Change is a Process... That Likes to Happen All at Once
It's official, I no longer have a gallbladder. After some nervousness and waiting that felt like an eternity, with Josh and Michael sitting by my side, waiting to send me off, I went into surgery on the morning of Monday, July 30th. The surgeon successfully took out my gallbladder, with only minor complications (my body hates general anesthesia, and although my blood pressure did not seem to plumet as much as it usually does during surgery, I apparently decided breathing was over-rated, and required intubation to help me breathe). Aside from that, the surgery was largely a success. Unforuntately, the surgeon was unable to get a very good view of my ovaries, and given that he was not a reproductive specialist, did not feel comfortable probing too much, so has recommended that I follow up with a specialist upon arriving in Memphis. Given that my next menstral cycle, which followed shortly after my surgery, was just as troubling and problematic as the previous month's (including pain and discomfort), it is safe to say that whatever the problem is, it is still there.
Josh and I had initially planned on traveling to Memphis last Friday (August 3rd). However, since I was not recovering as quickly as we would have hoped, and since the surgeon was uneasy with the idea of my leaving so soon, we postponed things for a bit. We rescheduled my follow-up appointment for today (though it was rescheduled again since the surgeon ended up having to perform an emergency surgery this morning, so I'm actually going in tomorrow). Our new plan is to leave Thursday evening (August 9th).
I feel pretty good now, despite how gross and unhappy I felt for the first few days. My pelvic discomfort is still annoying though, and makes me very apprehensive. I have a constant fear of the cyst / mass rupturing during the trip to Memphis, but I know I shouldn't freak out too much or else I will worry myself sick (I'm so good at that). Sitting up in the car still makes my pelvic region hurt a bit, so it's good that we delayed the trip for week. Because we did that, it made it possible for Michael to be able to drive out with us (he's taking the train back up on Thursday). So, Josh will take care of the Uhaul, and Michael and I will take turns driving the Sentra, with Maddisyn chilling out in the back. I don't think I could do more than a few hours of driving in a straight shot. My pelvic region wouldn't have it. It puts Michael in Memphis a little over a week earlier than he had anticipated, but I think he'll survive (and I'm sure he knows Josh and I appreciate it terribly; there's no way Josh could have loaded and unloaded the truck alone).
I'm a little excited about the trip. We plan on making a few stops along the way. We plan to stop off in Spokane to see a friend of Josh's, then in Missoula, Montana for some damn good Chinese food, followed by a trip to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana (which has a great dinosaur exhibit). We'll then stop off at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Hopefully, the stops will make things more bearable for Maddisyn (we had to scratch the idea of flying out to get her since she has a meeting with her Montessori Preschool teacher on Monday, and Phase-In week for her class starts the next day). We'll probably do small stops in other places as well. Probably overnight in Wyoming, and overnight in St. Louis, Missouri (maybe we'll say hello to Papa Smurf's mom for him, heh).
My biggest excitement is getting things going with school and research. I have a lot to do. I have some paperwork left to finish at the university (I-9 and W-4 stuff), and I can officially move into my office on Thursday, August 16th (they gave me my own office; woot!). I also have some workshops for graduate assistants on teaching, as well as laboratory safety. It's hard to believe that I will be responsible for the practical and applied laboratory understanding of 48 students. I'm going to be teaching labs in Anatomy and Physiology, which has me SO excited. You have no idea. I'm nervous, since I've never done anything like that before (teaching entire labs and such), but I'm glad that it's a subject I am very familiar with and excited about. I'm also excited to finish up some stuff regarding my protocols for my research and getting ramped up on how to use the hormone assay equipment.
Anyway, I doubt I will post anything else until after we arrive in Memphis. So, please be sure to keep us in your thoughts during our travels, and send us good karma for a safe trip. It's a long haul and a lot can happen. I hope everyone has a fantastic time during the remainder of this summer, and those of you going to Legacies this weekend, I hope you have a good time. I'll try to think up an explanation for my absence and send it to those of you who need to know. We'll be back at the September event though, so see you then.
Good luck, everyone! May your own journey be safe, happy and exciting, just as much as ours.
Lots of love,
.md.
Josh and I had initially planned on traveling to Memphis last Friday (August 3rd). However, since I was not recovering as quickly as we would have hoped, and since the surgeon was uneasy with the idea of my leaving so soon, we postponed things for a bit. We rescheduled my follow-up appointment for today (though it was rescheduled again since the surgeon ended up having to perform an emergency surgery this morning, so I'm actually going in tomorrow). Our new plan is to leave Thursday evening (August 9th).
I feel pretty good now, despite how gross and unhappy I felt for the first few days. My pelvic discomfort is still annoying though, and makes me very apprehensive. I have a constant fear of the cyst / mass rupturing during the trip to Memphis, but I know I shouldn't freak out too much or else I will worry myself sick (I'm so good at that). Sitting up in the car still makes my pelvic region hurt a bit, so it's good that we delayed the trip for week. Because we did that, it made it possible for Michael to be able to drive out with us (he's taking the train back up on Thursday). So, Josh will take care of the Uhaul, and Michael and I will take turns driving the Sentra, with Maddisyn chilling out in the back. I don't think I could do more than a few hours of driving in a straight shot. My pelvic region wouldn't have it. It puts Michael in Memphis a little over a week earlier than he had anticipated, but I think he'll survive (and I'm sure he knows Josh and I appreciate it terribly; there's no way Josh could have loaded and unloaded the truck alone).
I'm a little excited about the trip. We plan on making a few stops along the way. We plan to stop off in Spokane to see a friend of Josh's, then in Missoula, Montana for some damn good Chinese food, followed by a trip to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana (which has a great dinosaur exhibit). We'll then stop off at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Hopefully, the stops will make things more bearable for Maddisyn (we had to scratch the idea of flying out to get her since she has a meeting with her Montessori Preschool teacher on Monday, and Phase-In week for her class starts the next day). We'll probably do small stops in other places as well. Probably overnight in Wyoming, and overnight in St. Louis, Missouri (maybe we'll say hello to Papa Smurf's mom for him, heh).
My biggest excitement is getting things going with school and research. I have a lot to do. I have some paperwork left to finish at the university (I-9 and W-4 stuff), and I can officially move into my office on Thursday, August 16th (they gave me my own office; woot!). I also have some workshops for graduate assistants on teaching, as well as laboratory safety. It's hard to believe that I will be responsible for the practical and applied laboratory understanding of 48 students. I'm going to be teaching labs in Anatomy and Physiology, which has me SO excited. You have no idea. I'm nervous, since I've never done anything like that before (teaching entire labs and such), but I'm glad that it's a subject I am very familiar with and excited about. I'm also excited to finish up some stuff regarding my protocols for my research and getting ramped up on how to use the hormone assay equipment.
Anyway, I doubt I will post anything else until after we arrive in Memphis. So, please be sure to keep us in your thoughts during our travels, and send us good karma for a safe trip. It's a long haul and a lot can happen. I hope everyone has a fantastic time during the remainder of this summer, and those of you going to Legacies this weekend, I hope you have a good time. I'll try to think up an explanation for my absence and send it to those of you who need to know. We'll be back at the September event though, so see you then.
Good luck, everyone! May your own journey be safe, happy and exciting, just as much as ours.
Lots of love,
.md.