Friday snuck up on me today.

I’ve been put on work furlough and have applied for unemployment. It’s still unknown if my May 13th excision surgery will remain on calendar or be postponed. And I’m going a little stir-crazy in the house, unable to leave except for “essential tasks.”

I totally forgot it was Friday until a few minutes ago! Ha!

I have to remind myself daily that finances will be okay, I’ll have my job back once this crisis is over, my husband will come home safe and sound, and by staying home I’m protecting myself and others.

And I’ve picked my sewing projects back up, cleaned the house like a madwoman, bought a treadmill, and am keeping my mind and body occupied.

Still, though, I’m stir-crazy and bored. Perhaps next week I will focus on researching and writing new blog entries!

May today’s quote inspire you to embrace those things we can no longer experience, at least for now:

“Freeze, freeze in the winter, if you really want to appreciate the summer! Walk, walk at the edge of the precipices, if you rightly want to learn the meaning of the safety! Switch the lights off, if you want to see the amazing beauty of the light!”

― Mehmet Murat ildan

Be well.

How are you doing through all of this?

Sometimes you go through things that seem huge at the time, like a mysterious glowing cloud devouring your entire community. While they’re happening, they feel like the only thing that matters and you can hardly imagine that there’s a world out there that might have anything else going on. And then the glow cloud moves on. And you move on. And the event is behind you…” ~Welcome to the Night Vale

This too shall pass. Stay safe out there!

I’m participating in the Endo Month 2020 Challenge. And today’s prompt was “Surgeries.” And it made me sit back, take a deep breath, re-read all of my past surgical notes, and I want to cry. And I still have that terror in the pit of my stomach that my surgeon won’t find anything during my May surgery.

If we’re friends on Facebook, you’ve likely already seen this post. But now I want to know about yours.

Here’s mine:

Day 3: Surgeries? I’ve had four since 2014 and a fifth on the way. During each one, my surgeon has found and removed Endometriosis growths and accompanying ovarian/Endo cysts.

Endo has been found on my liver, on my diaphragm, on my sigmoid colon, on my small intestine, on my appendix, on my right intesine, on my ureter, on my fallopian tubes, on my ovaries, between my uterus and my rectum, between my bladder and my uterus.

It has caused extensive scar tissue which had to be removed. That scarring has stuck my uterus to my colon, stuck my bowels to my pelvic wall, stuck my ovaries beneath my uterus, stuck my ovary to my pelvic wall, pinned my bladder to my uterus. I’ve lost 7 inches of my intestines due to the illness (including my appendix) and both of my fallopian tubes were so badly damaged by the disease they, too, were removed.

There’s been a total of $521,571.10 billed to the insurance company. Of that, I paid $4,300.

Half a million dollars in six years. Four extensive surgeries. And the fifth is coming in a few months…..

Will it never stop?

~
Day 2: Endometriosis means an often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and underplayed chronic, painful, and incurable disease

Day 1: My diagnosis took 22 years to receive: 22 years of being told my pain was all a part of being a woman, was normal, and I had a poor pain tolerance…

This challenge will be an awesome experience!

#endoawarenessmonthchallenge2020

We’ve undergone some changes and had to create a new Instragram account. One of our group admins, Nicole, is an IG-queen (I kind of know nothing about it) and will be posting entertaining and thoughtful things to get us through this Journey together. If IG is your thing, give us a follow.

And if you ever have a funny meme or something you’d like our IG to share, send a direct message to Nicole on our IG account!