It's Gonna Be A HEATWAVE!!!

So, there's been a lot of blogging and talking and crying and thinking in the fetal position about my hysterectomy which is in  *GASP* four days and that means I know something you might not have realized. On Saturday I will officially be in menopause. Well then, holy crap.

I have a great doc who has been treating me for ten years (and mostly because of my train wreck hormones) who is comfortable and very experienced in working with compounded bioidentical hormones, so that's a plus, but menopause it just sounds so OLD. I have been promised near instant hot flashes and mood swings (blue sky beware), and that it might take a few months for us to get just the right dose of all of the hormones. So that means more blood testing and more symptom journaling and now wondering, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg" but wait, I won't have any eggs, so it must have been the chicken. Anyway...

I've even broken down and read 8 pages about hysterectomy of this wack-a-doo's book: 

REALLY???

I bought this in one of my middle of the night sleep-meds-induced shopping extravaganzas. 

It's so fun to see what arrives at the door sometimes...

Maybe she does have something good to say, but somehow I just can't swallow it. I'll try again tonight. Maybe. 

I haven't really thought much about the surgery since my naturopath told me to be at peace with it all. That helped me a lot and I had a great phone appointment with Dr. J where we talked through my fears, he talked me off a ledge, again, and we discussed how my Lyme treatment will unfold post-op. I am pleased with the plan, as it seems there is mapped out way we can ward off the spirochetes from repopulating while not going full blown back in treatment while my body is still a bit vulnerable. After a reasonable break, I will do a "bridge week" and then the following week go back on my last treatment, which I did quite well on, but that went pretty hard after the Babesia. We'll see how I do with this post op. PLEASE let this one not make me heave. Pretty sure that would hurt after all of the upcoming disruption that's about to happen in my abdominal area. 

Sigh. I guess I am thinking about this now. And I am kind of stressed. You know, in a peaceful sort of way. I think. 

As is I didn't feel old enough because of my date with menopause on Saturday, I am now Instagraming, God help me. It's like rocket science. Do me a favor. Just find me and like me or heart me or # me or whatever it is and help me find my way. I feel SO out of my way. I am SUCH a Facebook expert and yet, so out of it when it comes to Instagram. So just find me - TWISTOFLYMEBOOK

And I'm TWEETING and Pinteresting now too. What is WRONG with me? Well, I love social media but I am also in bed A LOT and it's something to do since I have binge-watched every show I wanted to watch and hate every other suggestion I have gotten. I even dedicated a category to Binge-Watching for Lymies on my Pinterest page. You can find me everywhere at the same name - TwistofLymeBook basically because if I come up with another name I will forget it - because I have Lyme. Sigh. 

Tomorrow morning at 7:25a.m. I will be on WICN 90.5 FM a jazz and NPR station out of Worcester, MA. NPR during the beginning of rush hour! YESSSSSS!!!! So, if you are in the area, tune in! If you aren't click on the link prior to the interview in case you need to download something to listen live. I will also request a file to add to my podcast station, which we are working on and will soon be available on iTunes so you can subscribe and listen to all of my interviews - pre and post-menopause!

In any case, I am going to go enjoy tonight, one of these last evenings of my youth, by going through my taxes with my financial guy, to make sure we haven't missed anything before I submit! Yeah, my taxes are done, you heard me right. Now to just save up for that first estimated tax increase. It was a good year last year since I am lucky enough to work from home = computer in bed, and I am sure this year will be better. That's just the reality I have to create. Things will just get better and better from here. 2014 just HAS to be my year. And I hope it's YOURS too!

First radio interview

Here is my first crack at a radio interview. If you haven't done one of these about your own own piece of work, it's a little nerve-wracking but I hope I held my own in this one!

You can listen to the podcast here

Thank you for listening!

Love & Health, Andrea

Roller Coasters and Gratitude

Well, if you have been reading my posts lately, you will notice they have been VERY up and down. And I am glad you have witnessed that because that is exactly what it is like to suffer from Lyme Disease. Some days are OK, some days are hell. Some hours are good, some hours, not so much. As a patient you learn to live with Lyme not to let Lyme live you, which actually still does happen from time to time.

It's been a very stressful month with the subject of the hysterectomy having come to the forefront and I have found myself dealing with a lot of pent of fears, frustrations, and questions - on top of all of the excruciating bodily pain, exhaustion and mental fatigue I experience on a daily basis. My normal roller coaster has kind of been like running up Mt Everest and then jumping off Niagara Falls all in an hour, every hour, for about a month.

It's also been very exciting. My PR campaign for the book has started now and I am really thrilled that people are taking notice, booking interviews left and right and more importantly than than them being interested in my story, they are interested in LYME, which is what needs to get out there. We need to really have a rational, fair, uncorrupted discussion about what we are going to do about this pandemic and honestly, I think it has to start with someone like me - just a mom from NH - a neutral - to make this happen.

My interviews have gone beautifully so far and I am enjoying them. I feel I am living up to my calling which is to spread awareness not only about Lyme, but to give the disease a voice, to humanize it in a way that we are talking less about spirochetes and biofilms, and more about the lives that are being lost, destroyed, and mangled at the helm of this incredibly gigantic ship with no captain.

The questions are hard, because Lyme is so misunderstood - What are the symptoms of Lyme? Well, pretty much everything - there are 600. I assure you though, I have a fine-tuned answer to that one. Why is it so hard to diagnose? Well, the people who make up the IDSA all had conflicts of interests or colleagues who did, so it wasn't an impartial study that was done...all those years ago... at all. I basically refer people to Under Our Skin, the documentary, for that. Mostly though, what I have found is that once I start speaking MY truth, what it has been like to watch Lyme weave its way through my life in its various stages from my tween years until now when I am almost 40 and a single-mom of a five-year old, it's almost as if the hosts are left speechless, not sure what to say, because Lyme is so overwhelming, so incredibly audacious by all standards that it almost seems to horrible to be true.

But it IS true. And this is also true. There are some really wonderful people in this world and a lot of them are in my life. I have worked hard in my life to be honest, good, helpful, and loving to all people. It has always been hard for me to ask for help, but Lyme has been humbling and I have learned that not only is it OK to ask for help, but it is a part of being a complete human to do so. For when we ask for help, we are allowing others in.

While I recover from surgery, my parents' house will be occupied by house sitters which means... you guessed it - my usual caregivers will not be here to take care of Mini or me. And while it has left me completely panic stricken at times throughout the past two weeks, I managed to map out everything that would need to be done from pick ups and drop offs, to meals, to caring for me, to caring for Mini, to play dates, to just watching Homeland with me and you know what? Every single slot on that list was full within about 24 hours. I have some amazing friends. I will add that two people are coming up from over 3 hours away to stay with me for half the week - one for the first half the other for the second weekend. Now if those aren't good friends then I don't know what one is.

This has also meant that I need to put the pedal to the metal on Mini's LONG overdue birthday party. Her birthday was in the middle of January, but I was in the Dominican Republic (mother of the year) with my job, and then went straight back into treatment. SOOOOO this weekend we are having a puppy party. I won't spoil all the details for all of those 5 year old readers out there, but the cuteness is almost too much and it has been fun preparing for it this coming weekend. Someone is pretty excited. I am not sure if the one who is MORE excited is the one who is 5 or the one who is 38.  I just hope it will be a good Lyme - but I am creating the reality that it will be.

So today, while I have had some pain issues, I just want to stop, take a breath, and say THANK YOU to everyone who has signed up to help out after my surgery. I am also so grateful to the hundreds of you who have sent me your kind words about my book. It absolutely gives me goosebumps to read that you felt as if you were reading your own story, that finally someone understood you. I am glad you have a resource to share with your loved ones now so they can see from another angle what it's like to be "one of us".

I am grateful for so many things, but most of all, I am grateful today to my Lyme Literate Naturopath, Dr. Steve Clark who said something to me in an appointment last week that allowed me to unleash myself from the chains of stress I was holding onto so tightly. After lots of talk about bio-identical hormones and how we will go about treatment after my hysterectomy, he ended the conversation with a sentence which freed me, "Andrea, I think the best medical advice I can give to you right now at this very moment is for you to be at peace with the surgery and subsequent treatment."

And with that, having sought out four opinions- 2 female, 2 male; 2 GYNS, 2 Lyme Specialists one of which is an ND, I realized that I am doing the right thing and I am ready, willing, and able, to allow this surgery to help me heal and move onto the next stage toward long-term remission.

Pre Op - Dejá Vù - but no já vù

I probably got my slanty things wrong. Sorry france. Apparently from the red underline the word slanty isn't a word either. Sorry America. I have more important things to talk about. You see, I am about to kick several organs to the curb.

Today I went to the sixth pre op appointment in my life, all caused because of Lyme. I hope this will be the last, but that is unlikely. Anyway, I went to have my pre op for my full hysterectomy. I am in a better place now than where I was during my "Breakdown" entry a couple of days ago.  That said, I have not slept more than 4 hours a night in 5 nights and I am exhausted.

Dad showed up this morning to take me to the pre op appointment. I had originally wanted to drive myself, since I am doing some driving now at certain points of the day, but with the snow and all, it was good that we decided he drive. We talked the whole way down which was strange because we weren't interrupted every 30 seconds by a certain small person in the back and I think we actually had some conversations, but I don't know what we talked about.

And that was the theme for today - Lyme Brain. I have no idea what I said r what was said to me at any point of the day today. I don't know who has called me or who has not.  I don't know how Mini's day was even though she told me. I think something happened that was exciting, but I don't know what. I do remember that she ran straight past me to hug her grandpa. Little rat.

Anyway, my surgery is all set for February 28 with the Galileo robot and my surgeons Dr. Blyenberg from Garrison Women's Health, an Osteopath that I just dig, and Dr. John Schorge, Head of Gynecology Oncology at Mass General, coming in for my full hysterectomy. There is no fear of cancer, but he is an expert at very difficult surgeries and I am very good at offering very difficult surgeries, so it seems we will be a good match.

I was invited in and told the doctor that we could go through the girly stuff together before bringing my dad in because he doesn't need to be all up in my girly grill. I forgot that I blog it all anyway. LOL. So here's what she said. It fees so much better said it anonymously (not so much) behind a screen. No sex for 8 weeks and no submersion in a tub for 8 weeks. I can shower normally and s long as I can pee, et and drink normally, I should be out of there the next day. That will be good for Mini.

So then I let Dad in. Of course I remember that I was a back seat driver with Dr. Blyenberg and was like make sure you look here because this hurts like a bitch and my pelvis holy crap and.... she said we will look from HERE to HERE showing me the middle of my ribcage down to my pelvic area. She also suspected that this horrendous thigh pain i have had for 25 years has been radiated uterine pain. Super. But hey I remember that part. And I remember her saying the word PRINCESS. That for two weeks I am to be a PRINCESS and not pick up anything. I can handle that *grin*. But I have to walk around. I remember that. But not too much. I don't know know much much. I am confused.

Then she talked and talked and I signed something and that was that. Dad seemed to have taken pages of notes. He is well trained from DC. On the way home I told him how confused I was and he said, "well I took notes." So I guess we'll just trust the robot. The one stupid thing is I have to go ALL THE WAY back down there just to have my pre op blood work done. I can't have it done here then sent down. I have to drive down. So unnecessary in this day and age.

So I have two weeks left. I'm a little uneasy about it, but I just have to go with the flow. So that's the update. 15 days until menopause...

Breakdown

So here's the truth of it all... I'm starting to have a minor nervous breakdown about the upcoming hysterectomy. And I think I am entitled to feel this way. Minor may not be the right word. You see, I spent about seven hours today wailing in my bed undecided as to whether I was wailing about my pain or the fear of the surgery and more importantly, the aftermath.

I mean, I'm not scared of the surgery itself. I feel like a pro right now and to be honest with you, I am kind of looking forward to the happy gas and morphine drip after all of this pain for so many months. I know it sounds sick and it is. I mean, I am REALLY sick.

I'm freaked out by the logistics of the week of the surgery, since my parents' home will be occupied not by them, but by house sitters, as they will be away, so I have had to divvy up the week's responsibilities regarding caring for Mini and me among myriad of people, which will be hard on Mini because she doesn't do well with transition and frankly, because she doesn't really know several of the people who have stood up as real friends and are traveling up to help out by staying here for a few days at a time then switching shifts. Many friends have been nice enough to set up daytime play dates for Mini which is GOLDEN, because it will allow for her to have FUN with her besties and for me to sleep, while my caregivers twiddle their thumbs and deal with my needy dogs.

But back to the breakdown I had today, it was awful. And it went on all day. To begin with, my assistant has been sick yesterday and today which is fine, we are all allowed to be sick, don't I know it. But today, it meant Mini had to be late for school because Hoovie had to go to the dentist at 8, so she didn't get picked up until 9. In the meantime, my car was towed away because the other day I was driving it and it wouldn't go over 5 MPH and I got a message saying "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE". Yeah, no shit. I was lucky to get it home.  So the car got towed, Mini went to school and I got in bed and waited for a 10:00a.m. interview with The Hippo, a newspaper out of Manchester, NH with a 206,000 non-repeat readership. So that rocks. And the interview went well, I think. I looked forward to that because then the rest of the day I could go to bed.

Go to bed. Yeah right. When I tell you that the phone rang all day and the door bell rang all day, I mean it was ALL DAY. I seriously almost lost my mind. Around 11:30, just at the beginning of it all I started crying. I just wanted to go to sleep after my third night of 4 hours of sleep. My clock is turn upside down again. I've left a message with Dr. Jemsek about that. Not good.

So all of this noise, and you know how sounds sensitive I am, was driving me nuts and every time I was just about to fall asleep something would ring or knock or beep. Of course I could have turn off the phone, but I was waiting for Dr. Jemsek to call me back so I had to leave it on. And as I cried, I started to think about the surgery and all it entails. Menopause. OMG. I am just about to be 39. The sweats, well that is OK because I am used to that from Babesia. But I read something about hair falling out after a hysterectomy and I lost my mind. Gaining weight. Vaginal dryness (fine that can be remedied). And of course I am going to use bio-identical hormones, but I will have to get tested all of the time to see if my testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen levels are right and you know, I am just generally freaking out.

I suppose it's normal to second guess this kind of thing before it happens and thankfully I have my pre op on Thursday so I can weep with my GYN and ask her all of these questions. I suppose it would be more concerning if I went in with a bugle and some pompoms singing "Ode to Take It All Out", but still, I'm freaking out. And everything hurts on top of it. I am on multiple pain killers and the only one that seems to touch the pain is the narcotic that I try to stay away from unless I really need it, but I suppose tonight is one of those nights and honestly I probably should have just taken it after the interview this morning.

I have cried so much today that honestly, I wonder if I didn't have Mini if I would have survived the day. It's been THAT bad. I'm OK, but it's because I love my daughter. And that's the reality of Lyme. It may be tough to read, but it's true. Lyme is a seemingly never-ending physically, emotionally and mentally painful pit of misery and it feels like every time my dirty nails have scraped their way halfway to the top I fall down again. So am I OK? NO. But do you need to be concerned? NO. And you can thank Mini for that. And you can cry with me because today it just is THAT bad.

Choice Words for Those Who Say Lyme Does Not Exist

We have known for some time now that I am an overmethylizer. A few cycles ago we stopped the prescription Deplin and B-12 injections, which were helping me detox. Most people who have this problem test positive for the MTHFR mutations, for which I tested negative. So, we don't know why I am so sensitive.

I am having a REALLY hard time right now. Beside the excruciating pain I am experiencing from the endometriosis which is out of control because internal bleeding is being caused by my first period in five years, because we just took my IUD out 2 weeks ago. This proves that I have endometriosis and that we are doing the right thing with the hysterectomy, although we already knew that.

Anyway, on top of all of that, the pain is causing insomnia and the overmethylation depression and general malaise. I am exhausted, miserable, and in pain. Pain killers seem to help for a stint, but not for long. And I have physical signs of what I am going through. Thank GOD my boyfriend lives at a distance and does not read my blog, because this is just gross, but it's Lyme reality:

Don't judge. Just call me brave for posting that nasty piece of reality. I have tried to brush that away so many times you wouldn't believe it. But it is what it is and it comes and goes and when it appears I know my body cannot handle the speed at which my organs are trying to detox and my body collapses. And that is what is happening now on top of the endometriosis. 

And so now I am crying. I don't understand how anyone can say that this disease doesn't exist. Spend 5 minutes in this body at any time in the past 29 years and enjoy any one of the symptoms that I may have had at that current time - pain, confusion, panic attacks, social phobias, migraines, loss of feeling in various parts of my body, exhaustion, hallucinations, depression, rage, stiff man syndrome, skin conditions, thyroid issues, white splotches on my skin, burning sensations on the bottoms of my feet, "growing pains" in my thighs, gastrointestinal issues, endometriosis, any number of hormone issues, Addison's Disease, connective tissue disorder, PCOS, degenerative disc disease, a friggin green ass tongue and the list goes on. DOESN'T EXIST? Excuse my choice of words but FUCK YOU.

The end. 

Set Your Alarms - Let the Interviews Begin!

While I am busily filling in all of my family needs for my downtime during my upcoming surgery, there is no rest for the weary here. I feel AWFUL and honestly cannot get that robot on me fast enough, but I have an important message to spread and I do not intend on letting pain slow me down. So, for the next several weeks I have some radio interviews set up, as well as some possible print interviews in the works, some local, some further away, and some possible (fingers crossed) very large national press possibilities. 

In the meantime, I ask you to listen online this Monday, February 10 to my first two interviews. Mind you, I will probably be very nervous and this will be my first novice crack at it, so give me a break, but it's press and press we need! 

The first interview is with a big radio station in Portsmouth, NH which reaches down to Boston and up to Portland, ME. Um, AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!   It's at 10a.m. EST on  WHEB 100.3 ROCK and you can listen LIVE via the link at the top of the page.  This is RIGHT after the Morning Buzz which is a HUGE show, so let's hope for THOUSANDS of listeners and LOTS of attention on Lyme! 

The second interview is that same night, Monday, February 10, at 8:30pm EST on a radio show out of Tampa Bay, Florida called Health, Wealth, and Wisdom. You can also listen to this on the internet by clicking the link at the top of the page. 

Mind you, my Lymie friends, my book is about my PERSONAL experience with Lyme. My goal is to HUMANIZE Lyme. I will not get into the medicine and science behind Lyme because I am not a doctor, scientist, or researcher. I am a Lyme expert when it comes to my own experience as a regular person who has suffered for 29 years, 26 undiagnosed. And that is the angle this will be coming from. 

So, I ask you to tune in, show your support and spread the word! This is exciting stuff! Let's make some noise about Lyme, sell some books - A Twist of Lyme: Battling a Disease That "Doesn't Exist" can be purchased from http://bookstore.archwaypublishing.com/ and we can really help people understand that this disease is not only REAL, but a pandemic. 

Robots, and Experts and Surgery, Oh My!

Today was a long day for this Lymie. Mom picked me up early in the morning and we headed down to Portsmouth to go to Homeland Security to get a TSA Precheck for me so I can skip those nasty airport lines and not have to take off my shoes, etc. This will be great, with all of the traveling I do and especially when I take Mini on the Disney cruise in April. There is nothing worse than that line that doesn't MOVE and the people that cut the line at the Orlando Airport.  That process was very easy and in 10 days I should have my known traveler # which should make traveling WAY easier.

But it went so fast we had a lot of time to kill. So where did we go? Target, obviously. I was armed with my brand new shiny handicapped mirror badge and we went in to get Mini some things to do for the incoming Snowmaggedon (supposed to get 6-10 inches which means 12-16 here in the snow belt), but also some Valentines to work on. That was great because I NEVER would have thought of that until the day of...

So, we bought crafty stuff and i bought some unnecessary necessary stuff and we still had time to kill, but that was great because it was time for lunch. We decided to go to Chili, where I had not been in probably 20 years, but was right there and we just decided to go. As we were eating, we noticed three uniformed men stand up after their lunch and shake the hands and thank the people at another table. They had clearly paid for their lunch to thank them for their service, something that I will definitely do in the future. It was REALLY nice to see.  I love moments like that.

So we got through lunch as slowly as we could and... still an hour to kill. So we went to Petco and I bought Gunnar a memory foam insert for his crate, not because I am a loon, but because some of the bottom plates have fallen through and I have been padding them with lots of fleece blankets. I also managed to find the closest thing to his favorite ball which he ate last week,  so I had to throw away the rest. He has literally been sitting next to the pantry door where I keep the dog toys since the day I threw it out. Scratching and whining on the door. DRIVING ME NUTS. Of course I bought two but they will always want the same one!

And then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and I bought some rather large heart-shaped cookie cutters to make my blue sky his favorite strawberry pancakes in the shape of hearts when he comes up next weekend for Valentine's Day. I am not a huge Valentine's Day person, but I have a short person here who LOVES all holidays, so I do what I can. I got some red placemats, a special one for her, a special plate and cup and napkins. I think everyone will be happy.

Well by this time we were done killing time and while arriving early to my appointment was to be at 1:45, I got there at 1:22. And thank goodness! WOW! The electronic device paperwork to fill out took a LONG time!  First, I want to say, that the energy of the office was incredible. It was upbeat, positive, and nurturing. I did not feel that way about the stark, sterile, serious, Dartmouth Hitchcock experience.

I only waited about 5 minutes after I was  done to see the nurse very briefly and then VOILA! A doctor on time! And she was really lovely. It was like chatting with an old friend. Very informal and yet, she asked all of the right questions, and didn't give me any crap about my Lyme. HOORAY! Anyway, we spoke at length about how the doctor at Dartmouth Hitchcock had give me an actual date for a March 5 full hysterectomy and that quite frankly, I did not like or trust them and I would prefer to do it with them at Wentworth Douglas in FEBRUARY being the keyword. I told her I would go in tomorrow if they needed me to.

I explained my "Lyme in the Coconut" chapter from the book to her (thought I didn't tell her about the chapter I explained the actual event of the 9 cm coconut-sized endometrioma) and she looked horrified and for her it seemed to be the icing on the cake. Yes, she was bringing in the big guns. I am so fortunate to say that she decided to bring in the Head of the Gynecology Oncology Unit from Mass General to use the Galileo robot surgery on me! Now, I do not have cancer... but my body is so complicated with the connective tissue disorder and adhesions I have developed from Lyme, that I need the best surgeon available and this surgeon, at the country's #1 rated cancer treatment hospital for several years, is the guy to do it. *goofy little jumps and golf claps*

Needless to say, I feel once again that following my gut and pushing forward and being my own health advocate has worked in my favor. I KNOW I AM IN THE RIGHT PLACE NOW.

Now, there was a bit of a hullabaloo on Facebook tonight that my status were sharing too much about my GYN issues, just my mention I had a GYN surgeon. Ok, I'm not going to get into this. My friend was just trying to make the point that not everyone has the full picture that these issues are stemming from Lyme and that that is why i am speaking so openly about it.

Which brings me to the following, Lyme causes gynecological issues. It has given me a lifetime of extreme menstrual-related myalgia, endometriosis surgery via laparoscope, a coconut-sized cyst which not only cost me my left ovary, but was adhered to 2.3 of my pelvis and they couldn't even get in through  my belly button, but had to open me up and do a laparotomy, a pretty serious operation, bring in another surgeon to assist in getting it done and admit me for 3 nights in the hospital. Lyme has caused secondary adrenal insufficiency (Addison's Disease) in me, as well as hypothyroidism. In short, there is not a freaking THING this disease has not done to my hormones.

It's important that you know this because Lyme is some serious shit. YES - everyone knows your joints hurt. YES - by now you that we have extreme fatigue and yet fight incredible insomnia. A lot of us a psych cases. But I really didn't even know that my endometriosis was caused by Lyme in my first book, so I never wrote about it like that.  You may not know things like this that Lyme can lead to situations like I am in now, which is why I choose to relinquish my privacy to educate the public and give Lyme a voice. I will continue to post about how things unfold and as always, thank you for following my journey.

Please comment on this blog entry HERE (not on FB) and all blog entries, as I love to hear from you. Also, if you have read the book, please be sure to REVIEW the book on Amazon! It's very important that there be a lot of response to the book, as my national PR campaign is now in full swing! I have two radio shows booked on February 10, which is very exciting! Things are starting to roll here! Let's just hope I don't have surgery THAT day LOL!

If You Want Something Done Well...

Most people can't wait for the weekend to come. For me, it's just an inconvenience. You see, when you are going through coordinating a major operation in conjunction with treatment for a chronic illness which isn't recognized as an actual illness, it's just a pain that offices are closed and another two days go without the ability to firm up plans.

My visit to Dartmouth Hitchcock, was helpful in that she agreed I should have a full hysterectomy, was a bit of a bust, because they cannot get me in until March 5, a time when my parents, due to other obligations, will be unable to care for me or, more importantly, for Mini. The next available date they had was March 17, which would have meant the recovery period would extend into my company's national conference and even into the Disney Cruise I have booked for Mini and me. So, Dartmouth Hitchcock's offers are simply unacceptable. And to be honest, there is not way I can even wait 5 week with this level of pain in my lower abdomen and lumbar to have the surgery done. So then I'd have to push it into what would be MAY is just ludicrous. So, as usual, I had to take things into my own hands. 

I did some research and decided that my next attempt would be with Wentworth Douglas Hospital in Dover, NH. This is actually a fantastic possibility because if I can get in in February, and I made it clear that that is a must, they actually have the Galileo robot surgical system to conduct the procedure which GREATLY  cuts down on risks, recovery time, and hospital stay. So this is very exciting. The woman on the phone was SO NICE I could not believe it and she actually took it into her own hands to get the records from DH which they swore they would not be able to send until next week. And then... she got me in for an appointment with one of their GYNs two days later. So, I go in to see her on Tuesday. I begged on the phone to not have to be examined again - that the decision has been made and the exam is so painful that I get teary even thinking about it. 

It will be interesting to see how it all turns out, but I am hoping it will just be a smooth transition. The hospital just underwent an incredible renovation, is closer to home, and I love the holistic/integrative approach of the GYNs AND they have the robot. So, maybe it was all meant to be anyway.   

Just a short post, but many have asked for the update. Now if Monday morning would just come around, so I can get back to scheduling...