BRCA: First Surgery Down!

I had my first BRCA surgery on Monday (4/21), and all went well! I had a complete hysterectomy, which means my ovaries were removed along with my uterus and fallopian tubes. Most hysterectomy's consist of removing the uterus only, but since my family history of the cancer is in the ovaries, my doctor removed those as well. I felt a little anxious a few days leading up to surgery, but I knew that I was being covered in prayer when those feelings subsided the day of surgery. I'll be honest though, when I was wheeled into the operating room and talking with the doctors, I felt a sudden urge to get up and run. And, I could have. But, I knew that wasn't my journey. My journey was to complete these surgeries and to be the healthiest me that I can be for my family in the future. 

I've felt pretty good since surgery, other than the few days that I felt like I had been shot in the abdomen. I never got nauseated and I only felt lightheaded a few times. Praise the Lord! My biggest complaints were the catheter and the air bubble. Oh, the catheter. Apparently, mine wasn't working right and when I realized there was a problem (after drinking about 40 oz of fluids along with a full bag of saline), the nurse couldn't get it working soon enough. I was miserable! Once it was working, I filled the bag. I mean filled - the - bag. So much so, the nurse, my husband, and I were all laughing ... which leads to the air bubble. During abdominal surgery, your body is filled with air to make surgery easier for the doctors. That air bubble has to escape the days following your surgery so the pressure it creates inside you is very painful. Like most people's experience, my air bubble mainly affected my abdomen and right shoulder. The pain in my shoulder was terrible. Laughing made it worse. Which leads me back to the filling of my potty bag. The more it filled, the more my nurse, husband, and I laughed. The more I laughed, the more my shoulder hurt. It was a vicious cycle. They say that laughter is the best medicine, but I believe that I've found the only time in life when that saying doesn't apply. Although, it is funny now that I look back at the situation. 

It wasn't until after surgery, that the magnitude of what I did started to sink in. It finally hit me that I chose to fight. That I chose to take the information that was given to me and to be proactive. To make a difference. So, here are my battle wounds. I will wear them proudly although the nurse doesn't think you'll be able to see much scarring after I'm healed so I'm posting this picture as a reminder of the day that I chose to say No to cancer. I chose to change my future. I won!

Zechariah 10:5 - "Together they will be like warriors in battle, trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy to shame."

A special thank you to my family and friends that have taken care of our girls while I've been healing. Thank you to everyone for the calls, texts, cards, meals, prayers, gifts, etc. We are blessed beyond measure!