Suck it Fibroid

A few months ago, Morgan and I sat down and really got to business on figuring out how to get the grapefruit sized fibroid off of my uterus. Morgan did some research and found a non-invasive procedure at Cedars Sinai in LA (vs. a full on surgery). I was nervous that I wouldn't qualify, but after multiple visits and an MRI, I found out that I was the perfect candidate, so we proceeded. The doctor who invented the technology was the one who would be conducting the procedure. He was young and at our per-op appointment, was very unorganized and admitted that he was "not a great multi-tasker". This made me nervous, but I tried to ignore it and moved on.

My procedure was set-up for Monday, July 11th at 1:30pm. Morgan and I left our house at 8:30 am because we were so nervous about LA traffic. We got there around 10:00, which gave us plenty of time to think and worry and stress. We made friends with the volunteers in the waiting room and I thought about food...a lot. I had been fasting since noon the day before and knew I probably wouldn't eat anything until the next day.

At around 1:45pm the phone in the waiting room rang and my name was called. My heart dropped. I left Morgan and followed a nurse into a pre-surgery room where they get you into a gown and hook you up to an IV. As soon as I was in my bed and ready to go, they brought Morgan in to say goodbye. The nurse came in (who couldn't have been any older than 12) and introduced herself. Then my doctor came in said "are you ready to go?" I said yes, was slipped some drugs, the room spun and I was wheeled to the operating room. The last thing I can remember before the procedure is the doctor saying "we will see you in a bit" put a gas mask over my face and I was gone.

3 1/2 hours later I was woken up by a nurse pulling a tube out of my throat. Everything went well, but took longer than they had planned. I guess the fibroid was stuck to everything in the area it resided. My doctor said, "imagine if you put super glue on a ballon, stuck it in a fish bowl and tried to get it out without popping the ballon". Apparently my pregnancy made the fibroid sticky, so it was hard to get it out. The cool thing is that my doctor managed to grab a couple of cysts next to my ovaries while he was in there! I was pretty pumped about that!

When I woke up I had no idea where I was, but felt relieved when I saw Morgan. He sat on the floor next to my bed for the next 4 hours while I threw up and slipped in and out of sleep. I was supposed to go home that night, but stayed in the hospital instead. I'm so glad we stayed because I was not in good shape.

We were released from the hospital around 1pm the next day and I couldn't wait to get home to see my Stella. She had stayed over night with my mom and dad (thank you again!) and was a baby genius, as usual. She was so excited to see us. She yelled "dada!" as soon as she saw Morgan. He picked her up and brought her over to me, but I couldn't hold her and she could tell something was wrong. She starting crying hysterically "nana, nana!" Which is what she has been calling me lately even though she knows how to say mama. It was the worse feeling in the world. I cried. All I wanted in that moment was to hold my girl in my arms, and I couldn't.

This past week has been a lot of resting, laying around, eating and watching crappy t.v. It sounds amazing, but I hate it. I would rather be playing with Stella and taking her on walks. Today is Sunday and I am feeling better, more like myself. Not 100%, but I know I am getting there. My body is clear of crap that's not supposed to be there and I know that I am healing and will hopefully have a better pregnancy next time around. It would be nice to enjoy pregnancy.

I'm just glad the anticipation is over and that I am on the other side of this now.