sharing my surprise findings........

i work in a large nonprofit / human service organization w/ many offices and the state contracts w/ us to provide services.
since my surgery was scheduled i have been running into friends / co-workers and acquaintences - women - alot, who
feel comfortable disclosing that they had a hysterectomy
years before. some are in their 40's and some up to 60yrs, which you would never guess their age.
they all have told me that it is the best thing they ever did for themselves. they all say how much better they feel because they had their surgery.
i am both surprised and fascinated that i never knew this about some of the women, who i have known for at least 13 years.
when i went to work for human services from private sector i was a little shocked by staffs openess to disclose really personal stuff.
and our group are talkers, big time. i got used to it and found it refreshing.
of all the stuff i knew about...others hysterectomys or the mention of the word 'hysterectomy' was not one of them. everything else under the sun, i knew about.
still a taboo subject it seems. maybe when they see how happy i am about the surgey, they feel at ease. my male co-workers are a little more uncomfortable or squeemish about it.
i got such a good laugh yesterday when one of my male co-workers started to say......"oh yeah, your going under the..ugh..to the hospital next week." his face turned red and i started to laugh, a real belly laugh and asked, "were you going to say "under the knife?"
he said "yes" looking embarassed and i told him "yep and so happy to be going." then i made a joke about "just having to wait for my doctor to graduate medical school and set up practice." he seemed more at ease then. poor guy.
i just love the people i work with. they and my family have ridden such a long rollercoaster with me. they deserve some relief too.
i wanted to share this w/ you all and i've mentioned this site to several other women too. thank you. m

Thanks for sharing this. It sounds like you've got a supportive group of co-workers.

Best wishes to you!

i am so blessed that my workmates are who they are
especially my supervisor!
she was a counselor like me, when i started and helped train me in. i swear she has been like an angel, in human form. no other reason that i should still have my career, except for her. she risked so much to help me.
a new director came in last summer and though it was someone i knew for a long long time, they were concerned that i couldn't do my job as was expected.
my supervisor gave me a chance to defend myself and finally go on fml, so that i could try to find an answer to my health problems.
and she was the one that kept telling me, for years, that my problems were female related.
i will always be grateful that i was given a little more time because of this very special person....who had a lavh 1 yr ago and years of endometriosis.
the closer the day of surgery gets, more jokes are flying around about what to do in celebration. someone even said that they should all send a male stripper to my hospital room!!! they are so funny!!!

I work in an IT department and all the people I work closely with are men in their 20's. I've talked openly about my hysterectomy and they all are very supportive. One guy got a little squeamish last year when I had to explain what a D&C was . But one guy watched his mother go through the whole process of fibroids and the eventual hysterectomy. He and I talk a lot about the whole thing and he even offered to donate blood if I needed it. Oddly enough, he is more nervous than I am I think they are all very releaved that I'm keeping my ovaries so they won't have to worry about me going through menopause.....yet

LOL so hard!!!! so true!!! m

Thanks for sharing. I too am getting ready to "go under the knife" here on Wed 4/13 for a SAH. Here lately I feel like a roller coaster, one day I am okay and strong adn the next I am crying most of the day wondering if I am going to be okay, will I die, will I have complications, will they find something crazy we didn't think about?? I told me hubby I am trying to be strong, I am 45 with a 6 & 7 year old, crazy I know, but I want to be around for them and I have never had any major surgery before so it is a little scary at times.

It sounds like you have a good attitude and I sooo enjoy reading these "words of wisdom" from my "sisters"

Thanks in advance, you never know how much these stories and advice help.

Lisa

i.m trying stay calm and have the same fears. and then someone does or says something funny. i love to laugh!!!
if i was still in the same boat, w/ no options or in a vast unknown, i would be in 'that' fog.
i feel calmer about everything ahead, but i think my reality checks are a good thing. maybe this is the road to feeling alive!!!

my pre-op is the same day as your big day!!! i am really looking forward to your voice of experience.