Gimme a mulligan??

So, here I am again, blogging. It's been over a year since my last blog entry. Sometimes I take for granted that my husband, Talmadge Gleck, blogs everything that goes on in our lives and for me to do so might be a bit redundant. For those who periodically visit my blog to see if I have finally written anything, thanks for visiting! I'll try, once again, to keep up with my blog this time.

What's happened this past year? To start out, since my last blog entry, my Cuz has had an amazing recovery from his incident. The man who shot him has been sentenced to 60 years in prison - he's in his 30's now. Cuz still has the bullet lodged in his neck and will undergo more surgery to his upper jaw in the future. He still has some psychological issues to work out but is doing much better since his attacker has been sentenced. He is back to work on a light duty basis. He's received several commendations from local and state law enforcement agencies and has also been featured on Court TV twice - this is video from one of the shows.

Tal and I have done a little traveling, I got a new job in October at the university I work at (yay, less stress!) and started teaching cake decorating classes at a local craft store.

I've got a few health issues that I am dealing with. Gotta lose weight, and Tal and I have started going to the Y as often as we can. Baby steps...... Been seeing doctors for female issues. If you do not care to hear about them, just scroll to the bottom of the post because from this point on, many of my blogs will more than likely tread into the TMI zone. Well, it won't be that bad, but most entries will probably be about my female parts for which I will not hesitate to use the proper terms. If you are cringing now, you probably won't want to continue. :-P

In early December, I went to my regular doctor for my 3-month follow up visit. She's following my blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. I have a previous diagnosis of PCOS which I've been kinda treated for but since it's such a mysterious malady there just still isn't a real comprehensive course of treatment for it. PCOS can really mess up the ol' menstrual cycle. I haven't been to a GYN for a while, so my doctor referred me to one. I saw the GYN in January who discovered a couple of endometrial polyps growing in my uterus. February 20 found me in Day Surgery having a hysteroscopy (where they insert a scope up into your uterus, blow you up like a balloon, and take a look around). There was not just 2, but 3 polyps and hyperplastic endometrium (thickened, tough lining as a result of the PCOS) which they removed. Tal calls this procedure a "Roto-rooting". I had a similar procedure done 5 years ago with no real follow-up treatment, which is why I had to have it done again.

My GYN called me this past Monday with the pathology report. It's called complex hyperplasia without atypia. This sort of a pre-pre-cancerous condition that could eventually develop into endometrial cancer. There are 2 courses of treatment for this: progesterone for 13 days out of each month and a biopsy every 6 months.........or a hysterectomy. What a decision I have to make. Now, normally a 37 year-old woman with no children whose only been married 5 years would not even CONSIDER a hysterectomy if there was still a chance of her getting pregnant. But I'm not and never have been normal. I've got several cards stacked against me: PCOS means I don't ovulate. Those of you who regularly read Tal's blog know that he's mentioned getting the snip-snip not long after his son, Tiger, was born. Meaning: world peace will happen before Talmadge and Seraphim Gleck procreate.

That being said, the only obvious decision will be to have the offending organ removed. I'd love it if they could do a tummy tuck while they're down there. :)

I had an appointment with my GYN - who I will refer to as Dr. Amy- this past Thursday. Tal was going to go with me so we could discuss my decision and what to expect and prepare for. Unfortunately, Dr. Amy had the flu and was not able to see me that day. So I will be seeing her on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, I have been surfing the net and reading everything I can about hysterectomies and the aftermath. I've got a good list of questions for Dr. Amy. I also came across this support group, HysterSisters. Cute site.

I've already started a shopping list of things to take to the hospital, like an eye mask - a' la Dorothy Kilgallen of "What's My Line" fame:

I told Tal that I wanted one that looked like a pair of open eyes with lots of makeup, like Tammy Faye Baker's. If anyone comes across one like that, let me know! :) Hey, just because you're in a hospital doesn't mean that you can't have fun! You know the saying, "Laughter is the best medicine!".

Before I have any surgery, though, I will have to be tested for sleep apnea. When I had the hysteroscopy, I had a tough time coming out of it and getting my blood oxygen levels up. Back in my Day Surgery room, the alarm on the pulse oximeter (the machine that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood) kept going off and the nurse kept getting after me to breathe. My mom and Tal were in there coaching me,"Breathe! Breathe!" You'd swear I was in labor or something. I thought my mom was going to hyperventilate and probably pass out (the woman has consciousness issues, I swear) from helping me try to breathe.

Tal and I are going up to West Virginia for a few days next week. I'm looking forward to it. We're renting a small cabin up there and will go to Charleston for a couple of days. We'll spend the night in Chattanooga on the way home.

OK, so I guess that's kind of gotten me caught up. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to blog that, too!

Sweet dreams!

Seraphim