Post Op Day 2: Twenty-two

Post-Op Day 2 was about me being more active- getting up and moving around. Assisted by my dad, we would take slow walks around the unit then come back to the room. Walking wasn’t the problem- it was just complicated by the IV pole that I had to carry around. Going from a sitting to standing position or vice versa was very painful at this point in the recovery process. No more vomiting. No random cravings. I also didn’t have much of an appetite so chicken broth and cranberry juice was enough to keep me satisfied. I’d even gotten more comfortable using the PCA pump to make sure that I was never in too much pain.

Dr. Hall visited me that day and explained what occurred during surgery in a little more detail. Being the television-trained physician (and concerned parent) that he is, my dad had plenty of questions. It was during this conversation that I learned just how riddled with fibroids my uterus was. What I believe was supposed to be a 2.5- 3 hour surgery was actually more like 4 hours, and she removed 22 fibroids. That’s’ right! TWENTY- TWO fibroids. I can’t remember how many fibroids I thought I was having removed, but I can certainly say that I didn’t think it was 22! I can recall her saying that each time she removed one she would palpate my uterus and find another. She did this until she’d removed them all.

In all of his questioning, I’m most appreciative that my dad asked if she’d taken a picture of the fibroids and if she could send it to him. She had, in fact, taken a picture and agreed to text it to him as long as he agreed not to contact her. Lol! Needless to say, he was fine with that. Once he saw the picture, all he could say, while rubbing his forehead, was, “Wow!”

Disbelief, shock, amazement, relief are all appropriate terms to describe how I felt after seeing that picture. The largest of the fibroids was 10 centimeters (cm) – roughly the size of a grapefruit. I had a couple the sizes of limes, 4 walnuts, and the remaining ranged in grape to pea sizes. I couldn’t believe that I’d been walking around providing a fertile breeding ground and cozy environment to these uninvited guests.