It’s Friday. October 9th…time is just whizzing by so quickly.

I have several friends and Warriors having surgeries this month. One of whom is my dear Nicole. You’ve met Nicole a few times on our blog…and I don’t know where I’d be in my Journey without her. I love and appreciate her so very much.

Her surgery is next week. And mine may be the following week. Two more Warriors in our local group are having hysterectomies by the end of the month. And one Warrior is recovering from her excision surgery that she had this past Tuesday. It’s a very busy October for my San Diego Endo-crew.

Surgeries are hard. But oftentimes made more bearable with our loved ones by our side until we’re wheeled off into the operating room.

But now? Covid and the pandemic have drastically changed things.

No friends. No family. You are dropped off at the curb of the hospital, a hug and kiss to your loved ones and an awkward goodbye. Alone, you trek into the hospital, pass the pandemic screening questions and tests, and check in. You wait, alone, to be taken back into the surgery prep. And lay on the bed, alone, waiting to be wheeled back into the OR.

Granted, you’re not truly alone: there’s a hustle and bustle of nurses, doctors, and hospital staff getting you all prepared and answering questions. But gone is the comforting hand of a mother, friend, significant other.

It can be terrifying.

I endured this for my May 2020 surgery. And it was a nerve-wracking, but the time passed very quickly and before I knew it I was waking up in the recovery room and soon wheeled out to the smiling face of my husband waiting for me at the car. And I did have the caring, familiar faces of those hospital staff I’ve come to know since my 2014 diagnosis.

But all of this brings me to today’s quote:

“Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

We have been through so much in our lives. And we know that we are incredibly strong, even when we don’t feel it. We are allowed to be nervous, scared, and lonely. But…always know that we are also strong enough to endure whatever life throws at us.

You are strong enough to make it through this. As am I.

To anyone going through anything leaving a sense of weakness or inability, know that you can get through it. And, if you want, I am right here if you need to talk.

Love, Lisa.

Blogs I updated this week:

Endometriosis & the Bladder: added a Nov. 2020 study of a 49-year-old woman who developed symptoms of increased frequency of urination. Imaging studies revealed a mass and lesion on her bladder, which surgery confirmed to be bladder endometriosis.

Endometriosis & the Bowel: added a June 2020 study of a 37-year-old woman who had Endometriosis on her cecum, which caused a small bowel obstruction.