To all those getting ready....

I think its important for our members to know pre-op expectations and post-op expectations too. Reading in all the forums is suggested since this is major surgery and outcomes do vary. (Sounds like the disclaimer on a package of hair dye! )

A couple of years ago we had a member who posted that because she only visited pre-op forum, she wasn't prepared for the difficult but typical stuff of her post-op hospital experience.

Suggesting pre-ops/LIW should read the "good stories" is missing our point. The forum of princess stories is a great idea. It lists them all, the easy and the not so easy...Great stories from many members.

Hyster Sisters is full of good stories and not so good. We are a balanced website that provides support for those who are having a hard time (thus the need for support) as well as the encouragement that most of our members recover from their surgery without much fanfare and *go back to their normal lives* once again.

Most of our members do well after the initial icky 6 weeks of recovery and go on back to their lives. That's the best part of having this site: watching the members come through and get what they need during these tender weeks, get better and move on back to their lives with better health.

"Support" by the nature of its use generally means that help is needed which is why hystersisters.com is online.

An analogy: Let's assume you have having a hard time with your car. Its kinda old but not ready for the junk yard. It still has many miles left on it. You take it to the mechanic to have it fixed regularly. And on occasion you get tired of the constant need for repairs.

Let's say your friend has a car with the same make and model and year as your car has little to no problems whatsoever. Your friend isn't being supportive by telling you that your car is going to be okay because *their* car is doing fine. /analogy

Support means sharing the good and the not so good equally. Not covering up the good. Not covering up the bad.

Support means sharing in the triumphants and offering shoulders to share the icky stuff too.

It's why hystersisters is here and has been here for 6+ years.

....And why the suggestion to read the other forums, the good stories as well as the bad, is a good idea. Be prepared and well armed with all the possibilities.

I am SO SORRY if my post yesterday offended anyone. That was NOT my intention at all. My intention was to give a very positive story. To let women getting ready to go through it that some surgeries go just fine. I wanted to be a "cheer-leader" of sorts.

I got a lot of comments about my saying it was the "best thing I have ever done"....I should have said it was "ONE of the best things I have ever done" My husband and children, of course, coming first.

I had years of Cervical Cancer, PCOS, Bleeding 24/7, five D&C's and finally Cancer in my Uterus. I struggled with fertility for years. Lost a baby at almost four and a half months along and two more after that. So for ME this WAS and IS a wonderful thing.

I am so sorry for those who don't have a positive experiance. I ache for you, reading some stories. I just wanted to balance things out. I really thought women would get relief and hope from my post. Not grief. I am sorry if I upset or hurt anyone.

As for the comment about possibly having pain on down the road and it being too early to say I feel great....I might have complications. I hope not. I hope things go smoothly. I just posted how I feel NOW.

I just wanted to say my piece. Again, I am sorry.

I know how you feel Jennifer. I really feel like I was being told positive feelings are not allowed because they'll make people feel bad, or mislead them.

Sort of like being told you shouldn't feel good today, because you might feel bad tomorrow. Or at least you shouldn't talk about it.

It's a shame.

Holly

jennifer......you popped on and posted just when i NEEDED to see your WORDS....>>you made me feel so MUCH better. i LOVE cheer leaders. PLEASE don't sign off. your experience MUST be important. selfish me, i felt like you were talking to me!
maria