It kind of bums me out. You all know how I love my words!
But I’m going to do the best I can to give the update I promised and hope that it doesn’t turn out to be too much of a jumbled mess. Take pity on me and my inability to make a point though - my head is still good and foggy right now!
The surgery yesterday lasted about 4 ½ hours. When Dr. Cook came out to update my dad and SIL, I guess he made it clear that there had been a lot of endometriosis in there. More than I think he had even been expecting to find.
But, he got it all. And, he managed to save both of my ovaries as well as my right tube. So basically – nothing came out except the bad stuff.
An incredible feat considering a hysterectomy had been laid at my feet as the last viable option not too long ago.
I got the chance to speak to him last night, and he informed me that my bowel had been completely fused to my uterus, so that right there had been a big part of the surgery – just separating the two. Once that was complete though, he was able to clean up both surfaces. There was some scar tissue and a bit of endometriosis up near my spleen, which we are hoping is what has been contributing to that pain I’ve been getting directly under my rib cage. He did express some concern however that there may be some endo up behind my lungs. Unfortunately, that is not something he was able to look into yesterday. It would require a thoracic surgeon be on hand to deflate my lung and clean out behind it, and obviously that hadn’t been on the game plan. So with that situation, we’re just going to have to play it by ear. If my next period rolls around and I’m still having that high up pain we will have to discuss the options and possibly another surgery.
But at this point – I’m just trying not to think about that. Endometriosis up by the lungs is extremely rare, so I’m going to work on just healing up for now and hoping that it was the spleen endo that was actually causing the pain.
I did ask Dr. Cook last night if, based on his expert opinion (and after seeing all that was actually going on inside of there) it would be possible for me to ever get pregnant on my own. He said he did think it would be possible. The odds wouldn’t be great at all, but just knowing there is even the most remote of a possibility there means the world to me. It’s definitely nice to think of that “what if” for the future.
And in the meantime, I just have to work on healing. At the very least, he got a great deal of the endometriosis out. Hopefully all of it. And there is definitely something exciting to be said for that.
I’ve started reducing my pain pills already (I so loathe being doped up), and that's working out OK. The worst of my pains are still those shoulder gas pains, and since pills can’t do anything for those at all – I’m hoping to be off the prescription pain killers by Friday. Right now my abs just feel like they took a bit of a beating, but I know they'll be feeling better soon.
I’m still wavering back and forth on whether or not I’m actually going to be able to fly on Friday, but I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to see how I’m feeling before making a determination there. I would love to be home in my own bed, but I am dreading the idea of flying right now. I just cannot imagine being comfortable or OK on a plane. Just another thing to play by ear...
I haven’t actually seen my incisions yet since they’re good and covered up.
But believe it or not, my stomach is actually less swollen today than it was before surgery.
I wish I had taken a picture of my bloat just a few days ago, but I didn't even think of it. I never in a million years thought I would see a difference already, but both my old roommate and my SIL agree - it has gone down for sure. Already. I think that alone is something to get excited about. It’s a sign to me of just how much bad tissue was removed. How much bad tissue that was causing bloating and inflammation and pain that is now gone.
And for that – I am beyond grateful.
Now, it's just about getting my strength (and my clear head) back.
All in due time...
