But she's the doctor...she knows

As Dr. DeLeo told me I had no evidence of a rectal prolapse but clearly had a bladder prolapse, I was speechless. I was pretty darn sure I knew which orifice was my rectum. The definition of the prolapse was that the bladder pushed into the vaginal wall causing pressure to occur in the vagina. I had no problems with urination. Since my body has always been weird, I figured maybe the bladder had caused pressure over to my rectum? I didn't ask those questions. I didn't speak of the photo out of embarrassment.

"Why would my bladder have fallen out?" The doctor assured me it was common in women over 50, especially women who had lots of babies. When I informed her I had never given birth, she was silent. She said she would be unable to repair the bladder the next day when she did the colonoscopy but scheduled a date for the cystocele, an outpatient procedure.

Walking out the doctor's office with Brian, I sarcastically noted that my bladder must have prolapsed on the walkway into the office. Surprisingly, since that visit, I no longer noticed the rectal prolapse but did have increased frequency of urination. Whatever happened, she must have been right. The colonoscopy went well, or so she said. For some reason I didn't get photos of my colon like Brian had after his. I didn't think much about it at the time.

With the cystocele already scheduled for June 29. I returned to my full work schedule not thinking much about the surgery. The cystocele went well. I had very little pain. I was discharged with a catheter that would be removed a few days later. My thinking was that she did an excellent job with minimal pain. The catheter was removed in Dr. DeLeo's office during the afternoon of July 3. The morning of July 4, the rectal prolapse returned.