6 week mark :)

"And When She Was Bad..."*

Today marks the 6 week milestone in my myomectomy recovery. WOOHOO!! I dodn't realize I would feel as good as I do, I though it would be more difficult. I am feeling.....NORMAL. The only thing is a little twang here and there, not painful, but enough to notice and react. Also my incision is still numb on one side. But otherwise I feel great!

I have a million Etsy ideas swimming around in my head right now. I will eventually get some of my prints of my paintings up. I either need to find a good printing place or invest in a better printer. Mine is ok, but not as perfect as I would like.

*The picture above is one of my paintings. Sorry for the watermark, there be bandits on the interweb....

Day... umm, what day is it?

I lost count, I think I am on day 27... Anyway, I am doing pretty good. I ran errands yesterday, yes I drove all over town and it was FAB to be behind the wheel again... But I got home and my uterus reminded me that it was still healing and decided to be a pain all evening...



My life is quite boring right now. All I do is Facebook and work on crafts and such. I am making this huge sacred heart wall sculpture.. I may sell it on Etsy, but I doubt it. either way, I will post a picture of it when I am done... I have also been wearing out my DVR with episodes of Cash in the Attic (I loves me some Alistair Appleton!), Dancing with the Stars (GO STEVE O!), and of course, 90210... BTW, Lucy Liu was in a 2nd season episode playing a waitress at the Peach Pit...



Ok, off to watch Steve O get kicked off DWTS... I never thought a jackass could be so damn charming*...

UPDATE!
Steve O is still on! YAY!



*TRUST ME, watch the video... when he's sober he's like a 6 year old kid on the first day of school...

WTH? No sleep....

I seriously didn't get to sleep until after 8am this morning. I was so restless last night. Why? No idea... Luckily my hisband didn't wake me up until about 12:30, but that still means I only got 4 1/2 hours...

At least while I was lying in bed wide awake listening to my 2 dogs, cat, and husband all in a deep REM sleep (Jelly was even snoring a bit), I thought of some super cute new items to post on Etsy. I will have my store up by the end of the week with lots of fun new things... Stay tuned!!!

Day 22, or week 3 conquered! On to week 4!

Feeling better and better as the days go by, still really super tired though. I have been wanting to get some stuff up on Etsy, but I have been lazy about it. I have made several more finger puppets and I am working on more jewelry, but I have it all 1/2 finished and just not motivated... Plus I need a craft knife and keep forgetting to get one...

My sister in law was here for a few days and I got her set up on Facebook. So now she's cool. HAHA J/K she has always been cool :-)

I have really been thinking about buying a house. I want to now, but I need to wait until the summer to start looking. Which, I know, it's only a couple of months away, but I have my reasons ;)
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I also found out that my surgery cost almost $17,000. Woah. Thank god I only have to pay about $700 of that...

Day 16, or where have I been?

I passed the 2 week mark on Wednesday. I didn't think recovery would be this difficult. I get winded just putting dishes in the dishwasher (before you yell at me I know I am not supposed to do that, but it was driving me nuts). I wake up with neasea too. My incision is looking great though! But my stomach is still swollen and really sensitive, can only be described as a sunburn with no heat or redness.. just the pins and needles. It's slowly getting better though...

So with all of this time on my hands I have turned to crafts...This Sugar Skull necklace I made last week. I have no idea where to wear it.

I like this one made from a bottlecap :-) CUTE!

And these little guys are finger puppets! My favorites are the mad waffle and P.B. & J. They have since been joined by a slice of bacon and a band - guitar, bass, drums, and microphone.

Next on the finger puppet list is a set of little sushi guys...

Day 11 and Happy Birthday to meeeeee

I woke up this morning to starbucks peppermint hot chocolate and and a cinnamon roll from my dear husband :-) I hadn't had Starbucks since just after my surgery (hence the bank account going down much slower that usual..). It was YUMMY...

Then Josh went to the store and got me all of my goodies I wanted - veggies, milk, and the piece de resistance peanut M&M's... ahh, my favorite...

He also bought me an iPhone! Yay!! I love it and I have already filled it with different apps, such as Facebook (of course) and Bejeweled...

Then we decided to break the rules and go to a movie. we saw the new Nicolas Cage movie Knowing and it was pretty cool. There were lots of little foreshadowing thingies during and it was all tied up in a neat little package at the end. Special effects were great, Josh even shrieked a little during an especially specialy effected scene...

Then we were going to go to my favorite place House of Good Fortune but decided to get takeout from them which was super yummy....

Now I am relaxing watching Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels where the girls are currently taking slutty photos of eachother - but classy slutty. Of course.

So I leave you with the video to my favorite Birthday song. Here's Concrete Blonde with HAPPY BIRTHDAY! My favorite are the kitty cartoons..

Day 10... only 5 weeks to go... and Did you Know? BH90210 edition..

I am feeling much better today than days past. Except I had no idea how much you use your stomach muscles for everyday things, such as scoop ice cream into a bowl, or try to yell over the carpet cleaning service next door.. Anyway, I have spent a lot of my time watching old Beverly Hills 90210 reruns and I am surprised at how many now famous people have shown up. I mean, we all know that Hilary Swank was on for a season, but did you know that:

Djimon Hounsou played a doorman on the first episode?
Jessica Alba played a teen mom? She tried to ditch her baby but good old Kelly saved that day...

Eva Longoria has a bit (teeny bit) part as an airline attendant towards the end of the series?

Dean Cain was Brenda's love in Paris? That was when she cheated on Dylan...

Matthew Perry played a tennis player in an early eposide?

And Ryan Seacrest was a game show host when Donna and Matt were on to win $25k. Kelly was just too embarrased to go on...

Others have been on too, such as Daniel Day Kim (of LOST), David Arquette, and Playboy Bunny Julie McCullough.

Just a bit of mindless crap for you to chew on... Seacrest.....OUT!

Day 7 or "I want to be back to normal now"...

Today I woke up and had a terrible pain in my tummy, just to the left of my incision. The skin is completely numb, it pain was really deep, kind of like a hard pinch or stab. I had an appointment with my Dr today so he checked it to make sure it wasn't a tear, thankfully it wasn't. He prescribed me more painkillers (THANK YOU!) and sent me on my way. I will go back to see him in June unless I have more discomfort....

Josh took my sister and nephew to the airport this morning :-( I miss them already.. Mom left on Sunday :-( and Josh goes back to work tomorrow... My house is messy and I can't clean it... I think I am going to go back to bed now*....

*sorry, I have been really emotional lately, as I said in the last post. maybe I should put up streamers for my Pity Party here... on second thought that would take a small amount of effort...

Day 5

I woke up this morning to a terrible pain, then I realized I overslept and was supposed to take my painkillers 3 hours prior. Won't do that again...

I decided I would walk to the mailbox since I hadn't gotten my mail in a week. The walk to was ok, but the walk back turned into a very slow one. I felt like my balance was all off and my tummy was hurting a lot. Luckily I had my sister and my nephew with me to brace myself on, but I felt like I was 80 years old and without my walker...

I am becoming increasingly emotional and irritable, I know that has everything to do with the hormones this surgery has stirred up.

Oh, and I also have a lovely bruise on my hand from my IV. It hurts when I wake up... When the nurse pulled the tube out of my vein blood actually spurted out so she had so apply a lot of pressure which pushed blood under my skin. The photo really doesn't do it justice...

My doggies also haven't left my side.

Pretty much the only things I do are sleep, take meds, eat a little, and watch TV. Mostly sleep though, I am in and out of it all day. I can't wait for my arty things to come in the mail. I ordered some organic felt and embroidery floss and wool so I can make some nifty things, such as finger puppets for my nephew and this. Also these.

I have a post-op visit with Dr. Bankowski on Wednesday. I think I am getting my surgical tape removed from my incision. I am still swollen quite a bit and half of my tummy is numb, which is apparently normal..

Day 4

Feeling the same today, no better but no worse... My heating pad and pillow on my belly are my best friends. I woke up at 3:30 am to pain but I couldn't take anything for it because I had just taken hydromorphone at midnight. The pain wasn't excruciating, just uncomfortable. So I tried to go back to sleep and woke up again at 6:30 and took my drugs.

My incision is starting to itch a little bit. Really annoying because obviously I can't scratch it. I also got a little emotional yesterday. I am walking a little bit around my house but have not ventured outside yet. Maybe tomorrow I will go out to get the mail*

*maybe not.

Day 3, and PIC warning

First off, there are some pics of me in a not-so pretty-state (no makeup!) AND a couple of photos of my incision. So you have been warned...

I am sitting here with a heating pad on my tummy and some hydromorphone in my system, feeling mellow... So I am feeling well enough to let you all know about my experience so far... Let's start from the beginning...

I didn't need to take anything or do anything other than not eat past midnight on Tuesday. No diuretics yay! Wednesday I woke up, took a shower, and packed my small bag. We got to the hospital where I signed my admittance papers and gave $100 copay. Then I waited for about 15 minutes to go into pre-op. I got my ID bracelet on too.

When we got there I was asked to change into a hospital gown and waited for the nurse. She then came in and gave me my IV, which kind of hurt.

Then my anesthesiologist Dr. Ford came in and explained what he was going to do, which was give me a relaxer, then wheel me in and get the tubes in my throat and put my catheter in. Then Dr. Bankowski came in and said there was a little bit of a wait but I would get into surgery soon enough. Josh and mom were with me the whole time and keeping me at ease.

They had me use an antiseptic wash on my incision area and my, ahem, area. Washing my groin in front of my mom.. good times, good times...

At around 2pm Dr. Ford came back in and gave me a shot through my IV. He said "this will make you feel..." and that was it. I was gone. Josh and mom said I asked them to take pictures for my blog, which I don't remember. The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery, thinking I had to get up to go to work. I had an oxygen tube in my nose and a bandage on my tummy. I had no nausea at all, but I did get the shivers. My throat hurt from the breathing tube. My catheter was out so I didn't have to deal with that at all. I felt like I had bad cramps for a better part of the day too. I also cried just a little but I didn't feel sad. I guess it was part of the anesthesia side effects.

Then they wheeled me into my room (private room!) and I wondered where Josh and mom were. I was feeling quite woozy. But happy it was done.

Then mom and Josh came in and told me that everything went very well. My fibroid was about 1/3 the size of my uterus. they only found the one and I only lost 20cc's of blood. Dr. Bankowski didn't have to cut through my endometrium, just the top 2 layers of my uterus. I had a morphine drip and was alert but a little loopy. Oh, and I got flowers.

And my new best friend - the water bottle.

Then I slept. A lot. Except for when the nurse would come in to wake me up to take my vitals and give me drugs every 4 hours. I was also insanely hungry when I was awake but the nurse wouldn't let me have anything except jello. Josh snuck starburst in for me and rationed it out every so often.. I got up to use the bathroom for the first time after the surgery. It hurt, but not as bad as I thought it would. I think a lot of that had to do with the Morphine and the anesthesia still in my system.

The next day I was feeling better. My Dr. came in around 7:30 and said the same thing my mom and Josh said - all went well, I'm doing great, etc. I got my IV out but the tube stayed in. The best part was being able to eat! This may as well have been a 5 star meal to me:

I did try to walk a little too. I started feeling very light-headed and went back to my room. My nurse said that was very common. I mostly ate and slept until I was able to go home Friday morning.

I also got my bandage taken off...

Thursday evening and Friday were definitely the worst days of this whole ordeal so far, but still not as bad as I was anticipating. Now all I need to do is relax and get well.. I don't know if it's the Motrin and painkiller cocktail I take every 6 hours, but I have been exhausted since the day of the surgery...

I'm home...

As soon as I feel up to it I will tell you all about it... with visual aides...

'Twas the night before surgery....

So tomorrow is the big day.. I am nervous, but I know all will be ok. I have to pick up some last minute things such as a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and oh yeah, my mom! I am so excited to see her, my sister and nephew are here now and I am trying my hardest to cram as much happy fun time into today as I can...

oh, and apparently I am now a gremlin.. or mowgai. I am not supposed to be fed after midnight and I need to stay away from water after the surgery. well, my incision needs to stay away from water.

So I am going to go from this:

to this:

If I break the rules...

Pre-Op visit today

I had a Pre-Op meeting with my doctor today. I am feeling SO much better about this all. He said that my surgery should be complication-free due to where the fibroid is. He also has an excellent track record - 11 years performing this type of surgery and has never had to give a transfusion or had any other major complications. The main thing I would need to worry about is infection and the other after-surgery crap. But I do feel very confident in this now. I am hoping this is IT.

This stupid fibroid has been pumping estrogen into my system, and after it's out I may actually ovulate on my own, feel better, and lose some weight!*

* a sore subject with me - I have worked out like mad, ate like a rabbit, and even thought thinner with nary a pound lost or an inch melted. I used to be skinny, and I am not fat, but I would love to see some sort of result from my hard work...

checking off the list

So I have been researching what I need post-op and bought a few things today.

1. 2 nightshirts. One is grey and black striped, which reminded me of Nightmare Before Christmas. the other was clearance and has vintage Valentines all over it. Kitschy and kool...
2. A bed tray. It took me forever to find it at Target. I am sort of liking the whole "breakfast in bed" vibe it's got goin' on.
3. XL panties. I couldn't face the grannies, I bought boy shorts. Close enough.
4. A heating pad. I think my cat will like that too.
5. Snuggie. 'nuff said.
6. My favorite blue and grey striped robe. Did I say I liked stripes?
7. Ipod loaded with the latest Killers, Lily Allen, and Jason Mraz.
8. Mom got her plane ticket here :-) My sister is coming out too. I wish I could actually take them out into Portland, but they can take my car any time they want to while they are here :-)

I don't know what else I may need, other than lots of meds and lots of sleep... Any suggestions?

16 days... well 15 1/2 days...

... til I get cut open abdominally. Ugh, just when I am all cool with it I think of the what-ifs, such as

• "what if there's a major complication and they just take my uterus out completely?"
• "what if I get a bad infection?"
• "what if they leave something in my body that shouldn't be there?"

Obviously there are other what-ifs I am not touching on... My blood counts are good so I am low risk for a transfusion, and my sister in law surgical tech told me to tell them to "make sure you get the maliables out", apparently those are the things that hold it all open while the surgeon does his job... sorry, too much information?

So right now I am thinking of the corporate visit I am getting at my store on Thursday that I will never be ready for... and I have a whole big shopping list of things I need to get prior to going to the hospital, so that's fun (not)....

Ok, time for chocolate....

Why the hell did I do that?!?!

SO I did something really stupid. I googled "abdominal myomectomy". I now know what the surgery will look like (vividly), what I will probably need to do pre-op, and all of the little post-op deals I have to look forward to.

Let me tell you, it ain't pretty:

• I have never had an IV. I have never been put under nor have I been jabbed with a knife or laser or whatever they are going to use.
• My assistant at work and I were supposed to go to a dinner function on March 10 and my surgery is March 11th. She said "oh, goodie, you can still go to the dinner!" I didn't want to tell her I couldn't because I would have to do such things as not eat and, ahem, clear my bowels with medicinal assistance. There's no way in hell I'm gonna go to a banquet with a bunch of strangers and have to deal with that. Plus I want to be with my husband.
• I figured out that 31mm (the size of my fibroid) as roughly the size of a 15 week old fetus. Holy SHIT! That's why I haven't been able to fit into my Michael Kors trousers in the last couple of months...
• I have to have a catheter. A catheter? umm, no thanks.
• Showering will be a challenge afterward. And my usual hour long super hot baths will be non-existent until my incision is healed. Cool.
• So many other things I get to deal with: insane cramps, immobility, anesthesia, worrying my husband and my family, etc etc. I haven't even scratched the surface.

I have to look at the greater good here though.

• After the swelling goes down my tummy will be flatter. So hello Michael Kors and pencil skirts, goodbye Spanx**!
• My family members offering to come out to take care of me. I miss them so much...

** Who am I kidding? I will never give you up my dear spanx!

Update...

I wanted to tell my mom and get it all scheduled and really just get over it before I blogged about it, but here's the deal.. I went to the Dr yesterday (as you may well know by now). I have a fibroid (which I knew) but it's gotten bigger (which was news to me). It was once the size of a grape, but now it's the size of a small orange and in a place where I have no choice but to get it removed via abdominal myomectomy. Which means being in surgery, staying in the hospital for a couple of days, and no going to work for 6 weeks. It's been scheduled for March 11.. I expect flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.