The surgery was a success, although it was about 2 hours longer than the surgeon expected it to be. He started with the right ovary which was fine and easy to disconnect. Then the left one--here's the problem. It was practically covered with scar tissue from surgery 4 years ago. But being the good surgeon he is, Dr. Bonebrake is his name, he persevered and cut me loose. He could have decided to do an incision instead but I'm sure glad he didn't. Anyway, what was to be a 2-4 hour surgery became a 6 hour surgery. I would like to apologize to any women who also had scheduled surgery with Dr. Bonebrake that day. They had a long wait. I'm glad I was first on his list!
I was treated quite well by the hospital staff. Everyone was so nice. Any time I used the call button someone was right there. I have bruises where blood was taken or iv's inserted. My body swelled a lot! My left hand was so swollen that no creases could be seen and I couldn't touch my thumb and fingers together. The right hand didn't get quite that bad. They are both pretty much back to normal now. I haven't gotten my appetite back which is probably a good thing. Everything tastes different right now. I thought I would come out of the hospital weighing at least 10 pounds less but because of the bloating and water retention weighed 10 more that when I went in. What a bummer!
Thank goodness for pain pills. I was trying to be 'strong' yesterday and didn't take any all day even though I was hurting at different times. Today I am taking them every 4 hours--forget about being 'strong' and handling pain.
I go back for my post op check up on Thursday. Hopefully by then I will be feeling pretty well. I counted band aids today and have 6 and there are a couple of puncture wounds with steri strips only. At least there are no staples to remove this time!
Well, I think it's time to go back to the recliner.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Big Day
Tomorrow is the big day! Surgery day. I am not worried at all. I know that everything is going to be just fine--whatever the outcome (no incision or incision). It all depends on how much scar tissue is there from the colon surgery. The only bad thing is that I have to be at the hospital at 5:15. I just set the alarm for 3:30 AM. I don't usually go to bed before 12 or 12:30 so I could just stay up. After all, I will get to sleep later! But I decided against trying to stay awake.
I am first on the list so when they say they are ready to roll, then I will roll! Hopefully he will start early-like 6:30 or so. Then it will take a couple of hours for surgery and I don't know how long in recovery. I will spend at least one night in the hospital. I hope that it all, since I will have to pay 30% of the cost. When I had my colon surgery 4 years ago my hospital bill was over $27,000 and all I had to pay was around $75. I've already given them $200 to go towards this bill.
It seems now that if you have a copay or deductible, the doctor/hospital/whoever expects payment up front before any procedure is done. Yesterday I had my colonoscopy. When I checked in I had to pay $375.00 which they figured was what the insurance wouldn't pay.
My colonoscopy was fine--no polyps and the area where the doctor reconnected my colon after cutting out part of it was looking really good.
I am first on the list so when they say they are ready to roll, then I will roll! Hopefully he will start early-like 6:30 or so. Then it will take a couple of hours for surgery and I don't know how long in recovery. I will spend at least one night in the hospital. I hope that it all, since I will have to pay 30% of the cost. When I had my colon surgery 4 years ago my hospital bill was over $27,000 and all I had to pay was around $75. I've already given them $200 to go towards this bill.
It seems now that if you have a copay or deductible, the doctor/hospital/whoever expects payment up front before any procedure is done. Yesterday I had my colonoscopy. When I checked in I had to pay $375.00 which they figured was what the insurance wouldn't pay.
My colonoscopy was fine--no polyps and the area where the doctor reconnected my colon after cutting out part of it was looking really good.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Pre-Op
I had my pre-op appointment today. I was to be at the hospital at 8:30 and I was. The desk didn't open until about 8:35 or 40. I was second in line but when they started to take people back I was the fifth one they called. I was beginning to get a little irritated. About 9 I was finally taken back to begin all the questions, pokes, x-rays, etc. needed before surgery next Thursday. The worst part was drawing the blood. My good vein is in the arm that is sore. I can't straighten it out right now, so they tried the left arm. She got a vein but only a trickle of blood would come out. We finally ended up taking it from my hand--ouch! Then the gown they gave me for the x-ray was about 10 times too small. Is there only one size? I don't think so. The technician gave me a sheet to drape around me on the way to the x-ray room. It was about 11 when I was able to leave.
Now you have to give a deposit for the surgery! Didn't have to do that 4 years ago with the colon surgery. But they want part of the deductible before the procedure. I had to do that with Dr. Burlison last year when I had the D&C. They figured out what the insurance would pay and I had to pay the rest before surgery. Anyway, I left the hospital today with less blood and $200 less than when I arrived. It would be nice if that was all I would have to pay but I am sure that there will be much more. Four years ago I only had to do 10% which ended up with paying less than $80 to the hospital. Now I have to come up with 30%. Good thing I have a CD that is maturing in October.
By this time next week it will all be over and I will be on the road to recovery. I am really expecting to get to come home after only a couple of days if they don't have to make an incision. And then I will take a couple of weeks off and then get back to the library and clothes closet. I won't work too hard but I figure I can sit at those places just as well as I can at home.
Now you have to give a deposit for the surgery! Didn't have to do that 4 years ago with the colon surgery. But they want part of the deductible before the procedure. I had to do that with Dr. Burlison last year when I had the D&C. They figured out what the insurance would pay and I had to pay the rest before surgery. Anyway, I left the hospital today with less blood and $200 less than when I arrived. It would be nice if that was all I would have to pay but I am sure that there will be much more. Four years ago I only had to do 10% which ended up with paying less than $80 to the hospital. Now I have to come up with 30%. Good thing I have a CD that is maturing in October.
By this time next week it will all be over and I will be on the road to recovery. I am really expecting to get to come home after only a couple of days if they don't have to make an incision. And then I will take a couple of weeks off and then get back to the library and clothes closet. I won't work too hard but I figure I can sit at those places just as well as I can at home.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Fall
I fell Sunday. I hurt my arm. It still hurts today. And I have a bruise. I'm really lucky that's all that happened. It could have been much worse, like the time I fell and crushed my wrist. The bad thing about the fall is that I did it in front of a bunch of people. Here's the story....
Sunday after church I had just shook hands with the preacher and was walking to the car. Several of the members of my senior adult Sunday school class were in their cars getting ready to leave. Being the friendly person I am, I was waving to them, giving them all a big smile when I suddenly tripped over the edging of the flower bed! I couldn't catch my balance, though I tried really hard! Down I went, splayed like a beached whale! The next thing I know, those senior adults are all there asking if I am okay, was I hurt. Yes, and no, not really. At least none of my bones were broken. No broken skin either. I was all in one piece, just burning hands and knees and a sore elbow. It got sorer and sorer as I made a stop at the grocery store before going home. I put ice on it once I got home and waited for my doctor daughter who was coming home that afternoon. She assured me that it wasn't broken, only that it would hurt for a couple of weeks.
It feels better today, there is still some pain, and I can't straighten my arm--but it does feel better. But now I can't take any more Aleve because of the colonoscopy and surgery next week. Directions say to stop those a week before the procedures.
A friend asked if this was a fall from grace since it happened at church. I told her that I fell from grace every day but God saw my needs and continues to bless me each and every day!
I must remember to ask my Sunday school members if I bounced when I fell.....
Sunday after church I had just shook hands with the preacher and was walking to the car. Several of the members of my senior adult Sunday school class were in their cars getting ready to leave. Being the friendly person I am, I was waving to them, giving them all a big smile when I suddenly tripped over the edging of the flower bed! I couldn't catch my balance, though I tried really hard! Down I went, splayed like a beached whale! The next thing I know, those senior adults are all there asking if I am okay, was I hurt. Yes, and no, not really. At least none of my bones were broken. No broken skin either. I was all in one piece, just burning hands and knees and a sore elbow. It got sorer and sorer as I made a stop at the grocery store before going home. I put ice on it once I got home and waited for my doctor daughter who was coming home that afternoon. She assured me that it wasn't broken, only that it would hurt for a couple of weeks.
It feels better today, there is still some pain, and I can't straighten my arm--but it does feel better. But now I can't take any more Aleve because of the colonoscopy and surgery next week. Directions say to stop those a week before the procedures.
A friend asked if this was a fall from grace since it happened at church. I told her that I fell from grace every day but God saw my needs and continues to bless me each and every day!
I must remember to ask my Sunday school members if I bounced when I fell.....
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Is it hereditary?
I have come to the conclusion (and it didn't take much thinking about it) that growing old is not a pleasant, or easy, thing. I've been saying for some time that the term "golden years" should actually be retired! The term makes one think of beauty and wealth and good things when in fact it's just the opposite for most people. Yes, I am enjoying my retirement--one of the benefits of aging. I like not setting an alarm, going to bed when I choose, and getting up when I want. I like doing all the things I am doing, and knowing that if I should choose to stay home it is okay and I don't have to use a sick day. But as I get older I can't help but wonder what my future holds in store for me in regards to my health, especially my mental health. Here's why--
For the last couple of weeks I have watched my aunt develop many of the same characteristics that my mom had as she suffered from dementia and/or the early stages of Alzheimer's. I got a call from Dennis, my cousin, saying that Aunt Daisy was hallucinating and he was very concerned. She evidently thought that there were some people trying to steal her car and they couldn't so they dropped a huge chuck of concrete on it and smashed it flat. That was only the beginning. I could hear her in the back ground and she sounded really scared. She has been suffering from a kidney infection and that could have brought all this on. In fact, the doctor last night said that many times in older people infections can cause this. But I think it is deeper than just an infection and the medication.
This side of my family has suffered from dementia for several generations. I have come across a court case concerning the custody of my great great grandfather. He had been declared insane and was living with his daughter, my great grandmother. Later in her life, she also suffered from dementia and was confined in the Nevada Asylum for several months. I recently found out that she had at least one brother who was also a resident of the asylum for a time. I vaguely remember Granny Mann. My grandfather, her son, died in '76 after suffering for several years with what was then called hardening of the arteries, very similar to dementia and Alzheimer's. My mom, his daughter, also had been diagnosed with mental problems. Now I am seeing the same thing in her sister. So what do I have to look forward to? It really worries me that I will probably end up like them. I know that there are new medications coming out all the time, so hopefully I won't ever get as bad as the others have.
Two weeks from today I am going to have my hysterectomy. I am not worried at all. I know that God is going to take me through it with flying colors. It's just all the preparation for it. The surgeon wants me to have a colonoscopy, so that is scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. So that means on Monday I will do a liquid diet and have to drink that nasty stuff to clean me out. Then on Wednesday I have to do it all again to prepare for the surgery. I should get a gold medal for having to drink that wicked stuff two times in one week! Golden years--oh yeah!
For the last couple of weeks I have watched my aunt develop many of the same characteristics that my mom had as she suffered from dementia and/or the early stages of Alzheimer's. I got a call from Dennis, my cousin, saying that Aunt Daisy was hallucinating and he was very concerned. She evidently thought that there were some people trying to steal her car and they couldn't so they dropped a huge chuck of concrete on it and smashed it flat. That was only the beginning. I could hear her in the back ground and she sounded really scared. She has been suffering from a kidney infection and that could have brought all this on. In fact, the doctor last night said that many times in older people infections can cause this. But I think it is deeper than just an infection and the medication.
This side of my family has suffered from dementia for several generations. I have come across a court case concerning the custody of my great great grandfather. He had been declared insane and was living with his daughter, my great grandmother. Later in her life, she also suffered from dementia and was confined in the Nevada Asylum for several months. I recently found out that she had at least one brother who was also a resident of the asylum for a time. I vaguely remember Granny Mann. My grandfather, her son, died in '76 after suffering for several years with what was then called hardening of the arteries, very similar to dementia and Alzheimer's. My mom, his daughter, also had been diagnosed with mental problems. Now I am seeing the same thing in her sister. So what do I have to look forward to? It really worries me that I will probably end up like them. I know that there are new medications coming out all the time, so hopefully I won't ever get as bad as the others have.
Two weeks from today I am going to have my hysterectomy. I am not worried at all. I know that God is going to take me through it with flying colors. It's just all the preparation for it. The surgeon wants me to have a colonoscopy, so that is scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. So that means on Monday I will do a liquid diet and have to drink that nasty stuff to clean me out. Then on Wednesday I have to do it all again to prepare for the surgery. I should get a gold medal for having to drink that wicked stuff two times in one week! Golden years--oh yeah!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thoughts
I didn't realize that it's been over two weeks since I've written anything. For some reason this is not on my high priority list anymore. I'm not sure if it's because I've got so many other things going on or if blogging has lost its luster for me. Probably a combination of the two.
Life has been pretty busy lately. I've been pulling extra weeks at the Clothes Closet. I've worked 5 of the last 8 days it's been open. I'm not complaining because I absolutely love being there. But that means that I'm falling farther behind with work at the genealogy library. I know that both of these places are strictly volunteer positions and I am not "expected or required" to be there any certain days and/or times. I do enjoy both places and I can see the fruits of my labor in both places. To choose one over the other would be really hard. I don't feel so overwhelmed at the Closet, though. If I don't get something done, there is someone else who can do it. Not so easy to do at the library.
The last three days have been given to church activities. Each year the women of the church have a yard sale to raise funds for Share Your Christmas. The yard sale was Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was up by 6 each morning and at the church by 7. I didn't get home until 7 or later each evening. This is the first year we've held the sale at the church. We've always had it at the preacher's house. But this year we were also hosting an outdoorsmen swap meet planned by Larry Dablemont so we decided to hold the sale in our gymnasium. How wonderful it was to just be able to lock the doors Thurs. & Fri. nights and not have to worry about getting everything back inside and/or covered for the night. God blessed us with $1845.00 profit. We are giving our youth group $600 and the children's program $100.
The swap meet was wonderful! People from all over came. I talked with people from Kansas and Nebraska. I sold meal tickets and really enjoyed visiting with the people as they went through the food line. I just forgot to ask most of them where they were from! There were over 40 vendors there to sell hunting and fishing items as well as produce, art, furs...so many different things. Over 400 people enjoyed the fish fry. Again, God blessed this activity with over $2200 to be used for repairs/improvements at the church. From the talk I heard throughout the afternoon, this will probably become a yearly event.
I have an appointment with a surgeon in Springfield on Wednesday. I am going to have a hysterectomy and will know when that will happen when I visit with the surgeon. I thought I would have it done at CMH but my gynecologist says that since I have had abdominal surgery (colon surgery) there is a greater chance that I will have to have an incision rather than "using the camera". So he is sending me to Springfield where they use a robot to do the surgery. He said that the robot can maneuver around the scar tissue. There is still a chance that I will have to have an incision but less of a chance that if I had my gyn do it here. So keep me in your prayers this week.
Life has been pretty busy lately. I've been pulling extra weeks at the Clothes Closet. I've worked 5 of the last 8 days it's been open. I'm not complaining because I absolutely love being there. But that means that I'm falling farther behind with work at the genealogy library. I know that both of these places are strictly volunteer positions and I am not "expected or required" to be there any certain days and/or times. I do enjoy both places and I can see the fruits of my labor in both places. To choose one over the other would be really hard. I don't feel so overwhelmed at the Closet, though. If I don't get something done, there is someone else who can do it. Not so easy to do at the library.
The last three days have been given to church activities. Each year the women of the church have a yard sale to raise funds for Share Your Christmas. The yard sale was Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was up by 6 each morning and at the church by 7. I didn't get home until 7 or later each evening. This is the first year we've held the sale at the church. We've always had it at the preacher's house. But this year we were also hosting an outdoorsmen swap meet planned by Larry Dablemont so we decided to hold the sale in our gymnasium. How wonderful it was to just be able to lock the doors Thurs. & Fri. nights and not have to worry about getting everything back inside and/or covered for the night. God blessed us with $1845.00 profit. We are giving our youth group $600 and the children's program $100.
The swap meet was wonderful! People from all over came. I talked with people from Kansas and Nebraska. I sold meal tickets and really enjoyed visiting with the people as they went through the food line. I just forgot to ask most of them where they were from! There were over 40 vendors there to sell hunting and fishing items as well as produce, art, furs...so many different things. Over 400 people enjoyed the fish fry. Again, God blessed this activity with over $2200 to be used for repairs/improvements at the church. From the talk I heard throughout the afternoon, this will probably become a yearly event.
I have an appointment with a surgeon in Springfield on Wednesday. I am going to have a hysterectomy and will know when that will happen when I visit with the surgeon. I thought I would have it done at CMH but my gynecologist says that since I have had abdominal surgery (colon surgery) there is a greater chance that I will have to have an incision rather than "using the camera". So he is sending me to Springfield where they use a robot to do the surgery. He said that the robot can maneuver around the scar tissue. There is still a chance that I will have to have an incision but less of a chance that if I had my gyn do it here. So keep me in your prayers this week.
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