The pathway forward....

I returned from the North of California to recover at Jason's parents house, two doors away from home.  Dad and Mom graciously accepted me into their home to continue my care.  This decision was made because the night before my trip home the family that was still at the household all started to get a stomach virus.  I am so grateful for the transitions that I am experiencing in my recovery and see blessings in all of it.

I am having challenges, emotionally and physically as I am recovering.  It is not as easy as one would think to sit and rest and ask others to do for you.  There are going to be many facets and challenges to my recovery.  We were made aware by Dr. Cook that surgery was just the first step in my healing.  My body has been beaten down with disease and medicines trying to help the disease, for so long.... And now the pathway forward needs to be given the time it is due.  I constantly have to remind myself of the extent of the surgery that I had, in order to give myself the permission to still be where I am at currently.   I did have four organs removed and my insides skinned, after all. 

My next step now that I am back was to find a team leader to oversee my health care.  I lost my other Kaiser doctor, in the process of my fight for healing, and was seeking and praying for a replacement.  I looked to the Kaiser in Woodland Hils, CA.  I began reading bio's of physicians that were located at that facility.  I came across Dr. Diedre T. Fisher.  Her bio showed that she worked and trained at the CEC, Center for Endometriosis Care, in Georgia.  This was excellent news.  Dr. Sinervo who runs the facility is one of the few Doctors who does surgery similar to Dr. Andrew S. Cook, who did my surgery.  The CEC would have trained Dr. Fisher in the latest techniques and studies regarding Endometriosis.  I decided to give Dr. Fisher a try.

I made and appointment with Dr. Fisher and was miraculously able to fill a spot that somebody had abandoned in her schedule and was able to be seen by her the same week as my call.  I met with Dr. Fisher today.  I was very nervous about meeting her, afraid that the Kaiser machine would deny my care or that Dr. Fisher would be put off by the whole fight against Kaiser I had been through or the fact that I went outside of Kaiser for surgery, against Doctors recommendations.

When I finally got to meet Dr. Fisher it was amazing!!  She put me at ease immediately.  She asked me questions, read my pathology and operative reports and looked at the pictures of the extent of my disease and listened.  Then Dr. Fisher looked at me and told me that there was only 8 people that she is aware of that had the capability to remove this disease, at this extent, and I had found one of them, Dr. Cook, whom she was familiar with.  She confirmed that our family made the right choices to have surgery outside of Kaiser with a specialized team and that I was truly blessed to have family that believed me over the physicians at Kaiser that were recommending against surgery and full excision.  I got up and threw my arms around her and began crying and she just held me and said its all going to be okay now.  

Once I confirmed with Dr. Fisher that I was going to be transferring all of my care over to her, she said that she was very excited to witness my recovery.  She reminded me that my body has been through so much for so many years, upon years, that it was in a sort of Post Traumatic Stress state.  It will take some time to unravel the damages.  Dr. Fisher created a team for me, saying she wanted to support me in various ways during my recovery.  First she has set me up with a Specialized Physical Therapist who will work through the damage to my abdominal cavity.  Then she has ordered a specialized massage therapist who will work through the rest of my body.  In a month or so the accupuncturist will be added to my recovery team.  

I was reminded by Dr. Fisher, who agreed with Dr. Cook's Nurse Practioner, Kaja, that my "New Normal" will take months to experience.... Kaja saying up to a year or so, due to the fact that I had been stationary for so long before surgery, had the extent of that disease for so many years, and such a complicated surgery.

Dr. Fisher left me with the following orders:  rest, light walking with a gradual increase, she cautioned me to take the pain medications, saying "don't be afraid to take the pain med.s as they are helping me heal not covering a problem", and focus on anything that is calming, relaxing and enjoyable.  I have been ordered to get some sunshine each day and to work on changing my eating habits to fight the endometriosis from returning.  <Endometriosis is fueled by inflammation; stress, white flour and white sugar are triggers for inflammation.  Those I my first three items that I will be tackling in this next phase. >

The importance of Dr. Fisher may never be realized by anyone besides myself.  It was like when I received my operative reports and pathology reports and pictures of surgery.  I had a fully trained intelligent medical professional employed by Kaiser, who looked at my life and validated all of the things I have been experiencing physically and emotionally.  She recognized the damage both of body and mind caused by being denied the surgery and questioned and doubted and disbelieved by an entire Kaiser medical community.  She acknowledged the extent of the debilitating pain that I was living in daily and the pain I am experiencing now.  It was a huge moment and huge weight lifted.  

Although it is not easy coming to grips with the fact that my body no longer has the capacity to give birth and regaining my trust in doctors again, I have much hope.  That hope is in God.  God has come alongside me in a multitude of ways both small and giant and provided for me repeatedly.  God has sent me many people to be an encouragement via texting, listening, talking, praying, cooking and other minute ways that didn't involve people.  God is truly my provision.  I am renewed constantly that I am in the palm of His hand and that I can trust His plan.  I still have endometriosis, as this is an incurable disease, but by God's grace and power, I have hope to be in remission.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:6-7