Surgery Day

Back in Little Rock.  I’m so nervous!  I have surgery scheduled for today, and I’m waiting to be checked in.  I am hoping against hope that they will give me something for nerves BEFORE the IV!

They don’t have internet Ches can use, so that is frustrating. He wants to keep going but will have to use his little iPad-better than nothing!

We drove super-fast and made it in three hours-I’ve never made it that fast!  Ches pushes the limits.  And drank a hyperactivity drink-I took a picture-I’ll show you later! : )  It was a green (“green apple jolly rancher-tasting”) caffeine powered drink that I thought was hilarious-we so don’t drink those!  He didn’t get much sleep last night, so he said he had to get with it.  And has to show me mountains of sympathy (starting soon, I hope?)!

We stopped back in the TigerTown, and I did a bad thing-wondered their candy aisle again.  I checked on the strange, coated graham crackers-and they are called Banana Planks.  (gross!)  I chose the only thing I (think) I’m allowed: gum.  I got Double Mint-yum! (appetizer), Juicy Fruit (for my entrée), and Berry Smoothie-dessert. At least I got some saliva going-I was DYING of hunger pains!  The pain was radiating through my stomach, and around to my back.  Seriously!  I’m still hurting, but the gum helped.  (Hope I don’t aspirate gummy saliva into my lungs later)

The last time I had surgery (d&c), I kinda fudged the “no eating after midnight the night before”, and had some water the next morning (to stay hydrated so they could find my veins!), but even the nurse commented that I had great veins for someone who hadn’t eaten in 12 hours!  (Cough, cough).  Later, I found out why they don’t want you drinking-it’s so you’ll be *empty* and they won’t have to use a catheter.  Umm..they had to use one on me.  (Sorry?)  (But I had good veins!)

So this time, I plan to pee on no one!  I didn’t drink a drop (but wanted to desperately!), but had lots of gum.  I just hope they don’t have to “try” the IV lots of times (as Angie encouraged this morning!).  If it doesn’t go well, next time, I’ll just request a catheter in advance with a *I’m-sorry-in-advance* look!

Getting Away

Branson for my birthday shopping trip!  I’ve been in Branson all weekend for a girls’ weekend away-mostly shopping for our families! : )  But, since I’ve gotten a little bigger (no blame, no shame..just bigger), I shopped some for me.  After all, it was a birthday trip!  We go every year for my birthday (thank you, my BFF Angie!), and shop ‘til we drop.  This year we stayed two nights-it’s always different.  It always depends on the kids’ schedules, and our husbands!  God bless them for letting us get away and shop.  We recharge our batteries, and refill our closets! Heehee I even got candles and some Harry & David soup mixes this time, so it’s not all clothes.

Dad got out of the hospital on Friday, thank goodness.  He has to take it easy for a while.  We learned that having a blood transfusion causes iron, potassium, and calcium to drop to nothing.  He’s got to load up on those, and Mom is doing what she can to get those down his throat.  He’s not a big guy, so he’s not eating that much.  I told her to supplement with vitamins-he needs so much, it’d just be too much food!  And she thinks it’s tough to eat what he’s eating: chicken-fried steak, and banana splits!  He’s got it rough.  : )

I had a doctors appointment in Little Rock today, so we had to get the kids to school early to head out of town!  When I walked Ethan in this morning, he was fine, then when I hugged him bye, he got all whiny, and wouldn’t let go.  He hid behind my legs, kept mumbling that he didn’t want me to leave, and then grabbed me, and didn’t let go of my neck.  He had his legs wrapped around me (it really does make me feel loved and needed, so I can’t get mad!), and the teachers had to pull him off after I told them I was supposed to be in Little Rock at 11:30.  I felt so bad.  I would have almost taken him with me, but during the procedure, I don’t know what he’d do.  The trip would be no big deal-he’s a great traveler!  I just feel bad (does a mother ever not?).  I miss my little munchkins.

So I had my next appointment at the specialist clinic in Little Rock today. I didn’t get in to see the doctor till 12:30 (it was Dr. Batres, and he was nice), but it was for a hydrosonogram instead of a hysterosalpingogram.  It was just saline water-but they had to use a huge speculum to get the syringe/catheter in, then get the speculum back out.  Not nice.  I did okay, but it was awful.  The good thing is I learned.  I saw Dr. Miller after lunch, and he explained the situation.  I have two adhesions (also called Asherman’s Syndrome) across my uterus, and they were either caused by my c-section when Ethan was born or by the d&c in April.

They have scheduled for the adhesions to be taken out on Thursday.  Dr. Miller said that the miscarriages can cause the adhesions, but the adhesions could’ve caused the miscarriages.  It depends on when they were formed, and there’s no way to know for sure when.  The yucky part is that our health insurance pays for NO infertility, so it won’t pay anything to repair fertility.

They will do the surgery as an outpatient procedure next door to the fertility office.  I won’t be completely out, just “conscious sedation”-asleep, but wake-able.  I’m not excited (Understatement of the Year).  To keep the adhesions from growing back, they will put in a balloon to hold the walls of the uterus apart.  I’ll go back in about a week to have the balloon deflated and taken out.  Yes, it can be painful, and yes, I might whine. : )  I’m a teensy bit relieved that they’ve found something I can cure.  It might not solve all problems, but it explains a lot.  I can’t believe it took so long, and why didn’t the first specialist in Little Rock do the hydrosonography?  This would have been the last thing I thought it was. I did ask my doctor in May if I should be on Estrogen or Progesterone to prevent adhesions after my d&c, but he said no.  Hmm..the things I’ve learned.  I think you have to be an advocate for yourself-no one else is going to do it for you!

Say prayers for my uterus and my kiddos that used to call it home! : )