Hysterectomy dates Feb 18-Feb 25,2008

HI Irish Blue Eyes,
If I understand you right, you read the article that was posted as a link yesterday (day before?) in the Northjersey.com sit? That was dated a few days ago, so if you mean you're afraid your emailing one of those women (Leslie or Lindy) might be inappropriate if their husband is still being treated or has passed or is fine, I think a carefully worded email would be perfectly fine.

If these women see enough importance in sharing their experiences in a newspaper, then I'm sure they are strong enough to deal with the emails and mail that surely must be finding them now.

I'm sure being able to help you in some small way will help them too. We always feel better if we can help someone in need, it will probably help their healing as well.

I would love to read your followup of what happens with this as I'm sure many of us can learn from your experiences as well. I cannot imagine the pain you are dealing with losing your husband last year, but I do know grief, it caused my heart attack last April and I'm still dealing with it as the treatments and hospital stays interfered with my grieving as I'm sure your health interfered with grieving your husband and vice versa.

I wish you all the best and am glad you are reaching out to others. Know that we are here for you whenever you need to be around others dealing with the unknown. We are all in this together
Kim

Hi Everyone,

I have not posted since a week after my surgery, but have been reading up on how everyone is doing. I am so glad that most everyone is doing well and for those who are still having pain, I only hope that you will find relief soon.

It has been 4 weeks today since my surgery and I am back at work (lunch time). I have to tell you that I am completely exhausted and having some pain. My office has a flight of stairs that are 18 steps high (done this 11 times up and down already today). Tomorrow I am bringing my laptop and working in a downstairs office. I have had such a great week that I thought coming back would be a breeze, guess I thought wrong. The company I work for has been so wonderful and has paid me for the month that I have been off, so I did not want to press the issue of being out longer. I know they would understand, I guess that I am a gluten for punishment. Well, I am here for about another hour and I am calling it quits. I made sure to let them know that I may not make it the whole day, but would stay as long as I could handle.

I hope my posting finds all of you well in good spirits! God Bless to all!

Sherry

Hi Sherry...what type of surgery did you have? I've been tinking about returng to work, however I have been maintaining weekly conference calls, working on a survey (keying the stats into a spreadsheet) and now have four contacts to make for a conference an association I am VP of is putting together for the fall. My boss is involved in all of this so I am doing some work activities.

I'm afraid to say I'm going back and then regret it. I have an appt next Thursday to talk about half days..and I was thinking maybe I should go back full days..I dunno what to do..

Any advice would be appreciated..

Hi Sherry...what type of surgery did you have? I've been tinking about returng to work, however I have been maintaining weekly conference calls, working on a survey (keying the stats into a spreadsheet) and now have four contacts to make for a conference an association I am VP of is putting together for the fall. My boss is involved in all of this so I am doing some work activities.

I'm afraid to say I'm going back and then regret it. I have an appt next Thursday to talk about half days..and I was thinking maybe I should go back full days..I dunno what to do..

Any advice would be appreciated..

sherry, glad to read your post. hope things get easier as each day goes by. make sure to rest as often as you can. that is wonderful to have such a supportive company to work for.

everyone-i just wanted to let you all know that i am doing a little better today than yesterday. i hope that i will continue to feel better the next few days. i haven't done anything today except get up to go to the bathroom. i am resting because i really want to go to church on Easter. I still have a little bit of pain but not as much as yesterday. anyway, just wanted to tell everyone that i am doing okay and resting. hope you all have a wonderful evening.
blessings

Jett - I'll be thinking of you as you go through your radiation treatments. I have really good vibes and feel you'll be a-ok once your treatments are done.

Ft Lauderdale - congratulations on being a survivor ! Tears of joy welled into my eyes when I read the good news

Irish Blue Eyes - I wish I had some wonderful words of wisdom to help you in your grief or your recovery. Please know that I'll be thinking about you during this difficult time.

Mew - please post back on what the doctor has to say. I lifted my 12 lb dog last week for a few seconds "by accident". I don't think I hurt anything and didn't have any pain, so I'm concerned for you.

My week has been busy. I drove on Monday and went on a quick run to the bank and the post office, then went shopping for a small handbag. I was gone two hours and completely wiped out after that. On Tuesday I had a dental appt (I broke a tooth last week, and need a crown). Wednesday was my husbands birthday (Bless his heart, he wanted pizza delivered for his special meal !).

Today I had my post op appt. I'm healing well according to the doc. He wants me to keep taking it easy since my surgery was a difficult one. I should be back at work in two weeks time (desk job).

I asked when I could expect my swelly belly to go down .... to which he said "what swelling ????". Turns out I gained 7 pounds since surgery (and my uterus weighed nearly a pound, so techically I've gained 8 lbs !!!). He said the swelly belly is due to "lax muscles and weight gain" . He doesn't want me exercising for awhile (except for walking) so I guess I need to get used to my newfound look for awhile.

I do find that my energy level is increasing daily (meaning I can stay awake for 6 hours at a time LOL). I definitely hear you guys on the trouble sleeping / staying asleep. My sleep schedule is a complete mess - I sleep on and off both day and night. Today I've been awake for 10 straight hours so far and I know I could fall asleep sitting right here typing if I let myself, but I really want to try and get into a better sleep routine so I'm going to force myself to stay awake until a decent bedtime hour.

I hope those of you that are back at work or are going back soon have an easy transition. And I wish all of you peace in your hearts and minds and wellness and healing in your body.

I wish you all a Happy Easter. I expect to go to the childrens egg hunt Saturday and church and dinner for Easter with family. This is the perfect season for us to celebrate our new life -

I have moved back to my office (upstairs at home) today and I am exhausted after working all day -

Jett - we all are your supporters and I pray for you and your journey to recovery.

The Spring Breakers left today - and I am tired trying to be a hostess, but boys are pretty easy.

It seems we are all moving forward today!

A blessed Easter to all.

Hi Kim, Thank you so much for you message. I have decided to write to lesley and trust my Higher Power will guide my words. I so understand what you say about outside issues getting in the way of your grief. My step daughter and stepson have not been here since the funeral. (4th July 2007). The daughter has been quite agressive via email regarding money er dad left her. My lawyer has written both of them to advise the estate is still in proccess. We now have a close date of 23rd April. That makes me sad in a way, because it is another ending. My own children have also stepped back. I must confess, I do not understand any of it. I thought families stuck together in time of need. The ripple effect of that is that I have realised that I have had to do the grieving and my surgery without them---thank God I have some really good friends. I will let you know how I get on after the email. My breavement psychologist did a home visit with me today and she felt I was very flat. We both agree that it is difficult to decide how much of it is post op and how much is toxic family problems and where my grief for my husband is in all of that.
All I can do is keep on keeping on and try to get stronger every day. I was sharing with a dear friend on the phone earlier, and I was telling her I felt REALLY OLD. I have no interest in myself or how I look etc., but that was in the mix before surgery. Everything feels more magnified now.
I love this site and when I get messages, I find myself wishing you all lived next door.
I am sending you long armed hugs from my house to your house.
Love and prayers,
sheila

Sheila - I know it doesn't take away the pain but it may help some to know that the feelings and circumstances you have expressed aren't uncommon during times of grief and physical recovery. Although we need our families more than ever while we're grieving, it often doesn't turn out that way. Each of your family members is dealing with their own personal griref in their own way and sometimes they don't have the capacity to comfort or even be considerate of others...even their Mom (or Step-Mom) who desperately needs them! I'm glad you are in grief counseling. I pray you will be surrounded by friends and loved ones who will be understanding, patient and comforting. More than anything I urge you to cry out to your Heavenly Father. I believe He is the only one who can truly understand all that you are dealing with and only He can give you the emotional and physical strength to survive this difficult time. He loves you so much!! I say all of this based on my own experiences with grief and family members.

Mew - I'm glad you're feeling better today. Keep resting. I think it's harder to resist those natural urges to do things now that we're starting to feel more like ourselves. By the way, I live in Edmond and work in OKC. I would love to meet you when you come through Oklahoma.

Ladies - I had planned to work some this week but ended up not feeling up to it. I can tell I'm getting my energy back and even feel like myself sometimes but then it seems to go away in an instant. I had company for a few days and my kids & husband are home all day (Spring Break) so I'm up and about much more during the day this week. Plus my kids' friends have been around a lot. Although I am anxious to return to work I am thankful that I got to spend time with my DH and kids. I think I'll be able to work some half days next week since there won't be so much going on at home. I'll let you all know how that goes.

I feel like I'm having more pain this week than the past couple of weeks. I think it's because I'm more active and not taking pain meds as much.

Have a great evening everyone!

I am having the same problems. I am having really bad headaches, difficulty sleeping at night and severe leg pain. I drove today for the first time since my surgery 2/19/2008. My husband drove me to Mobile Alabama forty miles to get my hair done and forty miles back to Pensacola Florida. I am very tired and think I may have overdone it.