In August 2007 I had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst but was told post-surgery that no cyst could be found. The surgeon proceeded with the next surgery a few weeks later...see previous post. At the point Dr. McKenna casually mentioned "except for the cyst on your ovary", I felt so many feelings flood me at once. Shock, betrayal, fear. What had I allowed this incompentent doctor to do to me.
Dr. McKenna was kind to refer me to the head of Micro-Invasive Surgery in the Hershey Medical Center ob/gyn department. Dr. Harkins thought death had walked into the room when I arrived at his office. He ordered the correct imaging to see what was going on. He identified several issues from the test in addition to everything that had been identified in the previous analysis sent to Dr. DeLeo.
Dr. Harkins recommended a hysterectomy as he believed that particular issue should have been done first and may have avoided the other two prolapses. Hindsight is everything. In October 2007, the hysterectomy was performed. We had decided ahead of time to keep my right ovary if it was viable. He planned to remove the fallopian tubes, the left ovary and the cyst. However, he told me post-surgery, that he could see right away through the laparoscopy scope that I had a "frozen pelvis".
A "frozen pelvis" is when endometriosis has wrapped itself in and around the uterus as well as organs outside of the uterus. I was a mess. He spent a long time removing the endometriosis and found beneath it a healthy pink right ovary. There was no way a trained surgeon could possibly have missed what he found. Dr. Harkins showed me the video of his procedure. I was stunned. Thank goodness I was led to him. The irony is I was terrified of a male ob/gyn yet it was a women who caused harm and a male who saved me.
Showing posts with label endometriosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label endometriosis. Show all posts
6.10.2011
9.10.2010
8.18.2010
Three-year Anniversary
August 24 will be the third anniversary of the day I was taken from an outpatient surgery facility following my rectocele to the emergency room of a hospital. I survived the night but wasn't sure I would wake up in the morning. When I fell asleep, a blood transfusion had been started. I came to peace with knowing I might not wake up.
I haven't reread my earlier posts. The hindsight is that I had a "frozen pelvis"...shut down by endometriosis...that had gone unidentified since the late 1970s. After surviving that ordeal, I placed my hands in the surgeons of Penn State Hershey Medical Center. I was experiencing pelvic prolapse and Dr. DeLeo had treated it as three separate issues rather than look at the big picture. She had also done the surgeries in the wrong order to relieve the pressure from the pelvic floor.
The ob/gyn surgeon at Hershey Med performed a hysterectomy which he believed may have made the cystocele and rectocele unnecessary. But, of course, I hadn't seen him first. Less than a year after the rectocele, I experienced another prolapse. The Hershey Med surgeon said Dr. DeLeo had used a procedure not recommended for my type of prolapse. His procedure was abdominal surgery with 4 days in the hospital. Finally, after starting to recover from that surgery, I was able to see the bladder specialist. He referred me to outpatient physical therapy which healed my issue without further surgery.
Somehow my bladder was only holding one ounce of fluid instead of the normal 20 ounces. The "women's therapy" was exercises as well as use of a painless probe that measured strength and also stimulated the internal muscles.
I've been on disability for about a year since I was unable to return to work. Healing from almost three years of barely moving is no easy task. What has worked for me is aquatherapy. It began with a shoulder problem but since I found I could move so easily in the water, I am also conditioning/rebuilding the barely used and atrophied muscles. Strength is slowly returning. New muscles are felt as new exercises are introduced. I can stay awake for a day without a nap.
Because of my history of trauma, my mind/body stored the aftermath of the transfusion and subsequent abscess as trauma. I'm still holding 20-30 pounds of trauma weight when my weight should only be about 100-105 because of my height. I've lost inches with aquatherapy from April through now but have put on 1-2 pounds. That battle to lose the excess weight has begun but has yielded no results yet.
I see where I made the first mistake but I can't go back there. The pelvic prolapse has impacted my life in many ways. I should be grateful to be alive. I have new hopes and dreams and know they can be realized, yet I always question whether I have the energy it takes to achieve them. So baby steps and one day at a time are still the rule.
I found a website today for the Endometriosis Online Arts Project. I'm providing the link for others who might be interested. Now I'm off to do an art set expressing my feelings about endometriosis.
I haven't reread my earlier posts. The hindsight is that I had a "frozen pelvis"...shut down by endometriosis...that had gone unidentified since the late 1970s. After surviving that ordeal, I placed my hands in the surgeons of Penn State Hershey Medical Center. I was experiencing pelvic prolapse and Dr. DeLeo had treated it as three separate issues rather than look at the big picture. She had also done the surgeries in the wrong order to relieve the pressure from the pelvic floor.
The ob/gyn surgeon at Hershey Med performed a hysterectomy which he believed may have made the cystocele and rectocele unnecessary. But, of course, I hadn't seen him first. Less than a year after the rectocele, I experienced another prolapse. The Hershey Med surgeon said Dr. DeLeo had used a procedure not recommended for my type of prolapse. His procedure was abdominal surgery with 4 days in the hospital. Finally, after starting to recover from that surgery, I was able to see the bladder specialist. He referred me to outpatient physical therapy which healed my issue without further surgery.
Somehow my bladder was only holding one ounce of fluid instead of the normal 20 ounces. The "women's therapy" was exercises as well as use of a painless probe that measured strength and also stimulated the internal muscles.
I've been on disability for about a year since I was unable to return to work. Healing from almost three years of barely moving is no easy task. What has worked for me is aquatherapy. It began with a shoulder problem but since I found I could move so easily in the water, I am also conditioning/rebuilding the barely used and atrophied muscles. Strength is slowly returning. New muscles are felt as new exercises are introduced. I can stay awake for a day without a nap.
Because of my history of trauma, my mind/body stored the aftermath of the transfusion and subsequent abscess as trauma. I'm still holding 20-30 pounds of trauma weight when my weight should only be about 100-105 because of my height. I've lost inches with aquatherapy from April through now but have put on 1-2 pounds. That battle to lose the excess weight has begun but has yielded no results yet.
I see where I made the first mistake but I can't go back there. The pelvic prolapse has impacted my life in many ways. I should be grateful to be alive. I have new hopes and dreams and know they can be realized, yet I always question whether I have the energy it takes to achieve them. So baby steps and one day at a time are still the rule.
I found a website today for the Endometriosis Online Arts Project. I'm providing the link for others who might be interested. Now I'm off to do an art set expressing my feelings about endometriosis.
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