I was taken to Labor and Delivery. The doctor cracked a joke if I was having a boy or a girl. I laughed. The doctor mentioned that he saw my ultrasound and saw how big the fibroid was. Surgery started at 4:36pm. Surgery took about 2 hours. I woke up so thirsty around 8pm but I couldn’t be given anything until I was placed on my room. By 8:20pm I was in my room and was given ice chips. I was so grateful. My dad came to visit and left at 9:15pm. The pain wasn’t so bad but I still asked pain meds on my IV. I actually wanted to get up and walk but since I had a catheter, I had to stay in bed. Around 11pm, I was given a small cup of jello which I very much appreciated since the last time I had food was early in the morning before surgery. For being the first night, it wasn’t rough. I was checked every 3 hours.

I got breakfast at 8am. Liquids only, miso soup broth and tea on the side. My mom came over at 9am. When the nurse came to check up on me, she said the catheter won’t be removed until 6pm so I started to think I won’t be discharged until the next day. By 10am though the catheter was removed (yay!) and around noon, I went to the bathroom by myself. Got lunch around noon and this time it was actual food. I ate everything.

Around 2pm, my doctor came and explained that in the end I got a hysterectomy. My uterus was so big and stretched out because the fibroid was inside my uterus. It would be very hard to remove it without damaging the uterus. Because of the size, they were thinking of making a vertical incision starting from my belly button and cut down. Luckily they didn’t do that and did a bikini cut. She explained it was the size of a small watermelon. They’ll be analyzing it to see it’s not cancerous. They did leave my ovaries and fallopian tubes so I won’t be going through menopause just yet. On the plus side, no more periods.

Around 1:30pm, I logged in to Zoom to see Zelda be awarded Student of the Month. I wasn’t going to miss it and it brought me much joy to see Zelda. I started crying a little.

My mom arrived around 4pm and I told her what the doctor told me. She wasn’t happy and I can tell she was sympathetic. I told her it was okay. I’m just glad the fibroid was out because it was becoming an issue. She was still worried though of my well-being.

Dinner came and I got another delicious meal. I also got a new robe. My mom left around 7pm. My dad called around 8:30pm saying that he was in the building but they weren’t allowing him in because my mom was here earlier. 1 visitor a day allowed. We talked a little on the phone and thanked him for checking up on me.

I couldn’t really sleep at night because I started experiencing pain on my right shoulder. Every time I would breath out I would get a sharp pain. I told the night nurse about it and she placed a hot towel on my shoulder. It did help and I was able to get some sleep.

Morning came and I felt more tired this time around. Breakfast arrived at 8am and I didn’t want to eat since I felt so tired but I managed to eat most. My mom showed up around 9am. The nurse came a little later with paperwork so we can start the process of me going home. She said I can leave after lunch but my mom was already there so I rather go now than later. I thanked the nurse for everything. I was scheduled to see my doctor in 2 weeks. My mom helped me get dressed. I was wheeled to the entrance, got in the car with a little bit of help, and we went home.

My 2 nights at the hospital wasn’t bad. I did manage to rest. I thought it was a sick joke being placed in the maternity ward but I was in on it. The irony really. I had 2 incidents of nurses asking if I had a boy or girl. I explained to them I had a hysterectomy which changed their light mood to that of an apologetic one. I told them it was alright. Everyone I interacted with was so kind. I don’t know if maybe they knew of my situation (besides those 2 nurses), which is why everyone was so nice. I did start to feel lonely so I would leave the TV on all day and night. It was my white noise. I missed my kids, my home. Now the hard part starts, the recovery.