Ladies, Be Sure to Care for Yourselves
As I reflect on the past month, I am very thankful Thankful that I listened to that inner voice, which I believe was the Holy Spirit guiding me to a new provider. Thankful that she as a believer guided me to a doctor that was one of the best in his field and how God made himself known to me through that doctor’s office easing my fears and having an overwhelming sense of trust as I embarked last week on a surgery that definitely was not an elective surgery and as you will read, quite a shock to me.
As a Health Care professional, I care for the body God gave me for many reasons. First, I want to be around for my husband, kids and for our grand kids someday. Second, I believe my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor.6:19) and I don’t belong to myself. So, I’m so glad that I did my yearly exam. I was supposed to go in March. Well, we all know what happened in March, which delayed me.
Fast forward to July 7th, when my new provider, said, hey, I see something and we need to order an ultrasound. So, a week went by and the ultrasound showed a pelvic mass that required me to walk into an oncologist office, someplace I never thought I’d be. By the way, I had NO Symptoms that anything was not right either.
An Oncology Office?
Yes that’s what I said. Wait a second, I’m a Health Coach, I eat my veggies and fruit, I exercise, I drink my water, I care for my body well. How did this happen? If you’ve ever been there, then you know how I felt. The doctor came in and we talked about what was discovered on my ultrasound and he went on to show me a diagram of my anatomy as a woman. He said, “we make two cuts here and the camera goes in through your belly button and I will remove your uterus and mass, ovaries, fallopian tubes and cervix.” He told me that I needed a complete bilateral robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy and I said WHAT?? You’re joking right? He said, no, I’m not joking.
I Was In Shock !!
I said, wait, I thought be would be doing an MRI and then removing the mass. He told me differently. We went back and forth for about 30 minutes on this. This can’t be happening. I was in denial and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Due to the position of the mass, he wasn’t able to do a biopsy or just remove the mass, because if it was cancer, he could have spread it throughout my abdominal cavity and he said I have to think that way because I’m an oncologist. That word scared me. I did feel comfort though because as the nurse left to make a copy of my paperwork, I looked up and saw scripture verses all over the conference room and knew that this meeting was God ordained.
Surgery Day
Fast forward another two weeks, and I was in Sky Ridge Medical Center prepping for a complete hysterectomy because of the location of the mass. I had an amazing team of doctors, nurses, a great anesthesiology team who listened to me when I told them about my one surgical experience (tonsillectomy) and the horrific experience I had with anesthesia. I entered the operating room, moved onto the table and within a minute was out. All I remember was a ladies voice, saying it’s all over and whisking me off to recovery. In and out of sleep I went and when I woke up enough to understand it was over, I wondered what he found. Was it cancer? Did he have to take my lymph nodes? I wouldn’t know for a while because the doctor called my husband and I wasn’t able to see him until I went up to my room.
Good News !!
No Cancer !! A fibroid the size of an orange pressing on my bladder and colon, now gone. As I looked down, I had three steri-strips covering my incisions and that was all. I had an uneventful 2 days in the hospital and then home for recovery. So why did I feel compelled to write this blog? Well, I think that as women we take a lot on our shoulders, and rarely do we put ourselves first. So, if this encourages one woman to do that and take better care of herself, no matter what that means, then it was worth it.
Please reach out with any questions you have and remember You Are Worth It !!
