Surgery Preparations

So two days ago I underwent a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This is a fancy way of saying they've removed my uterus, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes.
(I'm writing this before surgery and setting it to post later, just in case you were reading for an update!)

I've been delaying this surgery for a few years, but it was time to do it now for several reasons. I'm hoping my iron levels start to go up. This should help prevent a cancer recurrence. And stop all the issues I've been having with ovarian cysts.

And still, I'm not quite thrilled about having another surgery and going under the knife again. But I'm smart and trust my doctors and recognize that it's time. And if there's anything I know about, it's getting ready for surgery.

So I thought, I'd share with you what I did to prepare for this upcoming surgery. Most of which I've done before my other surgeries.

Around the house:

• I cleaned what I could and tried to get as much laundry done as possible.
• Since I usually drive the kids to their things, I left a list of regularly scheduled things for the husband to drive.
• They have a few things coming up that are one-time events. I have already lined up rides for the kids with other (very helpful and kind) parents.
• We have temporarily set up the room on the first floor for me so I won't have to do stairs for a few days. 
• Left the husband with a list of important passwords, not that I think he'll need them, but just in case. 
• I took care of things on my to do list that I've been procrastinating on (it's amazing what surgery prompts you to do!)

In the bedroom:

• Fresh sheets on the bed because that's just nice any time! 
• I've pulled out some clothes from the dresser drawers/closet. 
• The clothes are now folded and sitting on the top of the dresser so I have easy access to them (sometimes after surgeries, it's hard to pull those drawers open - this was an issue after my mastectomy and with some of my reconstruction so I just do it now with every surgery and it just makes things easier).
• I bought a paper holder and did not put paper in it, but it perfectly holds the tablet, the kindle, and my cell phone.
• I got a holder for my phone cord so it won't fall to the floor on me.
• I have a special wrap light so that if I need light in the middle of the night, it's right there for me.

Random things:

• Clipped my nails so I won't have to worry about it later
• Bought some pajamas that are wicking fabric in case the hot flashes kick in really badly
• Bought some button down shirts - I used these after my mastectomy and it was so nice. Someone suggested that I might want to do that for the first few days after this surgery as well. I had already gotten rid of my other button downs (as I don't normally wear them)

Things I didn't do this time that I normally do:

• Make some dinners in advance
• Line up dinners from friends
• Line up some activities for the kids 
• Get a haircut so I wouldn't have to deal with my long hair - which I will now. Bummer.

For relaxing and passing time as my body heals:

• I splurged and purchased kindle unlimited and got my 10 book limit.
• I used my library's on-line site and downloaded my 5 book limit.
• I was gifted the Texture app and it's all ready to go.
• (Side note: the texture app gives you access to a lot of magazines and you can read whichever ones you want, whichever articles you want for a monthly fee. It's pretty amazing and I am already in love with it and have read so many interesting things. It's great for those moments you have 10  minutes to read, or when you aren't feeling well and you don't want to have to remember details from a book!)
• I stacked a few actual books in case my eyes are bothering me and I can't look at screens.
• I stacked a few videos in case I want to watch something. 
• Have some games ready to play on the tablet along with netflix, amazon prime, and on demand app. 
• And of course, I have some knitting ready to go

This surgery is a bit different than the others because my husband will be able to work from home for a while - which will make things so very much easier. And while this means that he will be working, without a commute time, he'll have more freedom to do things like cook, help with cleaning, and being the taxi for our children.

I know I have a lot of things listed to help pass the time, but I am definitely using this time to just let my body heal. I have been feeling so unhealthy lately. So not only will this be forced time to heal from surgery, but to just heal my body in general. Especially with my husband getting to work from home, I'm trying to frame it in my mind that this is really just a vacation for me and a time to relax. Not that I'll do nothing, but I'll take it as easy as I can.

Anyway, I think I prepared well before surgery. In fact, I'm positive I over prepared by a lot! I suppose I'd rather be over-prepared and not under-prepared!