Slicing and Dicing!

You are now reading the words from a non-uterus owner!  Yes, you read that right.  I no longer have a uterus.  I had a total laproscopic hysterectomy and partial left salpingo-oophorectomy.  I'm not going to tell you what the latter part means.  Go google it.  I just love the way it sounds when said.

I'm into day 5 of recovery.  I find it very frustrating trying to balance taking medication for pain so that one does not feel nauseated, dizzy and overall blah.  I am on my second kind of pain med since the first made me feel so ill, even with an anti-nausea medication.  Yesterday I was bedridden since I had vertigo much of the day.  I was so disappointed I was not able to enjoy the almond milk iced mocha I purchased earlier in the day.  It now sits in the refrigerator awaiting my consumption of it...24h+ after it was made.  Yesterday I made my first journey away from the hotel.  My mom flew in last week to care for me during recovery.  Which I greatly appreciate.  Mommies are pretty darn awesome.

She took me to a craft store so that I could get coloring books and pencils so that I had some form of entertainment other than watching TV.  We finished a puzzle together a few days ago.  I am quite limited in my physical activities.  Walking around the craft store zonked me out.  Especially since I was trying to avoid the vertigo threatening to take over.

While I was in the hospital recovering over night.  I organized my mom's 65th birthday celebration.  I had some friends pick her up and take her to a restaurant.  I wrapped her presents the weekend before and dropped them off with that friend.  A bunch of my other friends that met them at the restaurant and they celebrated in style.  I am glad I was able to do at least this small thing for my mom considering all the time and effort she is putting into helping me recover.

Things I have learned regarding hysterectomies:

• The ability to poop is a Godsend once you're able to do it.
• Apparently the uterus is attached to back muscles. Therefore, its removal causes back pain.
• Having stitches in your bellybutton is amusing to me....
• Pain medication side effects are almost as bad as not taking pain medication.
• I have respect for the nursing profession, but do not appreciate nurses that lack common sense or lack the ability to think independently.
• Burning off fibroids throughout your internal organs results in lots of bruising...of all different colors.
• Post-op feels like you did the hardest ab workout of your life.
• Recovery almost feels like having a period again: your vag spews blood and your internal organs are not happy and cramp up.  But at least this is it.  NO MORE menstruation!

But seriously, the trying to poop part is the most frustrating.  The doctor advises that you should not push since that would hurt your newly abused insides.  Well, being on pain pills makes you constipated.  I have never sat on the toilet that long in my life.  Goddamned deer turd poops just sitting there in your bowels waiting to come out, too far along to go back in, but not enough moisture or oomph to shove them the rest of the way out.  Ugh.  My newly abused insides hurt after that one.  The next time, I came prepared and brought a movie on a Kindle.  Still horribly uncomfortable.  Butt cheeks going numb from the pressure, hahaha! Here's to hoping it goes better this time.

Multiple friends have come over to visit me.  Last night a friend and her husband came over.  He fixed the dvd player and she and I colored in our coloring books.  It was great.  Another friend brought her dog over so that I could see and pet him since I was in dog withdrawals.  Another came over and dropped off her Kindle so that I could read books on a bigger screen and watch movies. (I watched Furious Seven on it last night. :-P).  A bunch of coworkers have brought dinners over in the evenings, too.  I am so thankful for having such a great and supportive group of friends and coworkers.  Words cannot truly describe my thanks to all of them for their support while I recover.

I signed up for the Zion Half Marathon in March 2016.  I am so grateful for my Team RWB brethren.  I mentioned wanting to do this event and enough people said they would do it that we now have an official team for the event and I their captain.  How exciting!

I realized that I did not mention the Soda Fire much on my previous post.  Much of it occurred in Owyhee County and devastated a massive region of rugged beauty.  An area I hold very dear to myself in an almost spiritual level.  So to helplessly watch it burn broke my heart.  I know the logical part of me knows that fires are a natural occurrence in nature and that they are merely a part of the live and rebirth cycle in nature.  But it still does not help watching it burn.  The sky was lit up at night by the fires only 20mi away (thank you to the Snake River for being a natural fire block to us more north).

A wildland firefighter caught a video of a fire tornado out on scene fighting the Soda Fire: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150819-fire-tornado-video-idaho-wild-fires-soda-fire/

~280,000+ acres, or ~440 sq mi burned in the Soda fire.  Here is a follow up video by  a local news agency about the efforts that will be taken to try to "rehab" the land: http://www.ktvb.com/story/news/local/2015/08/26/feds-soda-fire-rehab/32432551/

I will never forget the impact of this photo.  It was taken the day the Soda Fire started.  In fact, that is the very same storm in the background of the photo.  I remember having to rush the photo since the radio was blaring at me to get the Eff off the mountain due to a severe storm coming my way.  Luckily, I made it into Rocky Canyon when the storm hit, so I was barely molested by rain, much less the 50+mph winds.  Nonetheless, here it is, the Soda Fire storm caught in all its glory in my currently fav photo of my baby and toys.

But in summary...on day 9 of my recovery, since it has taken me almost a week to write this post, I am still sore (less so) and tire frequently.  I get frustrated at my lack of doing normal every day activities.  And I stress about not exercising and eating and thus gaining weight and losing all the work I have done to myself for months.  Yeah.  A little depressed and stressed about that part- getting fat.  Fuck you fat.

My mom has been wonderful.  Her reminders of my limitations are annoying, but I know I need to hear them and that she is right.  I need to take it easy.  Doing nothing now will help ensure I can do more sooner than later.  My mom is awesome.  I appreciate her so much and am thankful for all she has done to help me out these past ten days.  As I write this now, she is diligently croching an additional onto an afghan she made me as a high school graduation present...almost 15 years ago. :-)