Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Unexpected Adventures

I've been away from this blog for a few years, because frankly, I got bored with it. I'm going to pick it back up to journal two unexpected adventures I've found myself going on...One good and one bad.

The good:  After 17 years as a classroom teacher, I was recently promoted to a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) in our school system. I'll be an acting assistant principal while I pursue a degree in educational leadership. It's not a position for which you can apply. I was nominated by my principal and assistant principal, then I had to be invited to interview. It's quite an honor!

The bad: Five days ago, I had a total hysterectomy to remove my uterus, cervix, and fallopian tubes. I opted for the da Vinci hysterectomy because it would cut down my recovery time to two to three weeks. (I have to be back to school in three and half weeks!) I knew I would have one week of no activity and another week of building my strength back up with light activity.

I woke up on Monday morning in a lot of pain, and I would sob for no reason at all. I wasn't expecting that because I opted to keep my ovaries and thought they would regulate my mood swings. Apparently, they shut down due to the trauma of surgery and "restart" once the healing process begins. I was feeling a lot better on Tuesday morning and promised Marc that I wouldn't overdo it. I napped off and on all morning.

At about 11:00, I got a call from the nurse at my OBGYN's office. I was kind of expecting it because I forgot (medicine haze) to call to make my 2-week followup appointment. Instead, the nurse told me that my doctor wanted me to come in that afternoon. I thought she wanted to check my incisions because she is going out of town next week. I was wrong, though. She wanted to tell me that they found uterine cancer when they did the pathology. To say I was shocked would be the biggest understatement ever!

Thankfully, my OBGYN thinks that it seem the cancer was contained in the uterus, and a robotic hysterectomy is considered the best treatment because the uterus can be removed intact. My cervix and tubes came back clear. The ultrasound and pap that I had done five weeks ago also both came back with no abnormalities. Recent blood work has also come back normal. I'm hoping and praying that we caught it in time.

Of course, my next steps are lots of tests and making the decision about whether or not to remove my ovaries. I have my first appointment for a mammogram tomorrow morning, and then we'll be meeting with an OBGYN oncologist on July 2.

I'm optimistic that I can beat this, and I'm excited about going back to my new job! Adventure is out there...some you want and some you don't!


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