Emergency Surgery... for ME!

Yesterday afternoon I had to have an emergency unilateral salpingo-oophorecotomy which is described by my discharge paperwork like this:

Rewind the clock 3 weeks… I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning with this crazy stomach pain that lasted for about 5 hours but went away. My initial thought (of what turned out to be several incorrect self diagnoses) was it could be my appendix because the pain was right above my belly button and on the left side. However, once the pain dissipated I ruled the appendix out. Two days later, again in the early hours of the morning, the pain returned with the same intensity. This time I made the correlation that I had eaten ice cream both evenings before bed. So being the licensed and trained doctor that I am (not!) I decided I had developed a lactose intolerance. I cut out raw dairy immediately and I seemed to get better. The pain and symptoms did return two more times however, it was much more mild. That is until 4AM Tuesday morning. I woke up in excruciating pain that was relentless. The nausea, vomiting and diarrhea had returned with a vengeance and it was not letting up. By 830AM I decided I needed to know what was wrong with me so I made a trip to the ER.

I was settled into my emergency room awaiting a visit from the doctor by 9AM. They took a bunch of blood and urine samples and let me know that I would be having an ultrasound soon. At this point they were thinking that my gallbladder was the culprit. This made perfect sense to me because I gave my mom gallstones while in the womb and she had to have her gallbladder emergently removed right after I was born. I jumped on this train with them and was convinced that this was just a case of gallstones which could be treated with medication and I would be on my way back home feeling better.

Then came the ultrasound. As she was checking the upper quadrant of my mid section I had no real discomfort yet when she moved down to my left ovary the pain was incredible. I had had a cyst on my left ovary when I was pregnant with the twins however, it was never an issue so it was left alone. I actually had a follow-up sonogram scheduled for the end of this month to check on it to see if it had gone away on its own or if it was still there. Even though the Ultrasound Tech couldn’t tell me anything I was now convinced that the cyst was our problem. Sure enough the doctor returned to tell me that I had a mass on my left ovary and that they were going to do a pelvic ultrasound shortly and have me seen by an OBGYN.

After the pelvic ultrasound was completed the OBGYN came in to see me to let me know I needed surgery to remove the cyst STAT. She said that they would try to remove just the cyst and leave my ovary and fallopian tube however, depending on how bad things looked once they were on the inside they may have to take it all. She advised that they would have me in the OR within the hour and that I needed to call my husband and have him get to the hospital ASAP. I called Josh to let him know what was up and that he needed to get to me as quickly as he could. Then I called my mom to have her go to our house to make sure the babies were taken care of. Josh arrived just as I was headed to the OR and I was so glad he did. By that point I was having all the feels about not being able to see the three of them before I went under. It was so reassuring to lay my eyes on him.

Two hours later I woke up in the recovery room with three small incisions. One on the right, one on the left and one just above my belly button. The first thing I asked was when I could see Josh, once they told me he would be with me soon I asked if I still had my ovary to which they replied I did not. I was crushed. Later Josh told me that the doctor had showed him the pictures and Josh explained that the cyst was ‘wicked massive’ and that my ovary and tube were twisting around it which was causing the pain and then untwisting which is what was causing the relief. At the time of the surgery everything was all twisted up and my tube was stretched out like an over used rubber band so it was not savable. As for the cyst, it was fluid filled and not vascular so it was much like a balloon filled with toxic gunk so it was not possible to remove the cyst safely without also removing the ovary.

Baby number three is something Josh and I talk about regularly. Is it the right choice? Can we handle another mentally, physically, financially? Should we wait until Jack is better? How long can we wait? It is not a decision we have made completely and it was terrifying and unsettling to think that the decision could just be made for us by my body. Luckily the doctor explained that while my fertility is decreased by only having one ovary, it is only decreased by 20-40%. So baby number three gets to continue to be a debate in the Nelson household. :)

I’m still in a lot of pain and on bed rest for the next 48 hours but hopefully this is the end of it, no more early morning pain and no more wondering what is wrong with me and no more lingering questions. This was definitely not how I imagined this week to go but it never is right!? Thanks for all the love and support, it means the world to us to know what a great village we have by our side.