Pre-Op visits complete

Yesterday was the lovely day known as pre-op visits with my doctor and the hospital where my surgery will be performed. I was expecting a ton of paperwork and having to sign my name a million times. Honestly it wasn't that bad. I had a few papers and consent forms I had to sign but nothing that was over the top. My hand wasn't clawed or hurting after I was finished from writing so much. Most of my time at these places was spent waiting for the people I needed to talk to to become available. I need to remember next time to bring my e-reader with me so I can read while I'm waiting. Everything is a green light for surgery on Friday and the time is almost here.

The recovery period was raised by my doctor. She originally told me 5 days but with the size of the mass she has lengthened that time to 2 weeks. It does not have to be a "bed rest" 2 weeks at all though. Just taking it easy No lifting, no pushing, no pulling, no carrying, no working etc. Luckily my roommate has agreed to step up and take care of the housework for me and do the cooking. The yard work will be done if needed by the hubby. Once my two weeks is over and I'm feeling up to it I can resume my life as normal. The first thing on that agenda is getting a job.

Surgery is not cheap, nor is it free as many people know from first hand experience. Now my surgery is not nearly as finance draining as some, but it still was a financial burden that we were not prepared for or expecting to have to cover this year. Juggling the monies around we made the magic happen but now it's time for me to step up and go back to work so we don't spend the rest of our lives in debt to my doctor and the hospital. The faster bills get paid off the better for us and the quicker we can start saving money for things that we might actually want to do in the future (like a family vacation).

Most of my questions were answered yesterday by my doctor. She is pretty certain that this mass is not cancerous (but she is having tests run on it after removal to completely rule it out). She did mention that there are many other types of cysts that this could be and just as many reasons for it to have formed. Until she gets in there and sees what she's working with she can't really pinpoint the exact type of mass this is. She briefly mentioned endometriosis, but I'm pretty certain that is not the case because I've known women with that condition and they are in extreme pain all the time from it. My pain though uncomfortable is not extreme in my opinion. So it is still unknown what "Ted's ethninticity" is. It will be determined soon and answers will be mine.

I'm still feeling pretty crummy most days though I'm pushing through it to get stuff done. There is still some housework that needs to be finished and I have to do our laundry. I'm planning on working on those things for the next couple of days so this weekend there won't be much for anyone to do for me. (Other than let me sleep). I will be on pain medication after surgery so I'm sure that I will probably sleep through most of the weekend. I will have some dissolving stitches in my belly button area from the laporoscopy which will dissolve in 6 weeks. No special care will be needed for those. By the end of September I should be starting to feel like my old self again which will be a nice change from the way I have been feeling for the past three weeks.

Which means that depending on what type of job I get and what time work will start for me I will be able to take my walks outside during the nice fall weather. Fall is my favorite season and I love all the colors and smells and of course Halloween. I'm looking forward to decorating our house this year and handing out candy on Halloween and taking Dakota trick or treating in the surrounding neighborhoods. It will be a whole new area to explore and have fun in this year. I want to make pumpkin everything and drink cider and make yummy smelling soups. I hope that I can find time to do all this and still work a full time job. I may have to employ my super woman powers to achieve everything I want to achieve but I think it will be worth it!

Two weeks of healing then I can start exercising again according to the doctor. You know that was the first question I asked her too. I want to start walking again and slowly building back up to jogging because it was totally working for me. Then my body decided to do other things and well you know how that ended up. On top of walking I also want to start my exercise DVD's again. I have a ton of them and I need to work on more of my body than just my legs and glutes. I want to whittle my middle and define my arms so I can get rid of the pelican jiggle under my biceps. I know that comes with age, but I'm not ready to accept that yet so I'm going to change it if I can. I'm not that old yet and I shouldn't look it either. It does no good to have a youthful face if you have an aging body that gives you away at every turn. I'm wanting to be healthy and fit for the first time in 11 years and I know that with the proper motivation I can make it happen. I have the diet and food portions under control now the rest is up to exercise.

Two more days, then I can move forward from this setback. I have plans, I have goals and I plan on getting organized, healthy and fit!

One week to go

Today marks one week away from my surgery day. I'd be lying if I said that I was approaching this completely calm. It's a little scary because until the doctor gets a scope in there she isn't entirely sure if this will be a simple or complex procedure. We don't know yet if the ovary will have to come out as well. We don't know if this mass is completely benign or if there is a possibility that it might be cancerous. There are still just too many questions that I don't have answers to yet and will have to wait for those answers to be revealed. I'm incredibly over this waiting game.

I have an appointment on Tuesday to meet with my doctor and the hospital to sign all the pre-op paperwork and ask any questions I may have. I have written my questions in my composition book so I don't forget them and I'm sure that I will get plenty of written instructions on what to do. They won't let me go into this surgery blind per se, but surgery is still something that is not to be taken lightly.

I'm looking forward to not having a fever all the time and not being tired by noon. I'm looking forward to the bloating and swelling from the inflammation to go away so I don't look so fat. I'm looking forward to being able to start exercising again so I can start back down the road to reclaiming my health and longevity. I'm even looking forward to going back to work and hopefully finding a good paying office job. (Medical debt adds up quick). I have plenty of things to look forward to after "Ted" is gone and at this point those things are where my focus is at the moment. I just want to feel normal again and not like some sort of host for this alien growing inside of me. It's really not a cool feeling at all.

This weekend will be spent getting the house in order and making sure that the deeper cleaning chores get done. If the weather holds out, I'd also like to get these yards finished up. The front isn't bad but we never finished the back completely and it's ridiculous. Wishing we had better equipment to do the job, but we work with what we've got.

Feeling anxious waiting for everything to fall into place as it should. Just one more week! Then I will be "Ted" free and on my way back to the healthy life that I deserve and will work hard to have.