m. I had to go to the bathroom and it was so painful, my full bladder pushing against my wounds inside. I made it to the potty and started feeling REALLY crappy, like I was about to pass out. My mom used the call button and the nurses came running and took me the 5 steps to my bed in a wheelchair. I have never been in so much pain as I was with the gas rising to my shoulders and my lungs full of fluid I was trying to work out. I was crying and couldn't catch my breath and the only way to make my shoulders feel better was to get up and walk but walking made me nauseous, it was an awful, awful cycle. They finally started giving me Loratab instead of the IV pain meds and it made me feel a world of difference. I was able to get up and go to the bathroom, sit up in my bed, eat something and go on a walk. They weren't sure, after my horrific morning, that I'd be able to go home that night but by 6:30 p.m. I was signing my discharge papers.

I'm soooo grateful for a great surgeon, despite the wait, who was skilled enough and cared enough to get Vampire Baby out of me without any adverse effects. The nurses were so sweet, one even brought me ice cream at 5 a.m. which was the best breakfast ever. Just for the sake of documentation, I have to share about my last nurse I had. I was in pain and waited until after shift change to call for meds. 45 min later I still hadn't seen anyone so I called again and the CNA told me the nurse came in and gave me morphine 20 min. ago. My mom and I were like, "Uh, no. No one has been in here and no one has definitely given me morphine." The lady comes strolling in finally (an hour later) with the pain meds and tells me she understands I want some oatmeal. I don't know who this lady has been having conversations with, but it was definitely not me. She was telling me about showering after discharge, just like I showered on Saturday (I did not) and called me Emma when I left. Jeez, lol. Other than those crazies, my care was impeccable and a great experience.

I'm home and been sleeping a lot. Little things wear me out and I've had bouts of nausea but been able to eat and take some walks. Mags is completely out of sorts and very worried about me. She's been very gentle and almost ignored me. She gives me intense looks of concern and has been drooling out of stress. Dal has been taking good care of her.

I'm so grateful for the visitors I had, my family, Dal's family, a friend from high school, my neighbor and the countless texts and emails with offers to bring dinners and visit. I can't thank you enough. I'm so grateful so be on this side of things and now we get to focus on baby, as Dr. Sharp said. How grateful I am that is still an options, I don't think I can ever adequately express my gratitude for all of the blessing and tender mercies from this whole experience, time after time, after time. All I know is that there is a loving God who knows what we need and knows our individual circumstances. As much as I'd like to think I know a better plan for myself, in reality, He is the one with the big picture and in His hands I trust.