Operation Evict Charlie...

Operation Evict Charlie...

A little over a week ago, 9 days to be precise, I had a hysterectomy... a supracervical hysterectomy with no opharectomy. Gotta love the terminology -- kept the cervix and the ovaries. When the doctor told me in mid-March that I would need to have a hysterectomy to relieve all the physical problems I was having as a result of the large fibroid on my uterus (at the time we thought it was the size of a grapefruit), I knew it was coming. 6 years earlier my previous obgyn told me that I had fibroids, and that while things were not bad then, they would probably get worse and that I should have a hysterectomy. I was 35 at the time and didn't want to hear about a permanent sterilization to my already "infertile" body. I told him to wait until I was 40. So, 4 days before my 41st birthday, my current doctor examined me and told me that it was time. My symptoms were so bad that I had become severely anemic and my life revolved around my period. 2 weeks every month were absolute agony. So, it was time...

In my own perverse way of dealing with the stress of knowing that a part of me was going to be surgically removed, I decided to name the fibroid Charlie. I have no idea why I picked that name, but it suddenly became fun to say "bye bye Charlie" time is near and other silliness. When I shared with folks at work and in the family, the refrain was - "How's Charlie? Ready to get him out?" . Somehow naming this parasitic growth both depersonalized a very intimate and personal situation while simultaneously anthropomorphizing a mound of tissues that was making my life miserable.

More tests happened and a surgery date was set. It felt like eternity, but really only a matter of weeks went by before the surgery happened last week. In preparation for the surgery, I started doing research and found the Mayo Clinic site to be very informative (www.mayoclinic.com). I particularly connected with the individual profiles. It was good to see that I was not alone in what was happening to my body. So, 10 days after having evicted Charlie (with a lot of assistance from my obgyn), I am starting to feel that relief that I read about from so many women. It seems like every woman who has a hysterectomy wonders why she didn't do it sooner. I know why I chose not to do it sooner, but the relief is no less sweet at this time. Recovery is interesting, and I plan to write more about what they don't tell you about the post-operative symptoms and other fun stuff. All my research was able to draw out was the pre-surgery, what happens during the surgery, and the "Thank God" I did it. Nobody says anything about what happens in between the surgery and "Thank God". It is actually an interesting place. More to come on that....

P.S.
I was curious, so I had the surgeon take a picture. If you are squeamish at all, DON'T look. If you have a weird sense of adventure and medical curiosity, take a look at Charlie. The scapel in the picture is 12 inches long, and Charlie had to be cut in order to get him out. He was heart shaped and about a foot squarish...