4/12/2016 1 Comment If You In-cystThe last few weeks have been a blur. I have wanted to write about what's been going on but until recently I haven't felt well enough to do much of anything. A piece of me feels like a wuss because there are plenty of people in the world going through much tougher stuff than me but I suppose we are all allowed to be down and frustrated sometimes by events that are out of our control.
My biggest New Years intention for 2016 was to get health insurance for myself. It's such a grown up thing to do and most women my age either have it through their job or their husbands job. I don't have that luxury. It was going to take time and some research for me to get insured and I kept putting it off. I'm pretty good about following through with goals. My coverage began in February. As it turns out, I had a cyst on my ovary that needed to be surgically removed. I was under the impression that it was a simple procedure. I would take a few days to relax afterwards and I would be good to go. My mom went with me and we joked about how flattering my outfit was and had a photo shoot in my hospital room. It's not like I was looking forward to it but I figured it had to be done so I tried to make the best of it. Little did I know that I had endometriosis, the cyst was larger than my uterus and that my right ovary would need to be removed altogether. I suppose it is a common thing in the medical world but it is not common to me. I woke up from surgery on (Not so) Good Friday and have been processing this news ever since. The last few weeks have been physically and mentally exhausting. When I was ten, I had an appendectomy so I have a scar on the right side of my stomach. Now I have 4 more. There's one hiding in my belly button and 3 more evenly placed among my lower abdomen. Basically it just looks like I got scarred up in the process of removing my mermaid tail in exchange for legs. I really am The Little Mermaid. My mom came to stay with me for nearly a week. She did my laundry, bought my groceries, took care of Sebastian and loved on me the way only a mama can. My dad and my step mom brought me an Easter basket of goodies and my dad made me laugh so hard, I had to send him home because it hurt too bad to giggle. He reminded me that laughter truly is the best medicine. My Aunt Pam came up and brought me food and calls frequently to check on me. She's my other mother in a lot of ways. My neighbors made me pasta and homemade cupcakes. I had calls and texts filled with love, get well wishes and lots of fun emojis. The Drifter has been amazing as well. Apparently your ovaries control your hormones and I'm out of balance at the moment. Poor guy! He's been so understanding. My friend Brooke went with me to my follow up appointment last week because I was anxious about it. She doesn't live close and it was not convenient for her in the slightest but she made the trip and I am so thankful for her. I have felt so loved. I've had to rearrange my work schedule and slowly resume my normal activities. It's been a challenge because I'm used to hustling and staying active. It has forced me to slow down. I'm still not quite myself but I feel better everyday. This experience was completely unexpected. It doesn't matter that I eat healthy, practice yoga, drink water and get enough sleep, this was going to happen. What it has made me realize though is how important it is for me to take care of myself anyway. The lesson: There will always be things that are out of my control but I want to be mindful about the daily choices I make and how they effect my body, my well being and my life. And it's a good thing I had health insurance. Love, Stevi -The mermaid with scars to prove it.
1 Comment
Brooke
4/13/2016 08:11:40 pm
Love you to the moon and back
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