taking out the monster in me

I had a major operation last Friday (16 June) to remove a big-ass dermoid cyst on my left ovary. Initially the plan was to excise the cyst and leave the ovary but when they cut me open, they found out the cyst was all over the ovary and removing the ovary became part of the surgery. The cyst was benign. A cyst was also starting to form on my right ovary so she had that cauterized as well (i still have my right ovary, thank God). I wasn’t able to see how the cyst looked like or how big it was but judging by the way my ob/gyne described it with her hand it was as big as a ponkan, about 7.1 centimeters big.

Dermoid cysts are a curios lot. According to Doc Malou, mine had teeth, hair, nails and fatty tissues. Since I wasn’t able to see mine, I googled for images. If you’re curious, head here.

Weird ano?

I had the operation at the same hospital where I gave birth to Veda. My doctor and I were laughing at the irony of this cyst operation. You see I was diagnosed with hypertension when I was pregnant with Veda but through it all I managed to deliver her normally (even if at that time my BP was so high – it was really a miracle I had a normal delivery). Almost 5 years later, I am back and this time she had to open me up ala caesarian to get to the cyst. Funny how life sometimes work out.

I brought so many things with me to the hospital: books, magazine, my zen player, my cross-stitch box – you get the drift things to while the time away. Thursday, the first book I opened was Gilda Radner’s It’s Always Something and on the foreword she narrated how she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 40. Ack, i immediately asked Buddy to bring it back home. Next time na lang. talk about inappropriate material.

It’s been just over a week since the operation. I stayed in the hospital for five days and have been in the house for 4 days. Cabin fever is slowly settling in. Am glad people have dropped in to cheer me up: Teenee, Niña, Maps and Raims, Kris, Vin and Kaio, Sherman and El (hospital and house). Later, Indi promised to drop by. Really looking forward to that.

Veda is the one who is the happiest with this arrangement. Her mother doesn't get to go anywhere. She's always complaining when i go out (she doesn't complain though when it's about work - i think she understands the implications hehehe). I remember one time, she told me as i was preparing to go out at night "Mama, you don't watch your favorite show anymore. Look, the OC is on o" Hahaha One time she told me, too "I just want you to sit down on the sofa and not go anywhere." now she's more sophisticated: she cries ever so hurtfully and convincingly and says she's sad when i go and that she really misses me so can i not go and just be with her? aww.

I'm fine with the recovery and all and i'm really tending my wound. But damn if i don't get cough and colds at the same time. do you know how hard it is to cough when your abdomen has just been cut up? No? Well, i do now. It's hard. i have to cough in stages. I sound like some wheezing cat trying to cough out a hairball, hahaha. Then last night, my nose started running. argh. veddy, veddy inconvenient.