Recovery

Over the course of the last 5 months or so I've been dealing with some health issues. It all started with a large ovarian cyst (about the size of a baseball). The cyst went away but the pain didn't. I went to see the OBGYN that delivered Allison, Dr. Tudder. He prescribed a bunch of different medications that didn't work. I had multiple ultrasounds and an MRI which all revealed nothing. Eventually, Dr. Tudder said that there was nothing wrong and that I should go back to my family doctor to find the cause of the pain.

I was crushed. I really believed that this doctor would be able to figure out what was wrong. At that point I was ready to give up and just live with the constant pain. Keith convinced me that I should seek another opinion. After asking around for some recommendations I went to Dr. Silas, another OBGYN. After hearing my ordeal and doing a physical exam he agreed that my problem was most likely gynological. He suggested doing an explorative laparoscopy. After giving it some thought and prayer we decided to go forward with the surgery not really knowing what was there, if anything.

One of my greatest fears was that they would find nothing and the surgery would have been for naught. I was also concerned they would find a serious problem. Yesterday, I went in for surgery. The doctor found evidence of a prior infection that had caused a great deal of scar tissue to form. That scar tissued adhered my reproductive organs to my liver. He was able to detach the organs and put them back where they are supposed to be. According to my doctor, there was no way any external imaging could have detected this particular problem.

The long term effects of this are that I will still experience pain from time to time, although not nearly the pain I've had over the last few months. It is yet to be determined how this will effect my ability to have more children. I'll have to have more tests run so see how extensive the damage is.

I am so relieved to finally know what's been going on in my body. At times I felt like I was going crazy. Like, maybe the pain didn't really exist. It has been one of the greatest trials of my life, thus far. I have definitely felt the prayers of my family and friends over the last several months. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to endure this while still fulfilling my roles as a wife, mother and teacher. There have been days when I literally have felt myself being carried when I couldn't go on any longer. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through this difficult time. Now, all that is left is recovery.

Ham

Several weeks ago we were approached by a guy with a camera crew asking to interview us for a TV commercial. We signed the appropriate wavers and did the interview. Noah pretty much stole the show. It ended up making it into a radio commercial for Cox Cable. They edited out the part about us having Dish Network. Haha. Here's the interview. I'm so proud of my little ham.

:-)