Hello friends! It’s been one week since my endometriosis excision surgery and I thought it was time that I give you a post-surgery update. 🌻 But before that, I’d like to thank everyone who texted, messaged, and checked in on me this past week. Your well wishes have meant the world to me. 💕 Now for all the updates:
Bruno the baseball sized cyst has officially vacated the premises. But apparently Bruno had some other cyst friends… and from my pathology report, it looks like I had a small gathering of the Madrigal family hiding away in Casita Melissa. 🙄
I am both happy and relieved to report that the word “endometriosis” was written on my pathology report numerous times. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderfully validating that is after everything I’ve fought through to get to this point. 🎗
It does appear that many of my body parts were fused together from endo lesions. Eliot couldn’t remember all of the things my doctor said, but he was able to remove it and separate everything. He also found endo on my diaphragm (as we all suspected), which explains why I’ve been having trouble breathing & catching my breath. 😕
As for the elephant in the room… there was both good news and bad news. My doctor was able to save my right ovary, but instead I lost my Fallopian tube. 🙁 For months, I have been trying to prepare myself for the fact that I might lose my right ovary. (That’s why I’ve barely left the couch for six months… I was trying to avoid ovarian torsion at all costs.) I’m immensely relieved that it wasn’t damaged, but I’m also devastated that I had to lose anything to this disease. And I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I am still fragile and very much "in my feelings” both mentally and emotionally over losing my tube. 😕
Thankfully, the procedure went smoothly and my body tolerated the whole thing well. The worst part was probably the recovery room. I didn’t come out of the anesthesia as well as they had hoped. I was very groggy and weak and I just wanted to sleep. Thankfully, they let Eliot into recovery while I was still very out of it (see photo below). I was actually in there so long that my first nurse had to go on her lunch break. My second nurse was finally able to bring me back to life with apple juice, saltine crackers & graham crackers. Eventually, Eliot and her got me out of my bed and upright in a chair. When the color finally returned to my face and I was fully awake and talking, they helped walk me to the restroom where I was able to pee. (That was my one criteria for being able to leave the hospital and I've never been so thankful to pee in my entire life!) After that, we received my post-op marching orders and I was sprung free. 🎉
Mom and Jeremy accompanied us back to the hotel where they stayed until they knew I was alright. Eliot and I stayed at the hotel Monday and returned to Maine on Tuesday. He stayed home with me Wednesday, and worked 1/2 days Thursday & Friday.
I’ve mostly hung out on the couch watching tv when I haven’t been taking naps. My pregnancy pillow is the all-star there. That thing was well worth the $25… it’s kept me cocooned and comfortable in bed since I’m not a big fan of sleeping on my back. (Unfortunately, it also makes me snore… sorry babe!) 🤣 Over the weekend, I was finally able to sleep comfortably on my side without major pain… and I’m feeling more rested today than I have in months.
Physically, I’m still sore and I feel a bit battered and bruised. My hands are both still bruised in varying shades of yellow, green and purple that I’ve never seen before and it still hurts when I wash them. 🙁 My throat has been tender from the tube and it stings randomly throughout the day… but that’s only validating my excuse to shamelessly eat fudge pops whenever I want to. 😉 My bodily functions appear to have returned to normal. My stomach has actually growled a few times now! I honestly don’t remember the last time I actually felt hungry before my surgery.
My stomach still hurts- especially when I move around- but I haven’t been completely dependent on medications so I’m grateful for that. Thankfully, my four incisions look good. (Eliot keeps checking them for me since I’ve been too chicken myself to take a proper look at them.) 😳
I’m able to get up from the couch, toilet and bed on my own now… which feels like a giant victory! 🎉 Sometimes it still hurts a bit when everything first shifts… I can quite literally feel my insides moving around and gravity is not my friend. But each time I get up, the shift seems less noticeable.
I’ve been slowly answering Etsy messages and getting back into my normal “business” routine, while still very much looking forward to taking it easy. I just started watching Downtown Abbey last week and I’ve got a pile of coloring books with my name on them. I’d like to start reading a new book this week. And my punch needle kit arrived the day we returned to Maine… so I’m looking forward to learning how to do that this week! 😊
But the very best news I can share with you, is that within hours of having surgery, I could already feel the difference. At first, I thought it was the hardcore pain meds… but a week later, I can confidently tell you that it worked. I still don’t even know what exactly my doctor did, but I know that my lower back and shoulder pain is mostly gone. I’ve been experiencing both for so long that I can’t even remember when I wasn’t. It’s the weirdest thing… Eliot and I went out to run a few errands yesterday, and I (very slowly) walked around three big box stores. Usually, that would put my lower back into complete agony. But when we got home, all I could feel was exhaustion since that was my first outing since my surgery. There wasn’t any lower back pain. It appears that separating my uterus from my bowels may have cured that… and getting the endo off of my diaphragm took away the shoulder pain. And I know this current lack of pain could change at any minute; but for right now, it truly feels like a miracle. ✨
I know that we’re only one week post-op but I’m optimistic that this will greatly improve my daily life. 🌻 Overall, I’m in pretty good spirits and I’m very thankful to have my excision surgery behind me. I am forever grateful to Dr. G and my team of nurses and doctors at Beth Israel. 💖 And now I’m looking ahead to my post-op appointment on 10/10 where I'll get more details about my surgery and what lies ahead for me… 💛🎗🌻
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