An Anniversary of Battle Scars

Hey guys

How’s Thursday treatin’ ya?  We are having another very cold day here…BRRRRRRRR!!!!  It is really helping to get us in the Christmas spirit, though!  I did some online shopping this morning for a few must have items; I even found a coupon code online for American Eagle that took 20% off my total!  That was totally worth the googling effort I had to do to find it.

In looking at the calendar to decide on my shipping preference, I realized that it was exactly one year ago today that I had my hysterectomy.  Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a YEAR.  It has gone by so fast!  One year ago today I made the CHOICE – yes, it was my choice – to have a complete and total hysterectomy.  That’s right, everything’s gone…uterus, ovaries, cervix, tubes. 

If you aren’t squeamish…here, have a look:

This is one of my ovaries, so pretty and white:

Here you can barely see part of the other one:

And here is my uterus that carried and nourished our 3 beautiful babies: 

Are you gagging?  I hope not.  Apparently, according to my doctor, she said that I had the most perfect anatomy she has ever seen.  Um, thank you?  I think.  And what made this all even better was that when they did the pathology on everything, there was no trace of cancer anywhere!  Which, after an initial cancer diagnosis is always on your mind, so that was good to know.

The only thing left to remind me of my hysterectomy is two scars on my belly and one in my belly button (that you can’t even see)…well that and the “normal” effects of menopause.   Battle scars.

Also during surgery, she removed my port:It had done it’s job, delivering life saving chemo and other meds into my body without having to damage my veins using an IV, so it was ready to come out.  Now all I have left is a scar where it was removed.  More battle scars.

And of course there are scars on my right breast where the tumor was removed and then underneath my right arm where my lymph nodes were removed.

At one time I thought I would want all these scars removed professionally, along with my tattooed dots from radiation.  But, honestly, now I can’t even imagine not having them.  I am proud of my scars.  I earned them.  Every single one. 

I fought cancer and won, and I have the battle scars to prove it.

And even though my surgery one year ago took away a big part of what makes me a woman, I am a STRONGER WOMAN than I was before.

Be Blessed.

xoxo