So you may (or may not) have been following my cancer/surgery saga. What I haven’t been talking about is my husband’s story. To make a very very very long story short- Rob is currently waiting for his surgery to start and I’m roaming the halls of Logan Regional Hospital because I can’t take the sights and smells of the surgical wing.
Two interesting things have happened since I started wandering-
1-I ran into the OB doc who first told me I had cancer. He recognized me, said hello and then ran from me like a bat out of Hell. That was reassuring.
2-I found a display of really old medical instruments that look and sound like torture devices. Among other things there is a tonsil guillotine, a neurological hammer, a head tong, and adult mouth gags.
As if I needed more proof that the medical profession is a thinly veiled human suppression system designed by Satan and the One World Government.
So this is the hospital stay that never ends. If you follow my blog for my brilliant commentary on social media for learning, or for my pithy reviews of new software, sorry.
All I have to say these days is that I hurt. My attention is completely absorbed with fevers, night sweats, pelvic pain and pressure, and an endless parade of CNAs taking my vital signs. Believe me, if you think you are sick of reading these posts, just imagine how sick I am of writing them.
If it sounds like I’m feeling just the tiniest bit sorry for myself, I am. It should pass once the nurse brings my next dose of Toradal. Or maybe I’ll finally convince that arrogant radiologist to drain the damn fluid that is causing all of this pain.
I am impatient. It’s been two weeks since my surgery and I’m ready to be back to normal. I ended up in the hospital again today because I’m still hurting. I had a CT Scan and apparently there is some inflammatory fluid and blood in my pelvic region causing pain. I guess my body didn’t like being cut into.
I also have some nerve damage in my leg that likely came from me being dangled upside down while my oncologist sliced and diced. Something was pinched and my whole inner thigh is numb. Awesome, eh? Ok. that’s enough griping for today.
Instead, here are a few things I’m grateful for…
- a wonderful, loving husband
- mia familia
- all my mutts
- DVRs
- the Orton’s Christmas Lights that I can see from my bedroom window
- great neighbors who care for my animals when I can’t
It’s time. Time for me to feel like taking a walk again, putting up a Christmas tree, shopping with my sisters, reading a book, going to a concert, like engaging with my life again. I just wish someone would inform my gut. It hurts. Stupid cancer.
It’s been almost a week since I had a hysterectomy. The oncologist says it will likely be another week before the pathology report is back and we know if the cancer has spread or not.
It’s a good thing that I’ve been hurting so much-it takes my mind off of the waiting and focuses my whole attention on my gut. Well, my gut and the wierd hand-shaped numb spot on my right inner thigh. The swelling in my belly is down so I can see that the skin in that spot is discolored a bit… kind of looks like an abrasion, but it doesn’t hurt like one. Wierd-and distracting, which, like I said, is good 
Here are some pearls of wisdom I’ve learned doing since I got home from the hospital…
- Being able to pee is an ability that I’ll never take for granted again.
- My husband loves me and while he is strong and loving through this, I can see that he is deeply concerned about me and my welfare.
- My mom is an angel. She’s making “quiet books” for my nieces and nephews for Christmas and I’ve had a great time helping her. Today I made four sets of tennis shoes that lace up, two felt Christmas trees that have button ornaments, and a Temple that is a puzzle. These will all go into the quiet books to help little ones keep busy and quiet during church services. It’s good for me to have a creative outlet right now.
- A heating pad can be like the Balm of Gilead when you hurt.
- My Jolee Dog is really just an external manifestation of my own soul.
- Sleep can be delicious.
I know pain. Not the physical kind… the kind of pain that can only be experienced by a person who has navigated through bureauocracies at four massive organizations to get one little surgery pre-authorized.
Here’s the story. My uterus is confused and instead of being a loving place for a future child to begin life, it’s trying to kill me. So, it’s got to go. I need a hysterectomy. These days there many ways to get a hysterectomy. The old, tried and true ways involves cutting through my abdominal wall. The recovery for this surgery is long and painful.
The new and improved way is called Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Hysterectomy. They make little incisions, blow up my abdomen with CO2 and then robotic fingers directed by the surgeon do their magic. Recovery is much, much easier and shorter.
As you can imagine, I want option B. You’d think it would be a no-brainer. Less time in the hospital, less time away from my job, less pain and suffering. But nope. Brick walls everywhere. Here is a list of all of the people I had to work with to even figure out if the robotic surgery COULD be covered…
- the Oncologist’s office assistants
- an outsourced HR group who manages my company’s benefits
- the billing department from hospital where the surgery will be held
- the admiting department from the hospital where the surgery will be held
- a nurse support person from my insurance company
- a healthcare advocate
- the healthcare advocate’s boss
- the healthcare advocate’s boss’s boss
- a representative from the robotic surgery makers
- a benefits manager from my company
To make a long story short(er)… After hours of calls, emails, and in-person visits… I got several policies changed at two different bureaucratic organizations so that I can get the robotic surgery. I’ve always said… if you want something from someone, just stand there in their line of vision, smiling, and don’t go away until they give you what you want.
Hello my friends and family- As you may have heard (or already sensed my guts have turned out to actually be rotten. The surgery I had a couple of weeks ago found a cancerous mass in my uterus. In addition, my uterine wall also has pre-cancerous cells. It’s rare to have both of these conditions happening in one uterus, but I suppose it means I’m special (something my mom always told me anyway).
The treatment for this is a hysterectomy. The good news: uterine cancer has something like a 98% cure rate and once the uterus is gone, my health problems should go with it. I have surgery scheduled for December 8th. And please, though my sisters have already started arguing over who wants to be the alternate gestation host for our frozen embryos, no offers for surrogates will be accepted as I am afraid of V babies. The ovaries are going out with the bathwater.
So, I’ve decided to have a “Say Goodbye to My Uterus” party. Any of you who have ever been frustrated with a uterus are invited. Gentlemen, you are welcome, but I can, in no way, promise that the general topic of conversation won’t run you out of the house after 5 minutes. Attend at your own risk
Party details:
When: December 5, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Where: Shelley’s house in Cache Valley
Please bring: Your worst or most painful uterus story written on something flammable
Angela promised to bring red jello with strawberries, so come hungry!
One way to look at online social activity, via our lovely Corrine Beaumont, the Mayor of Lemonland. This model includes user profiles, tools used by each, the process of locating and sharing online resources, and the types of “flowers” online. (You’ll have to actually look at the image to sort that last bit out Read corrijo’s discussion of the image.
So there are apparently pills you can take to improve your cognitive performance. Sort of like steroids for your brain. They were developed for people with severe memory and concentration problems. Now healthy young college students are taking them to help boost their brain power (enhanced memory, concentration, planning abilities etc…). An article in Nature raises the ethical questions involved with the rapid advancements associated with psychology and the neurosciences. link to Nature article
I knew that yoga was the optimal instructional strategy.
In other words, body symmetry more strongly predicts intelligence than brain size, nerve conduction velocity, reaction time reliability, and a number of other measures. link via metafilter
One comment, however states that there are too many confounding variables to make a direct correlation. But hey, in educational research, we get to make all sorts of indirect assumptions about the results of pretty much any study, right?
