What day is it?
I've been a bit MIA lately, so my blog is a tad behind. I'm going to try and incorporate some dates so we can all follow along better... myself included!
Venogram/Ovarian Vein Embolization
4/5/2024 (a Friday!): We left off here. I wrote two whole blog posts about it. I'm a bit long-winded. We can't miss a detail though ;)
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| X-ray of dye in my right ovarian vein |
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| X-ray of dye in my left ovarian vein |
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| X-ray of ovarian coils that were placed |
Post-Embolization
4/6-4/7 (the weekend): My main thought was, 'oh my word I'm in so much pain'. I think it hit me harder because I just had not anticipated the procedure and was still trying to wrap my head around it. What it meant going forward. How long would the pain last. Would I feel better than before. What will Dr. Warren think. Things like that. There was absolutely nothing I could do though, so I tried to stay in the moment and not dwell on it. I did find some FB groups on pelvic congestion to join to gain some insight on how long this pain would last. I wasn't immediately accepted so I had to wait to get that information as well. We went to my niece and nephew's birthday party in Morgan that Saturday. Ben's parents just got back home from Arizona. So we got to spend some time with them. I spent any free moments curled up with a heating pad.
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I tried to claim that my insertion site looked badass.
My friend said it just looked like a hickey! 🤣 |
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| The baby loves to eat! |
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| They had a whole gym to run around in. Perfect for a birthday party! |
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| They adore each other |
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| Violet eating a cup of whipped cream ;) |
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| Stopped at the Moldan's on the way home for a quick visit |
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| The kids love playing games with gma and gpa |
Ben's Surgery
4/8/24 (Monday): I was scheduled to do a telehealth call with Dr Warren, but she didn't have time to review the venogram, so we had to postpone until 4/22. Ben had his surgery early afternoon to clean up the margins around the mole he had removed (which contained melanoma). They also removed a lymph node. Surgery went well! His original post is
here (most have already read this). And someday he will likely write another blog post about after surgery. For now, our short updates are on our
Support Page.
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| Waiting for surgery |
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| relax. nothing is under control. |
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| Feeling good after surgery! |
Pain and Taxes
4/9-4/15/24: Life carries on. Work is busy, so I go to work. Suffer through the pain. The pain is like severe cramping, nausea, abdominal pressure, shooting/sharp pains in lower abdomen/pelvis that also go down my legs, and heaviness feeling. This has made my sensitivity to clothing even worse. Nothing is comfortable, which makes me sad. By this point I've dug through my drawer to find prescriptions from August when I was in so much pain. They help some, but the side effect is tiredness. More tiredness is actually unwelcome. I survive on determination, adrenaline, coffee, and camaraderie. By the end of 4/15 we are all exhausted to the point of giggles at the end of the workday. Over the weekend Ben has his art show! It was a success and I'm so so proud of him :)
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| Friday post-work smiles |
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| Kerstyn and Blaire made it to Ben's art show, so we had to get a pic of the kids |
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All our family made it to the art show!
I had to work in the morning, so I missed seeing these two cuties. |
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| After the art show we had supper on the patio. It was such a beautiful day! |
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Enjoying the weather!
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| My kids keep me going everyday. |
4/16/24: I join Ben for his first follow-up appointment post-surgery. His incision opened up a bit in the center due to how stretched the skin was in that area. But overall everything is still healing well. Just needs to keep taking it easy and can use foam bandages until the center heals up better. I make a trip to the chiropractor for a much needed adjustment and try my best to get lost in work through the afternoon to avoid my pain/misery.
4/17/24: I woke up in a dismal state. But needed to get to the office to do some training. I think what was bringing me down even more at this point was in the world was I going to get through surgery recovery if I couldn't even handle this. Was I being a giant baby? I mean obviously after MALS surgery I won't also be trying to work. People will actually expect nothing of me after surgery, which is a relief. But why was this so hard? Why wasn't I warned?
4/18/24: I took the day off. My body was not going to tolerate work. I did make it to therapy. I probably cried a lot.
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| "Mom, you look tired" -Theodore |
4/19/24: I got in part of a work day. I had a follow-up call with Dr. Venogram (obviously not his name). He was surprised I was in so much pain still. He said I should have felt better by this point. Usually an ultrasound would be done at this appointment, but he was trying to save me a drive. I should have called and asked to do one. But he said 1-2 weeks of pain, so I wanted to wait out the full duration before I made a deal out of it. I should know at this point it's best to just ask. But man, this is tiring business. Anyhow, he thinks I maybe developed
superficial vein thrombophlebitis post-embolization. Which basically just means some of my veins clotted. He said it will resolve on its own, but takes time and is definitely painful. He suggested I switch to naproxen since ibuprofen wasn't helping. And gave me more dicyclomine since that does seem to help some with the cramping. I don't love how it makes me feel, so I try to avoid taking it. I did ask if I'd need a blood thinner, but since it was a result of a procedure they don't recommend that. Since time to heal is the cure, he asks that I schedule an ultrasound and follow-up 3 weeks out. More than anything I felt validated about my pain. Which I think helped me lean into it a bit more and not fight it and continually gaslight myself.
4/20/24: People start sending me Starburst jellybeans in response to a FB post I made about my regret of not buying more during Easter season. Truly a brightener! Is there enough for the rest of the year? Possibly!
Sometimes when I’m really nauseous the only thing that sounds tolerable is a bit of something sweet. But specifically jellybeans… or Haribo gummies! You know those watermelon ones?! Yum! I swear there are endless flavors to try.
I also made it to brunch with friends to celebrate Kerstyn and Sienna - April birthdays!
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| Sienna, Kersyn, Lauren, and I at Nolabelle for brunch! |
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| I will never tire of all the giggles |
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This is only part of the stash. I even have a
Sam's Club tub at work. I share them :) |
4/22/24: Call with Dr Warren. This will take up its own post that I’ll write at some point. It was a very real, hard-hitting conversation that was left with some unanswered questions.
After the call it was paramount I make it to the office… because it was Kerstyn’s birthday!
4/23-4/26/24: I survived the work week. It felt incredibly daunting at some points. I have gotten to the point that I just feel dead inside. What that means is my brain is just foggy and information just struggles to get in and out. So when I sit down to work there are certain tasks that I just can't seem to do. Or that take far more energy than it should. Just not firing on all cylinders basically. The same goes with emotions. I just feel bleh. So so so exhausted and so much pain.
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Two mornings in a row Otis decided to have an early morning party.
This particular morning I was already up at 3am from pain. So by the time I got it
calmed down he was up at 4:30. So I embraced it and we snuggled. |
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| Caught red-handed ;) |
The End of the Rope
4/27/24: Theodore and Violet attend Science Fair regionals at MSU. Ben was able to take them. Mom came to help me with Otis so I could rest. I had put on the care calendar that I'd like help with Otis and after a few days mom just signed up, which made me giggle. Those two are bonded at this point since they have spent so much time together this past month. I didn't note that above, but each week mom has a night or two or three with Otis to help ease the physical aspect of caring for him. With both Ben and I having physical limitations, it was so helpful!
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| Spending the morning together while Ben and the bigs are at the Science Fair. |
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| Violet and Addy got purple ribbons! |
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| My mom took the boys to Morgan, so we took Violet out for dessert. |
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| Ben showing off his ability to do a few more things around the house again! |
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Violet begged me all day to go to Target.
I finally pulled myself together at about 4pm to go. |
4/29/24: Made it to the office for a day of work. As soon as I settled in I knew I'd need to find some sort of task that would keep me busy but didn't take too much creative thinking! Kerstyn and I found a project to do together that consumed the day. But man, I was so drained by the end. I went to bed at 8:30pm before the big kids were even in bed. I didn't even hear them go to bed I fell asleep so quickly.
4/30/24: I woke up around 7, but didn't make it out of bed. Made the decision to stay in bed and not attend work. I had nothing left to give. The kids came and hugged me goodbye before they left, and I fell back asleep. I slept until 10:30, bringing my sleep total to over 12 hours even with two awake intermissions. It's been a long time since I've done that. I then decided I need to take the rest of the week off of work to try and figure out what to do until I can have surgery.
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One of the sunflowers from his science fair project bloomed!
He was so excited and got it planted outside. |
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| Guess how many cracker crumbs are now in the ball pit? ;) |
5/1/24: I remembered that I don't get paid when I don't go to work. So despite the fact that my life is easier when I can rest most of the day... I need to somehow work at least some.
5/2/24: It was a hard pain day. Being only with myself and not having to push through work or parenting... I could analyze my triggers a bit more. I find when I wake up if I'm not experiencing a ton of nerve pain, a migraine, or just too much exhaustion... my abdominal/back pain is usually pretty calm. This is until I start walking around or eat/drink. Yes, even water. So just getting ready for the day sets off pain in various areas. Then eating/drinking just adds to it. So by 9am I'm ready to rest with a heating pad. Then the cycle continues and gets worse as the day goes on. Which is why by the time Otis is in bed I don't want to move from the couch.
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| Mowgli, the emotional support nap cat |
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Another early morning for the baby, so he took a nap before daycare.
He was happy as a clam when I dropped him off, blowing kisses! |
5/3/24: I made it out of the house for an appt and met Kerstyn for lunch. We had so much to catch up on in my whole three days of absence. I also managed to make a work schedule for next week. The downfall is that in the hours I'm not working I have some sort of appointment each day or the big kids will be home, which is not restful. Actually, I'll put a day on the
care calendar if anyone wants to hang out with them for a few hours.
Note: My blog can be a bit annoying to navigate. It's easiest if you utilize the sidebar and navigate with the Archive dropdown so you can go by date. On mobile devices, click HOME, then in the upper left corner the 3 white lines will pop open the sidebar.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏mom.
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