I've Been Blessed, I've Been Loved, He's Been Glorified

October the 9th arrived before I knew it. October 10th was even closer.

I think I was dreading this day more than the surgery itself.

I started out my day as normal at school with my co-workers and my morning kiddos. I raced around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make sure all of my I's were dotted and T's crossed for the long term sub. 3 1/2 hours flew by and it was time for me to come home and begin preparing for my surgery the next day.

As I was preparing to leave I walked through the hall between our wing and the front office and the thought crossed my mind, "What if things go wrong? What if I never walk these halls as an employee again?" I was crushed instantly with emotion. Thank goodness for my sweet friend Yvette's interception and her voice of truth amidst a mess of emotions. Her gentle reminder of God's promises was exactly what I needed in that moment. I was ready to move forward although I was still feeling very consumed with anxiety and fear.

You see, I have a deep desire to have control over most area's of my life. This time I didn't have that option. I had a plan for my family, FBC and for my classroom but that was about it. I shared my anxiety and fears with Dr. W at my pre-op appointment and he told me that ultimately he would have a very detailed plan (that he shared with me) and that it would be discussed with the entire surgical team.  In my heart I knew all along that the plan was all in the hands of God. Why couldn't I grasp that?

I began taking the colon prep at 1:00 and the first round of antibiotics at 5:00. Thankfully my afternoon was accompanied by my dear friend Lynn and her son who came to help me with the little man and our ABA Therapist who was here to work with Clark. Breezy and my Papa arrived at 5:30 from Denver and by 6:00 I was so sick to my stomach that I couldn't even stand straight. I went to bed at 6:45 and slept until 10:45 when Breezy woke me up long enough to take my 2nd round of antibiotics. At 3:00 a.m. I woke up from a dead sleep and began dry heaving. I had not eaten anything solid in 48 hours and in the last 12 hours I had done the colon prep so my stomach had only antibiotics left. I spent the next 2 1/2 hours on the floor of the bathroom begging God to just let it pass so that I could take a hot shower and make it to the hospital by 6. My stomach finally settled and we made it to Evans just before 6:00. As pulled into the parking lot it hit me again and then I felt good as new. That was rough. 

I arrived at General Surgery at 6:15 and they took me right back into the pre-op area. I was ready to go by 6:45. Our Pastor was with me while Wes took care of getting the little man to his WONDERFUL sitter. Dr. W came in and shared with us that he was very nervous about the operation. He had gone to bed early and was ready for what he thought to be a 9 to 13 hour surgery. He said he prayed that God would give him slow and steady hands. Pastor T assured him that he and his team were being covered by a multitude of prayer warriors. He was ready! Dr. E came and finally Dr. B around 7:15. I was in the OR by 7:20 and surgery had began.

At 11:40 a.m. Dr. W walked into the waiting room where Wes had been waiting to let him know that he was done. Wes was shocked. It had not been 9 hours. Dr. W proceeded to let him know that what he found once he was inside was a miracle. 5 masses instead of 3 and my ovary had been removed and surgery had gone much better than anticipated.

* My left ovary and it's mass had been removed successfully but not before finding another mass on the tube. My ovary and tube had adhered to one another. Thank goodness the plan was to remove it anyways.
* The mass on the top of my bladder presented itself well and removal was simple. There was also another similar mass on the left side that was removed as well.I did have to have temporary stints inserted into my bladder but they were removed before I left the hospital.
* The mass on my rectum gave Dr. W quiet the surprise. I shared with you all last week that the mass had secured itself to my rectum and a small portion of my bowel. It was also sitting right on top of very large blood vessels and nerves that control rectum and bowel functions.Well...when Dr. W finally made his way to the mass it had shifted and was no longer sitting on the side of my rectum but on the top between my cervix and rectum. Still attached in the same locations but no longer sitting on the blood vessels or nerves. Dr. W. was able to remove the mass easier than anticipated and my bowels and rectum received no damage at all. My colon did have a few lesions that will heal in time but nothing of too much concern. My intestines made surgery a little more difficult because they were swollen and inflamed...which tends to be normal for me.

In all, surgery was remarkable and all of the biopsies returned benign. The masses were indeed Endometrioma's caused by Endometriosis (that I never knew I had). I am reminded of just how blessed I am to have my 2 boys that's for sure.

My stay at the hospital was an adventure.I'll share a story or 2 just to humor you.

* After I got to my room I told Wes I felt like I was wet from the waist down. He kept assuring me that I was not and that it was probably the meds. This went on for almost 2 hours. FINALLY I was awake enough to look under the covers myself. I WAS WET. My catheter had been punctured some how and the stints that had been placed had disconnected from the catheter and were also leaking. My bed was soaked. SOOOO not even 3 hours after surgery I was up, catheter removed and out of the bed sitting in the chair. Hey, atleast I got to put on one of my own gowns instead of that ugly hospital thing.

*The next day at shift change I told the nurse that I was having some problems with my eyes. They hurt horribly but not a dry like hurt. For several hours I thought I was seeing double. I kept telling Wes I was and he just laughed it off. I tried reading for several hours off and on with no luck. Looking at the t.v. proved to be just as difficult. When the nutritionist came in around 11 she had 2 sets of facial features and I knew for sure something wasn't right. I called the nurse. He came in and I told him I was seeing double. A short while later he came back and asked if I needed to see the Chaplain. WHAT? My response was "What the heck is the chaplain going to do formy double vision?" I was furious. This guys thought I was nuts. I asked for another nurse. Shortly after Dr. W came in and said he thought I was hallucinating. NO, I was sure that I was seeing double. He said he understood but if I was "Seeing the Devil" that was something different than double vision. I was dumbfounded and quickly corrected him. He had been told  by the little Philippino nurse that I was "Seeing the Devil". We all had a good laugh, especially Stacey and Yvette!

Recovery has been slow but I feel like I am making good progress each day. My Papa is still here for a few more days thankfully and Breezy has been off of work. We've had dinner brought by each night and it has been delish! We have had a ton of FB messages, calls and visits and we appreciate them all.

I leave you with this and I hope you are as blessed as I am today! Take a look-see!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQL8Zk2sOk