ALHAMDULILLAH

''Ahh.. Aliya. I almost did a hysterectomy, you got multiple ones" said Dr.Kuna, my gyneacologist.
My heart stopped beating. There I was, still stuck on the hospital bed with the drip tube on my left hand and the urine tube from 'you-guess-where'. Totally helpless. I could only stare at him.
"We took out two big fibroids that cause the bleeding and left the tiny ones alone. If we try to scrap them off, your uterus will be spoilt, then we might as well take out the whole uterus. Don't worry, they're small and will take a long time to grow, hopefully."
"Thanks, doctor," I smiled at him.
I'm so relieved and thankful. If it's another doctor, I'd have lost my uterus. Dr. Kuna is well-known and highly-respected for his philosophy of preserving the patient's uterus as best as he could. And I'm fated to be his patient.

The surgery (open mymectomy) was successful. It was performed at about Zohor. I could only tawakkal to Allah swt as I was wheeled into the operating theatre. As He wills it, most of the surgical team members know my mother who had worked at the hospital before (she was an AN at OT) so I was surrounded by people asking if I'm 'so-and-so's daughter." I had a spinal anaesthesia and I could feel myself being operated on. However when the 'scrapping and digging' started, I suddenly lost consciousness. Later I was told that due to the complications found, they had decided to make me unconscious, huhuhuu.

Alhamdulillah, I was back in the ward at about 4.30pm. No dizziness, fainting spells or nausea. However, it was 10.30pm before the medical officer allowed me to eat anything ( I kept complaining to the nurses that I was hungry and thirsty, hahaha). By the time I had a cup of milo and a piece of plain bread, my tummy was having a life of its own. Wind. I could feel it turning. It was terrible. I had a tough time trying to sleep with the pain from the wind in the tummy. Instead, the 3-4 inches wound was quite painless.

The next day, after being stuck on the bed for 18 hours or more, I was begging the nurses to allow me to get down from the bed. "No, you have to wait for the anesthetist", they said. The anaesthetists arrived at 10a.m and finally I was allowed to get down from the bed at 11am. Again I was thankful because Mom arrived at that exact moment. With her help, I managed to walk about on my own.

5 days at the hospital ward was full of memories. I'm fortunate that Allah swt send me some kind people to help me. My hospital mates were helpful and friendly, and as they could walk about after their own D&C, they had helped me when I couldn't help myself even to a cup of water (being stuck on the bed with tubes). We kept each other's spirits up and cracked jokes to pass the time. The stories we shared were enough to write a book, hehehe. Rosiza, Hanisah, Kak Aini, Saadiah, and Siti. Pregnant with diabetes, miscarriages, bleed during pregnancy, nausea during pregnancy, etc. Ah, it's tough being a woman. When they left on the 4th day, I was quite depressed as the new set of roommates were not so friendly.

"Kak Aliya, this is the discharge letter," the nurse gave me at 4.55 pm. "You need to take the medicine at the pharmacy by 5pm."
Gosh, I was helpless. Husband was still on the way and my mother had gone down to the canteen without her handphone. I prayed for help. And helped came unexpectedly.
"Aliya, these are the medicine for you. Antibiotics and painkillers. Complete set so you won't have to come tomorrow to take your medicine. I'm sorry we don't have enough medicine for the bleeding and BP. Do you still have extra with you?" asked a senior nurse who came personally and handed me the much-needed medication.
"Yes, I think I have some extra at home, thanks Kak Rahmah," I patted her hand.

Alhamdulillah I'm safe and sound at my in-laws' house in the kampung. Am trying to sleep but couldn't, so decided to type something on my laptop, hahaha. Am waiting for the weather to be warmer before I take my first shower after my surgery. I know, some people had advised to just sponge myself due to the wound but my hair's been limp and sticky. It's about time to get up from the chair anyway. I'm stiff as a robot and am still suffering from backache. And the only race one I could win now is against the tortoise :P

Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers. Alhamdulillah I'm fine now. I'm really thankful for everything that took place. Nothing that ever happens in our lives is bad. It's how we humans perceive them. I've found many silver linings in the every dark cloud. I'd just need rest and good discipline in order to recover fast. The surgery mark will always be on my body. Don't know yet what it will stand for but I'm looking forward to many more sunny days, insyaAllah. One thing for sure, I'll be looking for a bikini soon (wink, wink). I'm looking forward for a good time in the jacuzzi wearing my new bikini, hehehee. Oh yes, I should keep reminding myself that I've just had a surgery and must do things slowly for at least a month (forgot and tried to lift a bag this afternoon - ouch!)
See you soon, insyaAllah.