Burdens to Bear, Burdens to Share... Part 1

The Back Story...

The last couple of years have been difficult for me physically. 2012 was an especially trying year. After so desperately wanting a baby for over a year, we were so sad when I miscarried just after the end of the first trimester in May of 2012. Along with the miscarriage, they found a large ovarian cyst. At the same time I had the D&C, I also had a cystectomy. It was my second cyst surgery. (See full story here) I slowly healed emotionally and physically, but my doctor wanted to watch me for a few months to make sure that the cyst issue would clear up. He put me on a birth control that was supposed to suppress the growth of these cysts and scheduled an appointment for four months later.

At my four month check-up, I was excited to go in and be cleared. Unfortunately, that was not to be. During the ultrasound, he found another 4 inch cyst on the other ovary. He suggested an immediate surgery, and less than a week later, I found myself in the surgery center yet again. Through great skill, he was able to remove the cyst while leaving the ovary intact. (see full story here)

It was only 2 months later that I found out I was expecting our third child. After so many struggles and so many questions, I truly felt like this little baby was a miracle. I believed that from the very beginning, but I did not yet know just how much of a miracle he would turn out to be.

When we went in for our first ultrasound, we not only saw our sweet little baby, but also an all-too- familiar black blob that was yet another cyst. The pregnancy was very emotionally challenging as we watched the cyst grow and grow. Dr. Meek said that the cyst could be removed if necessary during the pregnancy, but it came with the risk of miscarriage. We opted to wait until the baby was born and then have it removed like we had done when I was pregnant with Christian.

Finally, our sweet little Hyrum was born on July 22. It was the happiest of days, and we were over the moon about our baby boy. When I was discharged from the hospital, Dr. Meek said to set up an appointment where we could check on that cyst and discuss surgery.

At my 6 week check, Dr. Meek was shocked at how big the cyst felt. He again put me on the birth control in hopes that it would shrink it slightly before we went forward with the surgery. During the month of waiting, I went to a gastroenterologist for a different problem. I had been to several doctors and was hopeful that this one would take me seriously. He was great and immediately suggested that I have a CT scan to rule out any serious conditions. I had my CT scan 4 days later and was told that I would get the results in a few days.

Not more than 3 hours later, I received a call from my gastroenterologist. I immediately knew that something was wrong because of the speed at which he called back. Sure enough, the CT scan had shown my cyst, and the doctor was extremely concerned. Not only was it 17 cm (nearly 7 inches) in diameter, but the scan also revealed that there were solid masses in the cyst. All of my previous cysts had been fluid-filled, so this was alarming. He suggested I immediately talk to my OBGyn and get the cyst taken care of.

Not 15 minutes after that conversation, Dr. Meek called and scheduled surgery for his next available surgery day. He told me that the solid masses could, in rare cases, be cancerous, and the enormous size of the cyst would mean that the surgery could not be laparoscopic. Dr. Meek also said that, this time, the ovary could not be saved. With all of this distressing news, we waited anxiously for the surgery. I was an emotional wreck that entire week, worrying about all of the possibilities and dreading yet another surgery (my 4th cystectomy and 6th abdominal surgery overall).

I had the surgery on October 3rd. When I woke up from surgery, I got the good news that the cyst had been removed intact and the initial cancer biopsies had come back normal. The cyst was so huge that my doctor had to make an even larger incision than he previously expected. I had a 7 inch incision across my abdomen that looked exactly like a c-section incision. This made me the talk of the hospital. All of my nurses knew about the girl with the cyst that was "the size of a cantaloupe."

My insurance was being ridiculous and would only cover the surgery if I stayed less than 24 hours. My doctor and nurses knew that this type of surgery needed a much longer hospital stay, and fought them back and forth. Unfortunately, they would not relent. So, 24 hours after major surgery, I was forced to leave the hospital, barely being able to walk and feeling severely nauseous and dizzy. Even with all of the pain and problems, we left the hospital rejoicing that the surgery had gone well and that the results were positive. We hoped that this would be the end of a very long trial. Little did we know that the journey was just beginning.