Six Week Post Op

Today I had my six week post op appt.  It was pretty uneventful.  The Dr. asked how I am feeling.  I said awesome.  He did a vaginal check to make sure things are healing up.  He said he did not feel anymore stitches, but things did not feel totally healed.  So just be careful and try not to lift really heavy things.  Praise God!  I am so happy to put this whole ordeal behind me and move on to good health.

I have been very careful about avoiding gluten and I think that with the surgery has me feeling better then I ever have.  Now that I feel so good, I realize that I have not been good for longer then I realized. 

In other news here is a cute picture of Oliver and Zelda.  They are becoming friends and usually play around in the morning chasing each other.

Jacob made it home safely from camp.  He had a lot of fun but was home sick.  He said he felt especially sad one day and cried so one of the counselors took him to the office so he could call home.  We talked for about 10 minutes and he sounded better by the end of the conversation.  He said his favorite part was the rock wall climbing.  So all in all it was a good experience but I am very glad to have my little bird back in the nest!

One Week Post Op

***WARNING***
There will be a real life picture of my uterus in this post.  If you do not like seeing such things, please come back tomorrow


It has been one week since my surgery and I am doing better then I thought I would be doing but not as good as I want to be doing.

As far as pain goes, it has been very minimal.  Today for the first day, I can almost say that I don't feel anything.  I have only been taking Advil since I got home and I have not even been doing that for the past few days now.  I think it is pretty amazing considering a week ago, I had an organ removed from my body.  Yesterday my incisions started to itch, which is driving me crazy and making it uncomfortable to wear any pants (but don't worry, I am).

I want to be doing more.  It is really hard just laying on the couch, when there is stuff to be done around the house.  I just keep telling my self that I am healing on the inside and my body needs me to do my part, which is rest.

Before my surgery I asked my Doctor if I would be able to see my uterus and he said that he could take a picture of it.  And true to his word, he did.  Yesterday, Karen, a friend from church who is also a nurse brought us dinner.  She explained the picture to me a bit which helped. 

So without further ado...........here is my uterus!  Ta-Da!

Cute, huh?  I have no idea what the piece is off to the left but I will ask my Doctor when I go for my post op appointment.  See how nice and pink it is?  At the bottom of the picture is my cervix and that big fleshy looking bump on the right side of it, is the fibroid that was causing me so much trouble (severe bleeding and extreme anemia).

So there you have it folks-my uterus. Or as my brother Jeff has so affectionately renamed it: ute.  (Pronounced U-TE) He even made up a song about ute and played it for me on his guitar the last time we skyped.  I laughed so hard I cried.

Surgery

Monday, I had my surgery.  I had to check in at 11:45 am but it took a little while for them to call me back.  One of the first orders of business is to change out of your clothes and into one of their gowns and a pair of cool socks.

I am usually cold but this gown had the neatest thing!  They hook a hose up to it and the gown has pockets through out it.  The pockets fill up with warm air and keep you feeling toasty!  I loved it but I felt huge because I was all puffed up.

After my IV's were in and I answered a ton of questions we waited.  The surgeon came in and then the anesthesiologist .  The last thing I remember was kissing Darrick and something being put into my IV.  Apparently, on the way to the operating room I said, "Let's have a Uterus Party!"  How embarrassing.

The next thing I remember is asking to see my husband.  I was not really awake but I knew if I could see Darrick I would be okay.

This is how I looked when Darrick saw me.  Looking good, huh?  I was really bothered by all equipment on me.  I guess I even tried to get Micah to take my catheter out.  The one bonus was that I had a beautiful view from my room and we saw a gorgeous sunset.

Later that night, they wanted me to walk around.  I hobbled down to the nurses station and back!  Yeah me!  The white things on my legs are compression tights they put on me to prevent blood clots.

 

Darrick and Micah left about 10 pm.  I slept on and off all night but it was hard to get comfortable.  I was having some pain medicine so I was not hurting too bad. 

Around 7 am I was able to order breakfast.  There were not very many gluten free choices so I had scrambled eggs, a pineapple, a banana and a yogurt.  By 10 am I was cleared to go home!

Goodbye Uterus

So tomorrow is the big day.  The day my Uterus and I go our separate ways.  I was explaining to the kids this morning what the uterus does, well not everything, I just said it is where the baby grows for 9 months.  At the end of my explanation Jacob said "Thanks Uterus!" 

I have not had surgery since I was in High School.  I had my tonsils out.  I am feeling a bit nervous.  It is major surgery and they are removing a part of my body that has always been there.

Tonight I have to wash with a special anti bacterial soap and again in the morning.  After midnight tonight I cannot eat or drink anymore.  Tomorrow I cannot put on any lotions, hair products or make-up.  We have to check into the hospital at 11:45 am.  The actual surgery will last about 1 hour.

Jacob and Naomi are spending the night tomorrow night at friends houses.  Micah and Darrick will be at the hospital with me!

Be sure to say a prayer for us!

da Vinci Hysterectomy

This is not my Doctor or my hospital but it will give you a look at how Da Vinci works!

Robotic da Vinci Hysterectomy--Animation

Lord Hill Park Hike

Since Darrick and I have been making steps toward healthier living we decided to set up some "rewards" for ourselves to keep us motivated and build our relationships as a family.

This week our reward was a family hike.  We went to Snohomish to a place called Lord Hill Park.  We hiked for about 2 hours.  The weather was great and we had fun together.  Jacob was helping me take some pictures by pointing out things I should take pictures of!

Ready to Start!

Start of the Trail

Micah and Darrick trying to figure out which way to go

Bike Trade

We have a great Shop and Organization here in Everett called Sharing Wheels.  You can read all about it if you click on the link.

Last Sunday they held their event called the Bike Trade.  The basic idea is that you bring your child's used bike that they have grown too big for to the shop.  They asses it and give it a value.  Then you look around the shop and bike out a "new to you" bike.  If the value of the new bike is equal to your old bike-it is a clean swap.  In the end we ended up paying only $10!  The kids really liked it and it was fun to see one of our friends pick Jacob's old bike!

Catching up

Our Internet went cuckoo last week and it would not work properly.  They could not send a technician out until Friday.  So now that it is fixed and we are back online I will catch you up on our week last week!

Tuesday I had another ultrasound.  The doctor wanted to check on things and see if there have been any changes.  First they did it from the outside then there was a special wand that had to be inserted, I will let you figure out where, and they also took pictures that way.  I also went to the produce stand and bought all this for only $33!

Wednesday  We attended Naomi's Kindergarten Potluck at Forest Park.  We brought an awesome salad from out garden.  We were able to meet some new families.  But the highlight was meeting a mom who had great dreadlocks in her hair.  I felt a bit nervous, wondering what she would think of Naomi's dreads.  But she said they looked great!  Another bonus was that she does dreadlocks professionally.  So I got her card and she said we could connect.  I have been doing my best by watching You Tube Videos but it will be so great to have some one on one lessons!

Thursday  We attended Micah's Open House at Port Gardner.  He had some cool projects that he worked on in his classes.  In his Middle School Block Class they studied Medieval Times and in his Science Class they studied Populations and Ecosystems.  Some of the projects below are his own and some he worked on in a group.

Comic Micah made about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Shield he made that represent him

What his group knew about Medieval times before they studied it

What his group knew about Medieval times after they studied it

Micah's Illuminated Manuscript

His Group's Medieval Manor

Food Web of Mono Lake

Micah's Self sustaining Ecosystem

 

 

 

Green Juice

Have you heard of Green Juice?  Our family is taking small steps to live healthier lives.  Darrick and I decided to kick off our campaign with green juice.  If you search anywhere on the Internet, they just praise the health benefits of green juice.


The first thing that you need to make green juice is a juicer.  We have a Jack Lalanne juicer that we bought back when we lived in Hawaii.  We use it every once in a while and it is still in good shape.

The second thing that you need is greens.  The best kind to get is organic, but if you don't just be sure to clean them well.  We are so blessed to have a beautiful garden right now.  It is going crazy-it has to be the chicken poop!  For this juice we used cilantro, rainbow Swiss chard, spinach and a variety of lettuces.

Then you put them in the juicer and start juicing!

To help balance out the taste, you can add more fruits and veggies.  We added apples, carrots, lemon, celery, and radishes.

Cheers! Here's to our health!

We have been drinking at least two of these a day, and the kids are too.  It takes time getting use to because our taste buds are so accustomed to artificial flavors, but it is so so worth it!

My Weak Week

Sorry for my lack in posts this past week.  I have decided to call it my "Weak Week".  Because of the fibroid the Doctor discovered my monthly cycle has become, let's say difficult.  The basic is that the fibroid causing lots of extra bleeding each time I get my period.  That causes my iron levels to drop dramatically which leaves me weak, exhausted and sleepy.  When it is over I have to rebuild my iron levels back up.  It is a frustrating cycle.

Darrick and I decided this week that I am going to have a hysterectomy.  We called the Doctor and let him know.  So right now the request is going through our insurance for approval.  The Doctor also wants me to have another ultrasound before the surgery to see it the fibroid has changed and check on an ovarian cyst they also found.  I should hear in this coming week if the approval went through and then the surgery date can be set.

Forest Park Hill Climb Challenge #1

 If you are a reader of my blog then you know that I have been very sick for over 5 months.  There were days that I could not even wake up hardly or move my body.  It is amazing how quickly our bodies get out of shape.  Once I started feeling better I started walking the kids to school.  Afterwards my muscles would ache because they had not been used in so long.       

I have been looking for fun ways to get my exercise on and read about the Forest Park Hill Climb Challenge.  Once a month for the next few months you meet and see how many hills you can climb in 30 minutes.  There are 12 hills and you can run or walk.  Walkers get white tags and runners get yellow tags.  There is a marked out course and when the horn blows you go.  Everyone starts at the same point but then the runners turn to the right and start at hill 9 and the walkers turn to the left and start at hill 1.

 This is how it starts, all down hill!  I liked this part and had a good pace.

 This is where I split off from the runners and turned to the left.  Although the runners were no where to be seen-they were way ahead of me.

 Okay I made it to Hill 1!  Here we go! 

 What in the World?!?!?  Hill 1 was the Forest Park sledding hill...oh man....

 I made it back to the start at the 21 minute mark-the clock counts down from 30 minutes.

 Every time you climb a hill and pass start you get a straw.  I felt so good with my first straw.  Okay down the big hill again.

 Here is hill 2!  A nice stroll through the forest.

 Dying...dying...dying...when will this hill end?  At this point I started to see runners because they had finished hills 9-12 so then they go on to hills 1-8.  They were running up this hill!!!

 Back to the start at the 12 minute mark!

 Stick #2!!!

 Hill #3

 I completed hill #3 and make it back to the start at the 4 minute mark.  I did not have time to start hill 4 at this point.

At the end of the challenge I earned 3 sticks!  Only one runner did ALL 12 hills and he did it in 29 minutes!  I am going to keep practicing and next month my goal is to get 4 sticks.  It is also a cumulative challenge which means you write how many hills you do each time on the back of your bib and then who ever has the most at the end wins a trophy.  I think we all know it will be a runner...