Surgery date is set for October 21
9/12 Update:
Myomectomy (and uterine reconstructive surgery) instead of hysterectomy!! While the short-term recovery for the abdominal incision will be the same, there will potentially be less long-term health issues, as it is not as harsh on one’s body.
Met with Dr. Glassner at Mainline Fertility. I did not want to have a hysterectomy, and it took a great deal of tenacity – talking to various doctors – to find Dr. Glassner, who is so skilled (at least 300 myomectomies a year!) that his patients are able to get pregnant afterwords — granted, it is a high-risk pregnancy and birth is via c-section.
I am considering a tubal ligation during the surgery.
To some women who have never had a child and have “endured it all” to have a baby, a high-risk pregnancy is a risk they may be willing to take.
However, I do have five children already. I am concerned about jeopardizing my health (uterus is very thin and distorted because of the tumor – even though it’ll be “reconstructed”), the health of a baby during pregnancy, and the well-being of my family should something go seriously wrong with the pregnancy.
I do learn a lot from some of my Quiverfull friends, but I have also said that it cuts both ways. We must trust God for the number of children that we have – even when He is saying, “you have your quiverfull, it’s time to be done.”
I still have not decided what to do about this. I am asking the Lord for wisdom.
From a note I wrote to my pastor this weekend:
Dr. Glassner’s office had framed articles featuring him, from all over the world, as well as TV stills, on his walls. The impression that it gave me was, “this person is a recognized expert in his field.” In the time that I had the ultrasound and was waiting, he had thoroughly read my file. He knew the names of my children, husband’s name, exact symptoms of the fibroid, test results and even that we were moving to Japan later this fall. He wasn’t shuffling through the file while he talked – he had memorized it. He said he does at least 300 myomectomies (removal of myomas, aka fibroid tumors) each year, and out of the thousands he’s done, only once did it end with a hysterectomy and both he and the patient knew going in that it was very likely that the uterus could not be saved.
Only 1% of his myomectomy patients require a blood transfusion during surgery (btw, my dad is able to donate blood for me – I have A- blood, a less-common blood which can be found in 7% of the population). After removing all traces of the tumor, he would do uterine reconstructive surgery. He said “I can see that you really fought hard to get here today and I can see from your charts that more than one doctor has told you that you have to have a hysterectomy. I really commend you for your tenacity, and I want you to know that this is a surgery that I do very often and you’re a great candidate for it. Don’t lose any sleep over this. I think you’re going to be pleased with the results.”
Most of his patients who have fibroid tumors come to him wanting to have children – so his work is so reliable that his patients are able to become pregnant afterwords and deliver healthy babies.
However Dr. Glassner explained that
-the pregnancies are “high risk” because there is a significantly increased chance of uterine rupture
-babies have to be delivered via c-section
-increased estrogen levels, which occur during pregnancy, are a catalyst for fibroid growth if a person is prone to getting fibroids**I said that I realize that some women, especially those who were desperate to have children, were willing to take these risks in order to have a baby but that I would prefer not to take these risks. I asked him if he’d be able to tie my tubes during the myomectomy and he said yes. (I asked him not to write it on my chart yet, but that I would let him know closer to time.)
(**Pastor, do you think this is the right choice? I never imagined I’d be asking for this, as my thought has always been to trust the number of children we’d have to God. I am afraid of essentially putting a baby at risk and I want to reduce chances of more tumors and more surgery. After all, I wasn’t going to have a uterus after Sept. 25 – I still have to cancel this, in fact. Is having my tubes tied allowing fear to control me and not trusting in God for another baby? or does this seem like a clear answer? I can’t tell! I am quite open to the idea of adopting children, and I’m excited that we are apparently going to be living near an orphanage and I can at least lend my maternal instincts with newborns to the babies there, regardless if I adopt some of them, but I also don’t want this possibility to be a factor in the decision (“since we could always adopt a baby, it’s acceptable to get my tubes tied”) Please advise.)
When I got to the car afterwords I was crying and laughing at the same time, praising God. I was so thankful that, despite the uncertainty over the outcome of the visit as I was waiting, that I was still in the frame of mind to talk to people about the Lord. That thought really choked me up, because I was struggling with concern over how I’d react to an unfavorable verdict.
8/14 Update:
Tom’s blogging the news, so I guess it’s official.
(I’m excited that he’s blogging again! Leave a cute comment for him :) )
The health issue is that a fibroid tumor has decided to take over my body to the point where a hysterectomy seems to be the only solution to resolve my symptoms. September 25th is the tentative date for the surgery, followed by a six week recovery.
I have no idea how I’m supposed to prepare for a move like this, care for my family, and recover at the same time. If God is placing me in the midst of this craziness, I’m trusting He’s got a plan to carry me through :)
Thanks for your prayers!