Exploratory Surgery

Leading up to surgery day (Aug 9th) I felt like there was a lot riding on today. I worried about general anesthesia, pain management, not being able to sleep comfortable when I returned home, how many days I would be down for the count, etc but I was mostly worried about what Dr. McFadden would find.

*if you want to skip the details leading up to the results, skip down 5 paragraphs*

I had a report time of 0700 for intake and pre-op prep and a surgery time of 0800. I am my father's daughter and married to a man in the military where "to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be dead". I definitely didn't want to play with the two latter of the three so we arrived at 0632. We were the first people to arrive at CHI Bergan Mercy's Ambulatory Surgery Center. I was impressed by the warmth and modern waiting room. I was immediately taken to a desk around the corner to sign all the paperwork. After signing my life away, back to the waiting room I went.

After I was taken back I was greeted by the sweetest nurses. I started in pre-op alone until Jeremy and mom were allowed to come back and hang out with me. Up first, a urine sample to make sure I wasn't pregnant: after all, every female has to take one. Of course, I knew what the result would be. Negative. She was very kind and explained everything in such a way that it sounded enjoyable. It always makes the world of a difference when you have an impending surgery. She had me change into the gown, put on grippy socks and the beautiful blue surgical cap. Up next, taking all of my vitals and applying the nifty DVT compression wraps and getting the IV started. Once all of that was finished, Jeremy and mom were brought back to sit with me while I waited for my turn in the OR. Dr. McFadden had one surgery ahead of me.

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At 0815, I was whisked away to the OR. That room was FREEEEEZING! Luckily, I was layered with three blankets out of a warmer. They moved me to the surgical table and started hooking up my BP cuff and rearranging my IV lines. About 3 minutes later, Dr. McFadden walks in waiting to get prepped in his surgical gown and gloves. Out of nowhere the Anesthesiologist, Dr. Buglewicz, puts an oxygen mask over my mouth. The next thing I know, Dr. Buglewicz says goodnight and I start dozing off.

I woke up in post-op with two more wonderful nurses. The first thing that was asked was what my pain level on a scale of 1-10 and if I was feeling nauseous. Which, I was. She pushed some nausea medicine and I felt better instantly. After I was awake enough to answer those couple questions, I was moved to a chair. I was given water and the option of crackers or cookies. My only ticket out of the hospital was pain management, which increased pretty drastically from the bed, and urinating (I'll explain why later). I was given some pain meds and a big glass of water. I was hoping to talk to Dr. McFadden, but he was off to another surgery right after mine. The good part though, is that he talked to Jeremy and mom. Mom recorded the conversation so that I could listen to it later when I was more aware.

Just a recap of the last doctor appointment planning and talking about the surgery, Dr. McFadden gave me a "run down" of what the surgery would look like on his end. He would first use a camera to look at my bladder, looking for interstitial cystitis. IC makes conceiving difficult and he wanted to cross that off the list first. This is also why I had to urinate before leaving. Messing with the bladder shocks it and sometimes has a hard time doing it's job or releasing the fluid. Second, the camera went into my lady bits. He wanted a better look at my cervix, uterus, tubes and ovaries. Third was the laparoscopy. Dr. McFadden made 5mm incisions which are pretty small and only require to be glued shut. The plan was three incisions to look "north of the border" as Dr. McFadden called it, at all of my non-reproductive organs. Then he would move down to everything else. I know you are ready to know what he found....

Most of how I will describe the findings are Dr. McFadden's words. My bladder looks great. No findings of IC. Dr. McFadden was able to push saline easily through my tubes (YAY). There were concerns that even though I had the previous HSG test, they could still be occluded. Dr. McFadden looked at the outside of my reproductive organs to make sure there was no endometriosis. There wasn't! My tubes and ovaries were mobile! This is great news. There are no polyps or fibroids in my uterus. However, there was endometriosis inside my uterus but it didn't distort my pelvic anatomy, which is GREAT news. The issue with endometriosis is it creates inflammation and it may impede fertilization and implantation. The inflammatory mediators disrupt the normal

process. Dr. McFadden cauterized the tissue (after taking a sample for testing). He also found polyps in my cervix that he removed. Unfortunately, I don't have much info on this and will ask about it next appointment. The last thing Dr. McFadden asked when talking to Jeremy is if he wanted to go fishing. It would only take him 45min to finish the next surgery.

After a being home and a night's rest, I am still pretty sore. Minor movements require assistance. You know, when you do an ab workout you start to notice just how much your core muscles have to work. I'm in that boat right now. Raising my arms above my head isn't pleasant due to the extension of my torso. I wasn't prepared for that. When you have an abdominal laparoscopy they have to pump in CO2 to make

organs easily accessible. They always do their best to suction it out but it is impossible to remove it all. This causes pain under my ribs and in my right shoulder. Walking around has helped gravity do its job and dissipates it. Leaning forward to get up, put on socks and shoes, pick up anything below your waist, pet the dog or sitting up unassisted will be reserved for a couple days. Jeremy and mom are amazing about making sure I am on a great schedule for pain meds and resting. Mom and I are getting out and walking. It's nice to have mom here to help with the female issues like, hair after a shower and other female issues that go along with the procedure.

I will be scheduling a follow-up in two weeks to discuss the game plan going forward. I can't wait to share those results with all of you!

Thank you all for the kind words, encouragement and prayers. Every single word has been uplifting. This journey has been made more bearable with your support.