Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Surgery

I will disclaim: the male readers may want to jump over to Espn.com. Just saying.

5 years ago I gave birth to a sweet 9lb 12oz baby boy. No one knew he was that large. My doctor sure didn't know it or she wouldn't have decided to remove him the way she did, leaving me with a very long recovery and scar tissue. Also, the sneezing, coughing, and laughing was alarming.

When I got pregnant with Emaline (8lbs 12 oz), I struggled mentally thinking about the birth of another child, what it would do to my body. I was led to a wonderful doctor who monitored me and the size of my baby and suggested we go the route of a c-section to not do further damage to my body.

Done.

Baby number 3 (7 lbs, 6 oz), c-section done. But with the pregnancies came pressure to some of the organs in my body. After a long day of shopping, or being on my feet, I would feel 'discomfort' and need to sit down. After Bowden, I really wanted to start exercising to get rid of this baby weight. One night, during a family walk, I told the fam to keep on and that I was going to jog the rest of the way home. I made a few steps and knew something was wrong. I waited a few more steps and tried again. Same thing occurred, pain in the female region, only to be described as something or somethings were falling out.

I went to my gyn for the good ol annual. I mentioned to him the problems with my bladder, and the pain I felt during my jog. He examined me. I already knew my options for the bladder but when the doctor explained to me about the jogging pain... I felt faint. I actually had to lay back down because I thought I was going to pass out. I am 33. This sounds like something I should be dealing with in 20 years!

Dr. New and I discussed the 'quality of life' term. I so want to run with my kids, which I have never done unless planned. I want to jump up and down, play soccer, chase the kids, sneeze! with out having incontinence, plus my 'other' organs need to stay where they are suppose to be.

SO, this past Tuesday I went in for surgery. I was an emotional wreck. I kept telling them that I am nauseated, and anxious. Anyone who would listen I told them, nauseated and anxious. I was fearful. My friends were praying for me, this was a big decision for me. My kids are so small. I won't be able to lift them for 6 weeks! After Stacey hugged me and they began to roll me back....I guess I fell right to sleep.

Dr. New lifted my bladder, vagina, and rectum. Sound fun? The urologist inserted a sling on my bladder. Dr. New also removed a lot of scar tissue, more than he expected that I had from Parker's birth. One of the side effects to anesthesia I have is that I itch. I ITCH like crazy! No medicine they gave me would take away the itch. That has been hard.

My kids are at camp Nana this week, and next week they will go to Aunt Dee's and Mammy's. Then after that I have had lots of friends offer to help during the day with the little ones. It is hard to not have them around, but very emotional if I think about not being able to help Bowden if he needed me. Or if he hurt me. I would not want to upset him. Stacey has been amazing. He has been very understanding to the pain I have felt over the years, and prayed for me during this decision making process. My grandmother has been here for the past few days helping me get around.

So there you have it. The mysterious surgery. When I was doing some research I learned that they really don't know statistics on how many women have what I have, because women don't talk about it. Women don't tell their doctor what is happening to their body or their friends. I hope that me blogging about this, does open a door to someone else who may need to talk to their doctor, or to someone else about what is going on in their body. They aren't alone and they don't have to 'live with it'.

If you are reading this and can't believe I wrote all this on the Internet, just remember I am on some pretty major pain medicine! Thank you all for your prayers!

11 comments:

Jodi said...

Nice work girlfriend. Way to tell it like it is!!!! And yay for surgery that makes life better!!! :) Hang in there!!

Jennifer said...

my sister had this similar surgery last spring- at 36. She ended up having to have a hysterectomy a few months later because she kept having some female issues. She feels wonderful now, although she had a few months that were really hard for her- luckily her kids are a little older. Hang in there! Hopefully once you heal, you will feel back to normal. Praying for a full recovery.

Karl, Andrea, Kaden and Leland said...

You can do it! Keep up the resting and let your body heal...your kids will thank you later for the years they can remember that you were you (the playful/healthy mom)!

Kristen OQ said...

Good 'ole Dr. New! Love that guy! I am hoping and praying for a speedy recovery and quick healing for your body. I go see him on Tuesday myself.

And I totally get the ITCH problem too...mainly on the bottoms of my feet and my palms. It was really bad this past time when I had Scott.

Thinking of you -- can I bring you dinner in the next couple of weeks? I will send you an email about a date.

Kelly said...

The last line about pain meds cracked me up! So sorry you're having to go through this...BUT I'm so glad that for modern medicine and that there is something that can be done. Keep thinking big picture and that you'll be so glad that you did this when you did! Prayers for great meds and a speedy recovery!

Rachel said...

Ugh! No fun at all! I'm glad it's over and I'm sure you'll be so glad you did it once you're all recovered. I know you must miss your kids terribly - I'll be praying for a speedy recovery! Love you!

jenny biz said...

I am so super-duper proud of you!! Praying over you and your family as you heal and get back to your cartwheeling, running, jump n jacks, jumproping self!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Phillips Family said...

i thought maybe this was the surgery you had. Good for you! I pray you have a speedy recovery, that you gets lots of rest while the kids are at "camp", and that you are a jump-roping fool in a few weeks :).

1literatimommy said...

Way to Go, Paige!!! You are very brave to talk about this on your blog, and I am praying for a speedy recovery. Let me know when I get your kiddos on the weekend. We miss Parker and Emaline.

Susan @ Blessed Assurances said...

call if you need ANYTHING! I am free as a bird the next few weeks and can work around what you need...seriously! Praying for a full recovery and the time it needs to get back on track.

love you-susan

Stacey Pearson said...

I could never be more proud of you and proud to be your husband. I am truly blessed to have such a strong woman to live my life with.