Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Waiting For The Fun To Begin
After a sleepless night, we arrived at UAB just before 5am. We had been instructed that this was MK's time for admission. After waiting more than an hour, MK was registered. Now it is 7:15am and she just got called back for surgery prep. Hopefully soon the "fun" will begin.
Bradley
Monday, January 23, 2012
"Bless Her Heart, She is so Young" (Surgery Scheduled)
“Bless her heart, she is so young.” This is the response that I get when I tell family, friends, and others that my 27 year old wife is having a total hysterectomy this Wednesday. After 5 difficult surgeries, it has been determined that Mary Kathryn’s reproductive system is causing too much discomfort and trauma to her body. Furthermore, it was discovered in December that her ovaries were functioning like a 40 year olds. Even with an oophorectomy (removing just the ovaries), the chances of having a successful egg donor transfer and carrying a pregnancy to term are very slim. We also have concerns that leaving any part of her reproductive system would lead to future cancer.
MK has given a lot of thought and prayer into this decision. If I tell you it has been difficult for her, I would be understating things. MK is very strong, but she is giving up the part of her body that is the very symbol of a woman. She is doing this so that she will finally return to good health after 2 years. She is also preparing to care for the child God has provided for us through a future adoption. She calls me daily in tears telling me that she can’t do it. She knows very well that God has a plan for us and that we will have a family, but it really hurts her knowing that this surgery will be the “final” surgery and will unfortunately eliminate any future chances of becoming pregnant. MK is very strong in the fact that she can even make this decision but greatly needs everyone’s support. She very much needs everyone’s understanding of the emotional and physical side effects of the hysterectomy.
MK has given a lot of thought and prayer into this decision. If I tell you it has been difficult for her, I would be understating things. MK is very strong, but she is giving up the part of her body that is the very symbol of a woman. She is doing this so that she will finally return to good health after 2 years. She is also preparing to care for the child God has provided for us through a future adoption. She calls me daily in tears telling me that she can’t do it. She knows very well that God has a plan for us and that we will have a family, but it really hurts her knowing that this surgery will be the “final” surgery and will unfortunately eliminate any future chances of becoming pregnant. MK is very strong in the fact that she can even make this decision but greatly needs everyone’s support. She very much needs everyone’s understanding of the emotional and physical side effects of the hysterectomy.
The surgery will be performed at UAB’s brand new and beautiful Women and Infant Center by a specialized Gynecology/Onocologist. Why an Onocologist? MK’s disease, endometerosis, grows and spread in a similar fashion to cancer. Her doctor has the expertise to perform very detailed surgeries of this nature. This surgery will be considered a major surgery and will require at least 3-4 days in the hospital. Depending on how wide spread the disease has become, the doctor may have to rebuild parts of MK’s large intestine. In this event, her hospitalization would be doubled.
Please keep Mary Kathryn, our team of doctors and nurses at UAB, and myself in your thoughts and prayers. We are set to arrive at UAB this Wednesday (1/25/12) around 6am with surgery hopefully beginning around 9am and last several hours. I will try to keep everyone up to date via the blog, email, text, or phone calls. Thank you so much for your love and support. We could not continue our journey without it.
-Bradley
Friday, December 23, 2011
"When God Closes One Door He opens Another"
I'm sorry that we have not posted in awhile, but not much has been going on until this week. After I recovered from my last surgery I went back to see my fertility doctor. She told me that my ovaries were not functioning and that I had another cyst. She said that our only option left for me to get pregnant was egg donation.
After that day I felt like my doctor had done everything that she possibly could for me. I decided to get a third opinion from the infertility department at UAB. I was very surprised when I called to make an appointment and they said we can get you in tomorrow. I thought to myself "It's got to be meant to be." I was so glad that Bradley was able to go with me. As we sat in the exam room waiting on the doctor to come in I kept telling Bradley that I was so nervous. Now, If you know me then you know that I competed in Miss Alabama for several years. I competed during the time that Deidre Downs won Miss America. Let's just say that she was my role model and I looked up to her for years and still do. I knew that Deidre had just graduated from medical school and that she was doing her residency in OBGYN.
All of the sudden the door opened and Deidre walked in. I was speechless. She told me that she was doing a rotation with Dr. McLaren. After everything that I have been through I couldn't have been happier to see a familiar face. I immediately relaxed because I knew I was in good hands. So at this point I knew that God had sent me to UAB for a reason. I later got to meet Dr. McLaren and she was wonderful. She did some lab work and wanted to see me back in a week.
I went back to see Dr. McLaren on Monday and again the news was not was I was hoping for. Again, I was so nervous about hearing the results. She told me that based on test that she did my ovaries are not functioning and from the looks of my pelvic area she doesn't think that I will be able to carry a baby to term. As I sat there and cried I knew what was next. It broke my heart, but I looked at her and said "it's time to move on...I'm ready for a hysterectomy." She said that she honestly thought that it was the best way to stopping my pain.
She said that this surgery is going to be major and that she wants to do it within the next month. I'm nervous and scared, but I know I'm in good hands. I'm going to have an endocrinologist, OBGYN and an oncologist performing my surgery. I have been to three doctors now and they have all said the same thing. I have been devastated since Monday, but in a way I'm relieved because I want have to worry anymore.
We are going to start the adoption process after my surgery. Right now, I'm extremely sad because I don't understand, but I know that years down the road I am going to thank God for the precious child that he is going to give us.
Please keep us in your prayers as this is just as hard on Bradley as it is on me.
God has closed this door and I know that he is about to open another.
After that day I felt like my doctor had done everything that she possibly could for me. I decided to get a third opinion from the infertility department at UAB. I was very surprised when I called to make an appointment and they said we can get you in tomorrow. I thought to myself "It's got to be meant to be." I was so glad that Bradley was able to go with me. As we sat in the exam room waiting on the doctor to come in I kept telling Bradley that I was so nervous. Now, If you know me then you know that I competed in Miss Alabama for several years. I competed during the time that Deidre Downs won Miss America. Let's just say that she was my role model and I looked up to her for years and still do. I knew that Deidre had just graduated from medical school and that she was doing her residency in OBGYN.
All of the sudden the door opened and Deidre walked in. I was speechless. She told me that she was doing a rotation with Dr. McLaren. After everything that I have been through I couldn't have been happier to see a familiar face. I immediately relaxed because I knew I was in good hands. So at this point I knew that God had sent me to UAB for a reason. I later got to meet Dr. McLaren and she was wonderful. She did some lab work and wanted to see me back in a week.
I went back to see Dr. McLaren on Monday and again the news was not was I was hoping for. Again, I was so nervous about hearing the results. She told me that based on test that she did my ovaries are not functioning and from the looks of my pelvic area she doesn't think that I will be able to carry a baby to term. As I sat there and cried I knew what was next. It broke my heart, but I looked at her and said "it's time to move on...I'm ready for a hysterectomy." She said that she honestly thought that it was the best way to stopping my pain.
She said that this surgery is going to be major and that she wants to do it within the next month. I'm nervous and scared, but I know I'm in good hands. I'm going to have an endocrinologist, OBGYN and an oncologist performing my surgery. I have been to three doctors now and they have all said the same thing. I have been devastated since Monday, but in a way I'm relieved because I want have to worry anymore.
We are going to start the adoption process after my surgery. Right now, I'm extremely sad because I don't understand, but I know that years down the road I am going to thank God for the precious child that he is going to give us.
Please keep us in your prayers as this is just as hard on Bradley as it is on me.
God has closed this door and I know that he is about to open another.
Mary Kathryn
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
10/25/11--2-Week Post-Op Follow-up Appointment
Monday, 10/24/11, MK had her 2-week post-op appointment. Her plans were to
go in and get a timeline/game plan on what our next chapter would be. Oh, yeah,
she also needed to get a medical release to return to a full work schedule.
She recounts her first "real" question for her doctor to be "was is as bad as you thought?" referring to the surgery. His response, "it was horrible." MK said she kind of laughed thinking he was being slightly sarcastic. "No, really, it was horrible" again states her doctor. We had known it was bad from her very first surgery but none of the previous doctors had quite taken this descriptive approach.
He then goes on to tell her that he had a recent medical conference in Las Vegas (of course I Googled and think he was referring to the "International Pelvic Pain Society's Annual Fall Meeting" last weekend). He said different doctors submitted cases and pictures of surgeries, etc., to be used in the meetings and presentations. He said he was watching a presentation when pictures came up on the screen that seemed familiar. He kept looking at them and approached the presenter afterwards. His thoughts were correct...the slides were from MK's surgery! Best part is that the discussion was basically looking at "worst case scenario" of Endometriosis. As I stated in my closing sentence from the last paragraph, we have known her case was severe but, oh my, MK has been diagnosed with one of the worst cases of Endometriosis in America. Now MK being a pageant girl, she is all about titles, but not this one!!
Let's look to our future. MK's doctor has said that we need to quickly go
back to our fertility specialist and devise our new game plan. So that said, MK
has made an appointment next week to discuss with our fertility doctor our
options. We have a preliminary belief that we will be limited to IVF and egg
donor. The IVF won't have great odds and we are still developing our opinions
on whether we believe egg donor would be a proper fit for us. Of course, we will discuss and consider all options available to us.
I was unable to attend this follow-up visit. I really didn't think that much about it. When MK called me after she left the doctor's office and was telling me about everything, I was shocked. She was being very strong and collected on the phone, but I can only imagine how this news was affecting her. I even had to step out the back door at work to have the conversation. Now, MK is the strongest woman I know. Not many people, men included, could go through the daily pain and discomfort she is faced with. I can't imagine my life without her and I am blessed to be by her side through all of this. As I have said before, this is my disease just as much as it is hers. She is not alone in this. I would give anything to help alleviate her pain but I have to stay focused that this is working through God's plan. All I can really do is stay positive, support her, and maybe do the dishes, vacuum, wash clothes, etc., to help her out! We will get through all this through our Faith and support from our wonderful friends and family. As MK has quoted from one her favorite books recently, I firmly believe everything will be worth it when we can look at our "little one" and say "If our journey had been easy, we wouldn't have you".
Thanks for listening,
--Bradley
She recounts her first "real" question for her doctor to be "was is as bad as you thought?" referring to the surgery. His response, "it was horrible." MK said she kind of laughed thinking he was being slightly sarcastic. "No, really, it was horrible" again states her doctor. We had known it was bad from her very first surgery but none of the previous doctors had quite taken this descriptive approach.
He then goes on to tell her that he had a recent medical conference in Las Vegas (of course I Googled and think he was referring to the "International Pelvic Pain Society's Annual Fall Meeting" last weekend). He said different doctors submitted cases and pictures of surgeries, etc., to be used in the meetings and presentations. He said he was watching a presentation when pictures came up on the screen that seemed familiar. He kept looking at them and approached the presenter afterwards. His thoughts were correct...the slides were from MK's surgery! Best part is that the discussion was basically looking at "worst case scenario" of Endometriosis. As I stated in my closing sentence from the last paragraph, we have known her case was severe but, oh my, MK has been diagnosed with one of the worst cases of Endometriosis in America. Now MK being a pageant girl, she is all about titles, but not this one!!
I was unable to attend this follow-up visit. I really didn't think that much about it. When MK called me after she left the doctor's office and was telling me about everything, I was shocked. She was being very strong and collected on the phone, but I can only imagine how this news was affecting her. I even had to step out the back door at work to have the conversation. Now, MK is the strongest woman I know. Not many people, men included, could go through the daily pain and discomfort she is faced with. I can't imagine my life without her and I am blessed to be by her side through all of this. As I have said before, this is my disease just as much as it is hers. She is not alone in this. I would give anything to help alleviate her pain but I have to stay focused that this is working through God's plan. All I can really do is stay positive, support her, and maybe do the dishes, vacuum, wash clothes, etc., to help her out! We will get through all this through our Faith and support from our wonderful friends and family. As MK has quoted from one her favorite books recently, I firmly believe everything will be worth it when we can look at our "little one" and say "If our journey had been easy, we wouldn't have you".
Thanks for listening,
Monday, October 10, 2011
10/10/11--Surgery is Over
MK came out of surgery doing pretty well. It was around a 3hr surgery. Herdoctor is very optimistic that the work he performed will help her with her daily pain. We had entered this day thinking he might remove her left ovary and left tube, instead he was able to leave them both in place. He did however remove her right tube. He said it was so swollen with infection he consulted with our fertility doctors and they agreed it needed to come out. He was able to remove several "nodules" of endo throughout her pelvic area. The doctor also found several small cuts in her bladder caused by the endo that is certainly causing her additional discomfort.
I think he was shocked to see first hand how rough MK has had it. He even referred to her aggressive case as to the way cancer might "attack" the pelvic area.
We will wait for now to learn about the impact the success from this surgery will have and our fertility. Until then, we place MK's healing and recover in the hands of our Lord.
For those who have expressed and interest in stopping by the hospital, we are still here overnight and MK will be discharged sometime Tuesday. If you would like the room number, it should be available on patient directory or you can email, text, or call either my phone or MK's (I will answer)
Thank you to everyone who has been thinking of us and praying for us.
--Bradley
I think he was shocked to see first hand how rough MK has had it. He even referred to her aggressive case as to the way cancer might "attack" the pelvic area.
We will wait for now to learn about the impact the success from this surgery will have and our fertility. Until then, we place MK's healing and recover in the hands of our Lord.
For those who have expressed and interest in stopping by the hospital, we are still here overnight and MK will be discharged sometime Tuesday. If you would like the room number, it should be available on patient directory or you can email, text, or call either my phone or MK's (I will answer)
Thank you to everyone who has been thinking of us and praying for us.
--Bradley
10/10/11--Let the Surgery Begin
MK was rolled back to surgery around 8:45am. If all goes as planned, she should be out sometime around noon. MK's final request prior to going back was to listen to the Auburn Fight Song on her iPhone.
--Bradley
Thursday, October 6, 2011
10/06/11 Surgery Rescheduled!
Sorry, that it has been awhile since our last post,
but it has been a lot of waiting to see what our next step will be. Hopefully we haven't posted too much in one day. We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot of catching up to do! It has been
very emotional because it is like riding a rollercoaster. One minute you are up
and the next you are down.
My surgery has been rescheduled for this coming
Monday (Oct. 10th). We are hopeful that this surgery will improve my
quality of life as well as provide us some answers on how to pursue having a
family. They will keep me overnight and then release me sometime on
Tuesday. After that I am hoping for a speedy recovery.
Until then - Bradley and I are looking forward to a
wonderful weekend. Tomorrow, I’m so excited that I get to keep my good friend,
Mary Catherine’s, little baby Anna Scott. This will help to take my mind off of
my surgery. Then Saturday hopefully we will cheer Auburn to a victory.
-Mary Kathryn
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