Wow-the summer is almost gone I dread the thought of the winter coming (I hate cold and snow). My nephew's baseball team lost in the state championship series. He was fine with it. At least we didn't have to travel 60 miles each way any longer. July 31st was our trip to Disney World for 10 days. I surprised myself. I was able to do all the rides I wanted and walked without any discomfort, etc. I actually forgot I had surgery and didn't even think about it. I was happy to get back home (but not back to work). Last night I got my nephew's fall ball schedule. My weekends are now full until the first week of November. He plays every Sat. and Sun. until then. At least we had 3 weeks of no baseball . The farthest we have to travel will be about 25 miles, so that isn't too bad. Dad is doing well. He survived Disney. For the first few days he walked the parks but by day 5 he rented a motorized scooter to get around. It was easier for him and this way he wasn't so tired at the end of the day. He went on many of the rides and rode his 3 favorites multiple times (Test Track, Soarin' and Splash Mountain). He continues with his golf league which will finish the 2nd week of October and they have a banquet after their final day (tournament day). Wednesday was my 6 month hysterversary. I really feel as if I am finally getting back to better than normal. I had to go to my pcp Monday for a BP check. I gave him copies of all my tests and pathology report. He asked how things went and how I was doing. I told him everyone lied. "6-8 week recovery my " He laughed at me. He said it takes a while for a full recovery. DUH!!!!!!! Guess I had better finish reading other messages. Need to get to bed early. Have an early baseball game tomorrow. So much for sleeping in.

Wow!!!! I just noticed I haven't written anything in a while. It's not like I have been home all that much . Work has been so busy. I finally caught up the 2 months worth of work on my desk. I have tried to be real careful at work. This is really the first week I have worked with patients. I am tired and sore by the end of the day. In addition, I am still trying to keep up with my work and playing supervisor while one of the managers is on vacation. My brother-in -law's birthday is July 4th so my sister always has a big picnic and of course we have fireworks to end the evening. My nephews made their all-star teams and continued to play baseball. Drew (11 y.o. Little League All Star) finally finished 2 weeks ago. His team didn't do well but won 2 games (2 more than last year). David (13 y.o. Babe Ruth All Star) started his tournament play last Tuesday. They are now the District Champions and are going for the state championship title starting tomorrow. The only thing is the tournament is being held about 40 miles from where we live. I guess I better plan on extra money for gas. Then 2 weeks from today we leave for Disney World . It's a family trip with 12 of us going. I hope I do ok. I am worried about the ride bars going across my belly area. It is still sore to the touch and numb. I will just and bear it I guess. I will be asking a family member to carry my suitcase though. I am still being very careful about lifting. I still do not lift or push patients. Time to relax a little and then prepare myself for tomorrow. Also need to look up directions to the baseball field. I know that the season is almost over but then before I know it they will be playing fall baseball. Yeah!

Wow. I can't believe it's been a few weeks since I wrote anything here. I don't know where the days are going? My dad is doing well. He decided to go to the eye doctor after 15 years or so. He does have tunnel vision in one eye which he had taken care of with laser surgery this week. He does have cataracts which he will have done in the fall. He is too busy right now with his golf league and our big vacation coming up next month. At least it's nothing that has to be taken care of right away. I am finally feeling like my body is getting back to normal. I still have some discomfort but it is not as often as it was and the twinges are getting less . I just wished I would get my energy level back. It has been such a busy week here. We had baseball games everyday for the last 2 weeks.My youngest nephew is done with his regular Little League season but he has made the 11 y.o. All-Star team. So they should start within the next 2 weeks. My oldest nephew starts regular playoffs. Then they will pick the All-Star team for 13 y.o Babe Ruth All-Stars (senior league). Friday night went to see Billy Joel in concert. Never miss a performance when he comes here. My brother-in-law got the tickets (actually called me in the hospital the day after my surgery to see if I wanted to go).8 of us went (sister, brother-in-law, nephews, their 13 y.o. cousin {was his 1st concert} and 2 neighbors). We rented a limo for the night. We had a blast . If it was up to the boys, they could have spent the whole evening just riding around in the limo . The concert was great, as always. Finally got home at 1 am. I was totally exhausted yesterday. I guess I am just getting too old for this But wouldn't have missed it for the world. Had to make multiple items for the weekend. I had to make an appetizer to bring to a birthday party yesterday afternoon and 2 jello molds for a Father's Day picnic today at my sister's in-laws house. Had an appointment yesterday in between everything and then was invited for cake to a friend's house last night. I need a few more days off to recover. Do you think we can extend the weekend longer this week??????? Well, have a few things to do before leaving for the picnic. I am not looking forward to it. My sister's father-in-law and brothers-in-law are Maybe if I have a glass of wine********

I just had to write something. Today was one of the best days I have had since surgery. I guess I am finally on the road to recovery. I didn't have any discomfort and the swelly belly is minimal if any. My dad went for his post op check today. They took out the catheter. He was relieved. He missed alot this holiday weekend not being able to go out. The best news of all is that the 2 lesions they took from his bladder were not cancerous. I want to thank everyone for their prayers. THEY REALLY HELPED!!!! I am so happy for him. Of course, he will have to have his bladder scoped every 3 months for the next year and then probably every 6 months after that. He is fine with that. As I said to him, if they do that and anything should come up, at least it will be found early. Hope everyone is doing well and recovering from the holiday weekend.

Thanks to everyone's wishes for my dad and his problems. He is doing much better today. I can't wait until tomorrow. Hopefully his catheter will come out and everything will be back to normal whatever that is . I made it our local parade this morning. I feel it is so important to show our support to our troops both living and deceased. My brother-in-law retired 2 years ago. He was in the army for 20 years and served his country well. We often talk about when he was overseas 2001-2002. My nephews were 5 and 6 at the time and really missed their dad. We will never forget how sad it was he wasn't here for their birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of the hardest things was not knowing if he was being sent from his peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan (he was getting ready to go overseas when 9/11 occurred and wasn't sure if their orders would change). The boys marched this morning with their middle school band. Tonight the youngest has a little league game. Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend.

I'm so happy I have 3 days off. My co-workers were giving me a hard time when I said I needed this. They were like " Are you kidding? You just had 8 weeks off" They have no clue what this surgery does to you. I have noticed things seem to be getting better each day. The discomfort is less but still have within a few hours. I do wear my jeans but put on my stretchy pants after a few hours. At least during the week I am in my scrubs for 8 -10 hours so it is more comfortable. My dad had his surgery on Tuesday and is doing ok. We don't know the results yet but his doctor sounded optomistic. He still has the catheter in and is frustrated because he can't get used to the leg bag. So he is staying home so he can keep the regular bag attached. I have to try to work out something for him so he can enjoy this weekend. I feel bad for him but he is driving me crazy with some of his questions. I am not a doctor. I don't know what to do. For example, they had taken the catheter out on Thursday morning. When I got home at 4:30 he told me he hadn't urinated since noon. I asked if he had called the doctor and of course he didn't. I told him to call and of course the office was closed. The doctor on call spoke with him and told him he needed to go to the ER. What a nightmare that was. They made him wait 2 1/2 hours in the waiting room. His bladder could have ruptured or he could have had a leak in the bladder wall. All he did was complain. I wanted to say we wouldn't be in this predicament if you had called the doctor after a few hours of not urinating. So of course he called yesterday and they didn't get back to him until late in the day. They wouldn't take the catheter out now because it is a holiday weekend so he has to keep it in until Tuesday morning. Now he just called me because he is wondering if he has blood in the urine again. I don't think it is. I think it is discoloration from his medications. Now I am going to look up some information on Flomax and see if it discolors the urine. He would have freaked if he saw what my urine looked like when they prescribed Pyridium for me because of the bladder spams. I loved the orange-red color. The weather is finally warming up here and it is supposed to be in the upper 70's and low 80's the next couple of days. My youngest nephew has a game Monday evening. They always play Memorial Day. I had better wrap this up so I can do more searches on the computer for him.

I am slowly catching up on my work. Maybe another 3 weeks and I should be set. I probably could have been caught up if I didn't have to travel to 2 of our offices for FDA inspections. It is so time consuming and of course they never thought about trying to delay them so I could get things ready as I normally do. I think they are intentionally driving me 's.It was so hectic. Little League game on Monday, school concerts Tuesday & Wednesday nights and yesterday was my dad's 75th birthday. Of course, everything was left up to me. So we went out to dinner and had everyone back for cake after. Finally got to bed after 11. Then had to drive 40 minutes to one of our offices, did a test, waited 1 1/2 hours for the inspector to show up and then she did the 5 minute test we couldn't do last week. Then I had to drive 40 minutes back to my office. In a way I am so happy it is raining tonight so I could stay home and get caught up with some things. I am planning on relaxing this weekend. Only 2 games tomorrow and I am free. What has me excited is the last 3 days have been great. I have noticed less discomfort when urinating (maybe the bladder spasms are finally subsiding). The swelling seems to be less at the end of the day also. Maybe I have finally turned the corner. I hope so. Now I just pray that everything goes well for my dad on Tuesday and his bladder cancer has been caught in time.

Today has been a depressing day. It has been raining all day and I thought the day would never end. I made it through 2 FDA inspections the last 2 days. We have new inspectors and boy do I miss the ones we used to have. They are young and have very little tech experience and now they are working as inspectors and questioning us veteran techs about some of the documentation We have all done this since day 1 and it has never been an issue before. That topped off my week. Here I feel I am finally on the road to recovery and my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer on Wednesday. He is going for surgery to remove the tumors on May 20. He is more concerned about me because he knows I am still not fully recovered. As I told him we will manage. Things always have a way of working out. I have decided I am going to take it easy this weekend. Only one baseball game at 10 on Saturday, so it should be a quiet weekend. I really need this time alone to deal with everything.

I finished my second week of work and still can't see the bottom of my desk. I couldn't believe they actually had me scheduled to work out on the floor with patients when I still can't lift. I asked for help and WOW!! they actually gave me some. I am so tired of answering to the same question 100 times a day: "How are you feeling?" You really want to know After work it is up to the baseball field for one or two games. There have been days when both the boys are playing at the same time at different ends of the complex. The thing is I have to wear my winter coat and wrap my legs in a blanket because it is so cold up there. You wouldn't think it was the beginning of May. I hope it warms up soon. I don't know how they can play in this weather. Yesterday it was drizzling and they still played. I don't know whose crazier, the coaches or us for sitting there watching them. The only good thing is they have a great concession stand!!!! LOL Of course the boys hit me up for after the games. That's what aunts are!!! Time to make Sunday dinner and relax. I am hoping to get caught up on at least some of my work this week. But I am going to enjoy the rest of my day now.

I made it through my first week of work. I do regret I didn't ask my doctor if I could go back part time for the first 2 weeks. My desk looked like a disaster area It took me one full day just organize the piles. I do appreciate the things the girls were able to do while I was gone, but there are so many things I have to fix. I gave them a typed list of what to do, how to do it and how to document it and they still did some things wrong I have to check and fix everything before next week due to the fact they scheduled 3 FDA inspections for our mammography department and 2 offices. I have to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. Just something else to add to my stress of coming back and catching up on 2 months of work. My boss wants to know how long before I get some statistics to her and the medical office administration staff is looking for their statistics for the next medical staff meeting as well. I admit I was tired all week when I got home, but managed to go to the gym for a while. It was actually relaxing doing the treadmill and bike for an hour. A few more weeks and I can start the Nautilaus training. I just don't feel as if I can lift a lot yet. I had to lift a few things at work that were about 10 pounds at it bothered me. One night I treated myself to a pedicure. I have decided to think a little more about me and less about everyone else. I am taking it easy this weekend.

I went to the Y this morning for my consultation. I thought they were just going to talk to me and have me sign papers, etc. I didn't know we were going to start right away. The trainer was excellent. We talked and explained what limitations I may have. I actually did a workout this morning-treadmill, arc, ellipitical and bike. I actually feel good. Not as sore as I thought. Maybe I will finally sleep the night through . I haven't been able to do that for months. They told me they keep track of everyone and if I haven't been in 2 or more weeks, they send a postcard reminding you and/or call you. That's what I need. Someone to keep me motivated. I am so excited today. I am meeting some old co-workers for dinner. We haven't seen each other in 5 months and have a lot to catch up on. It will be nice to talk to someone other than my family. Can't wait to see how I do tomorrow. I am trying to set realistic goals for myself.

Wow! I can't believe it has been 8 weeks. Still having twinges and pressure. Only 5 more days of relaxation and back to work. I am not looking forward to that. Made a big decision. I joined our local YMCA today. It has been years since I have joined a gym. I hope I can learn how to use all that equipment. I am looking forward to going for the consultation tomorrow. I know I will have to take it easy at the start. I just hope I am not jumping into this too soon. It seems as if the weight I have lost since surgery has given me a jump start. I noticed my energy level has increased. I guess my 2 pound uterus, with ovaries 4 x the normal size and the fibroid the size of a grapefruit contributed to my tired feelings. Can't wait to see how I do.

I get home now I have to get used to everyone doing everything for me. This is something I am not used to. I was told no cooking, housework, driving, etc. I feel like a helpless prisoner. I look forward to my walk everyday. I can't believe it only took about 3 days to be able to walk to the mailbox (I live in a condo complex and the mailboxes are about a 1/4 mile from my unit). I feel good, very little if any pain. I would have to say more like nagging twinges every so often. I miss my computer since it is on another floor and I can only use the stairs twice a day. Thank god for digital cable. So my days now consist of watching tv, reading magazines and answering questions from people at work (they can't seem to do anything even with the detailed instructions I left) . I think my butt print is permanently embedded in my recliner. I noticed I am not sleeping well. I am not used to sleeping on my back and I can't turn on my sides or stomach. I don't know if I can stand this for 6 weeks. LOL

It's the end of June, 2007. I notice I am having post menopausal bleeding. I call my gynecologist. My first step is to have a transvaginal ultrasound. I am an x-ray tech. They give me the option of having it at my facility. ARE THEY CRAZY? I have to work with these people. So I decide to have it performed at my doctor's office. (My doctor is located in another town, another facility. I want my privacy). Wouldn't you know, the tech that performed my ultrasound used to work for us. The results show I have a fibroid and cysts on both ovaries. The next step she would like to do is an endometrial biopsy. I go to her office for the procedure. I have heard horror stories about the procedure, but it wasn't much worse than the yearly pap test. I finally get the results in a week and she decides to repeat the ultrasound 6 weeks after the first. I go back to the office for the repeat. Nothing has changed. She proceeds to tell me I need a hysterectomy. (DAH! I knew that 2 months ago). She tells me she could do the surgery, but would like me to see another physician who performs hysterectomies using the Da Vinci Robotic System. She thinks I am a candidate for it. The recovery time would be shorter. The physician she sends me to is a gynecological oncologist. HELLO! I know what an oncologist is. She explains there are 2 at the hospital that do it. They will schedule an appointment with one of them. One is female, one male. I get the phone call 1 week later from the gyn-oncologist office. I GET THE MALE PHYSICIAN. I HAVEN'T SEEN A MALE IN YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!! Just great. My first gynecologist was a male and didn't believe anything I told him. So I go on line and check him out before my appointment. I wanted to know who I was dealing with. It was another 3 weeks before my appointment. So now I have been bleeding everyday for 3 1/2 months. Appointment day finally arrives. I make my way to the office. I am nervous. I walk into the office and the minute I signed in with reception, I knew I was in a special place. I was at the office almost 3 hours. They were GREAT! He walked into the room. He was so kind. He took the time to talk with me and get to know me. His examination was so gentle (easier to tolerate than my regular gyn). I couldn't believe it. He tried to repeat the endometrial biopsy, but had a difficult time. He decided to try to shrink the fibroid by using a Lupron Injection. He explained it is a one time injection and lasts 3 months. FYI-one Lupron Injection is approximately $2,000.00. (All I can say is thank god for insurance.) He explained this should also stop the bleeding. It did. After 6 weeks, he sent me for another ultrasound. This time it was done at their hospital. I saw him following the appointment. We would wait another 6 weeks and repeat the ultrasound again. So I made it through the holidays and on Jan. 16th, I had another ultrasound and appointment with him. Not much had changed, so we agreed surgery should be scheduled. We sit down and go over the procedure. I need to sign the operating permit. He explains it will be a total abdominal hysterectomy, oophorectomy, frozen section and cancer staging. OKAY NOW I AM FREAKED. All along they said everything looks benign. So I have to ask as I try to hold back the tears what are the chances of cancer. He tells me less than 20%. I feel somewhat better, but know until the pathologist in the lab looks under the microscope anything is possible. I hate having all this knowledge. They proceed to tell me I need to have a physical exam, etc. I don't have a regular doctor, so they have to find me one. I gave the names of 2 females that my gynecologist had given me when I had seen her earlier in the year. Guess what???? (you should have guessed by now). Neither were available, so I end up with one of the male partners. I can deal with this. LOL I guess it's time I told my family about everything. I know they will be upset that I didn't say anything sooner. Being single and taking care of my 75 year old father and helping my sister's family with babysitting and transportation for her kids, I am the rock of the family. Everyone depends on me. This is going to alter everyone's routines. I also need to tell my employers. They knew it was coming to this, but instead of asking what I need or if there was anything they could do for me, it was "Who's going to do your job while you're gone?" and "You'll only be out about 2 weeks, right?". They were not happy when I told them 6 to 8 weeks. I was devastated. After 28 years, I was hoping for a little caring and concern. This finally put me over the edge. Exit immediately to the bathroom and sob. There was no way they were going to see me in this condition. I guess the past few months and the upcoming surgery finally caught up to me. I realize I am not as strong as I think. Now I had to wait 3 weeks for surgery. I go for my physical and am pleasantly surprised with the doctor. He is very pleasant. It seems as if they were matched perfectly to my personality. I passed with flying colors. Now it's the usual pre-op workup-blood work, Chest x-ray and EKG. It's the weekend before surgery. Let's see what I need to do-CLEAN MY CONDO! So I did and put out all my Easter decor' since I knew I wouldn't be able to do any lifting after my surgery. It's the day before my surgery and I have to be on a liquid diet and take a bowel prep. They wouldn't let me have the day off, so I did what I could. As a matter of fact my doctor's office needed to find me. They were appalled that I was working. I got through the day and headed home. At 4 pm I had to take the Fleet Phospho-Soda. I THINK THIS WAS THE WORST PART OF THE ENTIRE JOURNEY SO FAR. It took me over 2 hours to get it down. I even mixed it with ice tea mix. IT DIDN"T HELP!!!!! Since I couldn't take a chance of going anywhere, I decided to wash all my floors again that night and make sure the bathrooms were clean. I thought I wouldn't sleep that night, but it was one of the best nights I had in a long time. It's Feb. 20th. Finally, the day has arrived. My surgery is scheduled for 1 pm and I need to arrive at 11 am. My father brings me to the hospital. I could tell he wasn't handling this well, so I told him to go home. Since the surgery was 4-5 hours, there was no point in him waiting. He wouldn't get a chance to see me. They take me into the ambulatory surgery area. I get changed and relax. The nurses were great. They checked on me and kept me informed. Unfortunately, the patient before me took longer than expected. Finally, at 2 pm the orderly takes me to the preop area. The staff was aawesome. They had music playing and they were dancing at the desk. My nurse was wonderful. She came over multiple times to see if there was anything I needed. She apologized for the moaning and groaning from the post op area. I explained I was an x-ray tech and understood. She was so relieved. I am sure they get complaints from other patients. My doctor comes over and apologizes for the wait. He took my hands in his and asked if I was ready. I've been ready. He just laughed as I told him about cleaning my condo and decorating. He explained they were setting up the room and it would still be a little longer. The next person to see me was the anesthesiologist. He was funny. I freaked him out when I asked if I could have a spinal so I could stay awake and watch. I explained I was an x-ray tech and that equipment fascinates me. He offered to video tape it for me but it would be boring to watch at home. LOL Soon the nurse anesthetist and head surgical nurse assigned to me came and introduced themselves. Finally it was time to enter the room. I moved onto the OR table and my doctor showed me the robot. It was really cool!!!! I tell them I wish I could see it in action. I talked with the scrub nurse. They were all joking around about getting ready. I told her a Dr. I once worked with said they can't do anything without assisstance from nurses, x-ray, etc. She asked if everyone else in the room heard that. They all laughed. And that's the last I remember.I am brought to my room. It is now 11 pm. The first thing I want to do is call my dad. We talk briefly. Time to rest. Wish I could. My roommate is constantly paging a nurse. I wake up and feel great. My catheter is removed and I am up and running (okay walking slowly). The day goes well. My roommate is discharged. Time for rest. I get a new roommate at midnight. We wake up to a snowstorm. It was nice to watch the snow through the window and not having to be out driving in it. My roommate is discharged already. I notice some back discomfort and mention it to my doctor when he comes in that evening. It's probably a urinary tract infection. He orders a CT Scan to be sure there is no damage from the stents inserted into the ureters during the surgery. No big deal. CT is done. The resident on call comes in and says everything is fine. They would like to do a clean catch urinalysis to make sure. They start me on antibiotics. I hope to get some sleep tonight. I get another new roommate at 11 pm. Another doozy I might add. I wish I had asked for a private room. (if you haven't guessed by now, I have a high pain tolerance and only ask for assistance when absolutely necessary). It is now 3 days after surgery and I am supposed to go home. I am feeling even worse than the day before. My roommate doesn't want any outside light in the room or the TV on. She made sure it was well known that my TV was bothering her. My TV was the only thing keeping my mind off my discomfort. My doctor comes in and notices I am not doing well. He decides to keep me another day. It was a tough day for me. The nurses and doctors kept asking if I was passing gas or had a BM (hello, I haven't had anything but jello for 5 days now). I was very discouraged. The first day I felt so good and it seems as if I am going backwards. Th only good thing is my roommate is discharged. By that night I had a renal colic attack. I can only explain it as if someone plunged a knife in your back was twisting it. I have to say the nurses were great. They tried everything to make me comfortable and ease my pain. Finally the last urinalysis results were ready. I did have a urinary tract infection. The antibiotic they were giving me was not compatible to the bacteria I had. They changed the antibiotic and within a couple of hours I felt better. I had a really good day. My doctor came in and told me I would go home the next day. He wanted to make sure I didn't have another attack. I have no roommate now. I finally get a good nights rest. I go home.