12 Days post Surgery

I have been home since Friday afternoon!!! It has been wonderful to be at home! 9 days in the hospital were long enough. I still don't have much of an appetite and can only eat a little bit before getting full. I am trying to eat about 6 small meals a day. I have lost 8 lbs since my surgery, which does not surprise me since I am eating so little.

On Saturday, I took my first shower since surgery and it was amazing! It's funny how such a simple daily activity can make you feel 100 times better.

I am still getting tired really easily and have already fallen into a routine. I wake up around 8:30am to eat breakfast and take care of my pancreas drain bag. Then I get cleaned up and take pain meds around 11am. By this time I'm exhausted and lay down for a nap. I sleep till 12:30/1pm then eat lunch. After lunch, I read or crochet for a bit before my afternoon nap around 3pm. I wake up around 5pm and eat dinner/spend time with my husband before hitting bed to watch TV around 8pm. I usually fall asleep by 10pm and wake up once during the night. It sounds exciting right?!

7 days past surgery...

Today started out with my first ever enema, yay me! It was horrible and I could go the rest of my life without another one.

The plan for today is a CT scan with contrast to make sure that I don't have any weird leakages or blockages before they try solid foods again. I am so hungry and would give anything for some pudding. But in the mean time, I will settle for apple juice with contrast. Drink up!

6 Days Past Surgery...

And I'm still in the hospital without a set discharge date. The surgery itself went very well. I went under around 10:20am. Dr. M went first, he removed the tumor and part of my pancreas. Once the tumor was removed, Dr. M went on to attach the back portion of my pancreas to my small intestine. After Dr. M completed my pancreas, he and Dr. B worked together to remove the endometriosis from under my diaphragm. Apparently, I had one large endometrial adhesion, along with several small adhesions. They removed all of the adhesions from my diaphragm. Finally, Dr. B removed the endo adhesions from my abdomen, he showed the pictures from my surgery to my husband. My husband said that my abdomen was covered in adhesions and scar tissue. Fertility wise, this will make it easier for any fertilized, healthy eggs to make it to my uterus. Lastly, Dr. B removed the septum in my uterus. It turns out that what they thought was a fibroid in my uterus is actually an adenomyoma, so I will be having a hysterectomy when we are done having kiddos. I woke up from my surgery about 6pm that night and was admitted to hospital room by 7pm.

I am feeling slightly better everyday, but am still on a clear liquids diet. They tried solids yesterday for lunch, But I threw up lunch, so it was back to nothing by mouth until lunch today. Lunch today consisted of apple juice and a Popsicle. Dinner will probably be chicken broth and jello. I know you are jealous of my diet ;)

Ready to go...

Our house is clean and I have my bag packed for the hospital. What's in my bag you ask?! I made sure to pack my trusty Panthers hat and dry shampoo since my biggest pet peeve is greasy hair (gross!). I have also packed a few comfy t-shirts, sweat pants, and socks. I have my phone charger and the 4th book in the Game of Thrones series so I can be entertained while I am not sleeping (which I am hoping to do tons of sleeping).

While I am feeling scared, nervous and super emotional today, I also feel so blessed to have friends and family that have all checked in on me today to see if there is anything they could do. Basically now I am just so ready to have it over with and ready to be on the road to recovery.

I have downloaded Blogger to my phone and hope to update the blog on a daily basis while in the hospital, even it is with short posts. Thank you in advance for any positive thoughts and/or prayers you send my way while reading my updates. They are greatly appreciated! :)

Preparing for Surgery...

The past few weeks have flown by! Since my last post, I had the endoscopic ultrasound, which knocked me on my butt for 2 days. The anesthesia made me throw up once I awoke from the procedure, I slept on and off for about 24 hours, and I had a sore throat for 4 days. During the procedure, Dr. L. tried to get a good biopsy of the tumor; however, he said it was difficult because the tumor was similar to the consistency of Jell-o, all jiggly. My biopsy results came back inconclusive because of this, but all signs are pointing to a benign neuroendocrine tumor.

This past week, the hubs and I spent a long weekend in Washington DC visiting friends and being typical tourists. It was nice and took my mind off of the impending surgery; however, now that we are back to reality I am becoming scared and nervous. I am such a planner and am spending today and tomorrow preparing for the surgery, but it is driving me crazy that I really do not know what to expect after the surgery.

I have been pinning numerous inspirational quotes over the past few weeks to help remind me that once I am past this hump, everything will be ok. However, the quotes I keep coming back to that give me peace of mind are these:

 

CT Scan & Reeling...

On Monday, I had a CT Scan to take a look at my abdomen and diaphragm so my doctors will have a good idea of what they will see when I undergo surgery. The day before the scan, I had to drink 2 liters of water, which felt like a billion gallons.

The morning of the CT Scan, I arrived at the hospital an hour and a half early to check in and drink a liquid contrast. It was not completely gross, but I would not want to drink it on a regular basis.

The CT Scan was a whole lot quicker and easier than the MRI! The CT Scan itself took maybe 5 minutes. However, it took them 20 minutes to get an IV run and I have a couple of lovely bruises from the fiasco. My veins are hard to hit on a good day, but they were refusing to cooperate that morning.

My Dr. called me to go over the results of my scan on Monday evening. My uterus looks just as expected. The endo adhesion they saw runs below the right quadrant of my diaphragm and behind my liver, that is really not a shocker. The real kicker was when he explained that there is a small tumor on my pancreas. He does not believe that it cancerous, but is sending me to a specialist to have it looked at before surgery.

I have an Endoscopic Ultrasound scheduled and a follow up the week later. I will now have at least 3 surgeons scrubbing in for my surgery (Dr. B. for my uterus, another doc for my diaphragm, & now Dr. M. for my pancreas). I am trying to stay positive and I am so glad that this was caught early on. However, I have to admit that part of me is scared.

The Waiting Place...

I've been super slack on updating my blog because there is not much going on. It's like in Dr. Seuss' "Oh The Places You'll Go" where he describes the Waiting Place. Basically, I go to work, the gym, and spend time with my husband. However, in the back of mind I am constantly reminded that surgery is looming in my future. The planner in me hates being in this waiting place. I am just ready for surgery to be scheduled so that we can move forward.
My Dr. has reviewed my MRI, which showed the mass in my uterus, but not a clear picture of the endo adhesion on my diaphragm. So, on Monday I head in for a CT Scan with contrast. The CT should show a better picture of the adhesion and give my Dr an idea of what they will see when they open me up. My Dr will also take the MRI & CT photos to surgeons to find the best one to do the surgery on my diaphragm. I'm hoping to know the actual date of my surgery in the next 2 weeks. But until then...

"Everyone is just waiting.

No!

That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape

all that waiting and staying.

You'll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing."

~Dr. Seuss, "Oh The Places You'll Go"