Thursday, February 21, 2008

The straw...

As I've discussed ad nauseum (or at least it feels that way... I've talked a lot about all of it IRL, but I know that I've been a pretty quiet blogger lately, so this may not feel so ad nauseum to you, but it definitely feels that way to me!), I seem to have a lot going on in life these days. As a recap:

  1. My mother-in-law is going thru chemo (for the 4th time) for her leukemia. Once her condition improves to the point that she's strong enough for surgery, she will need to have her spleen removed.

  2. It's crazy season at the office, and I have very little time to do anything (often including real work) during my work day. Most days I feel like I spend all my time answering stupid questions, making appointments, and trying to get other people's work out. Everyone seems to forget that I'm responsible for about 50% of the billable work that goes out of here from now until April 15, so I don't give a shit that you need me to proof-read this letter, or fix that spreadsheet.

  3. There is some other family drama going on that I'm choosing not to discuss around here (privacy concerns and all that jazz), but believe me when I say that it's taking it's own toll.

  4. I'm a jackass, and have volunteered (again) for a committee that I don't really want to be on, that plans a function I don't really want to go to, for an organization that I am regularly decreasing my involvement in. Oh, and I volunteered completely out of a sense of duty & obligation, rather than it being volunteer work I'd enjoy doing. Sense any resentment on that one?

  5. My surgery is scheduled for April 18. To say that this whole situation was a surprise would be an understatement, and a lie, at the same time. I have endo, and it sometimes comes back. I've had to have surgery to remove a GIGANTIC FUCKING CYST before, and it looks like I get to do it again. The good news is that Dr. N thinks he's got a 50/50 shot of removing the cyst robotically, so same day surgery & about a week's recovery time. The bad news... the need for surgery itself sucks, the other side of that 50/50 equation is another laparotomy with a 3 day hospital stay & 6 week recovery, I won't know which procedure he does until after surgery (so I'm stuck in this lovely hoping for the best but preparing for the worst mind-set), and I have to wait EIGHT FUCKING WEEKS for the surgery. That, in and of itself, could be enough to drive this poor girl bonkers.

  6. And the kicker... the one that I must laugh at for fear of screaming myself mute, or pulling all of my hair out one handfull at a time.... I discovered Tuesday that some asshole had stolen my check card number. And used it. In New York. To the tune of $500. Fortunately, my credit union is FABULOUS, and I will have all of the money credited back to my account by the end of business today (after 10 pages of faxes, several signatures, and multiple phone calls). We didn't have anything hanging out there payment wise that will bounce because of this fiasco (Thank God!). And at this point, the only inconvenience left is that I don't have use of my card. I should have my replacement within a few days tho.

That last little assualt on my sanity was the one that did me in. The proverbial straw that broke this camel's back. So, I spent yesterday alternating between napping in bed, and watching bad tv on the couch. Not exactly what I should have done with a Wednesday in the midst of tax season, but exactly what I needed.

10 Comments:

Katarina Jelly Beana said...

Too much for one fair maiden, such as yourself, to handle.

You seem to be getting through it all, though. Yay You!

Tigger said...

I've been having "broken camel" days too. :) Enough so that one day last week I thanked Aaron for being my sling, the one that holds my back up every time something new comes along. I then had an artist friend draw me a picture of a camel with it's back in a sling... :)

If it's any consolation, a splenectomy isn't as bad as it seems on the surface. Aaron had one when he was 9, his sister when she was 5. His mother and all 3 of her siblings have all had one, all due to a blood disorder. They all have problems, but it's possible to function without a spleen as long as she's careful about getting sick. If you want more information, let me know. I'm full of it! (information, that is...)

Kaci said...

Ugh Beth! I didn't realize you had money stolen! What a pain in the ass! Glad the CU is at least good to work with.

If you need a girlie break from it all, let me know. My weekends are open :)

Lollipop Goldstein said...

That absolutely sucks beyond words--all of it. The credit card thing makes me so cranky--we had that happen too this year. And the anticipation before the surgery is almost as bad as the surgery itself. Hang in there, Beth.

nancy said...

I'm still confused about your surgery. Why would it take all that healing time to get a cyst removed? I've had 4 uterine surgeries and it was only a couple days after outpatient surgery. Am I missing something? I think I am.

IdleMindOfBeth said...

Nancy,

If they can do the surgery with robots & scope, it'll be an outpatient procedure with only be a few days healing time. If not, it means full abdominal surgery, 3 days in the hospital, and a minimum 4 weeks recovery (my last one took 6 weeks, as much because my short term disability approved it as anything. I *could* have pushed myself back to work at 4 weeks, but 6 was better).

Normal cyst surgery, def not as big a deal. But, since I tend to grow 'em big (this one is currently at 9cm, the last one was the size of a pop can when it was removed), they get a bit more involved.

nancy said...

Mine was 10cm, so that's why I was a bit confused. I just had an outpatient lap and that was that. I thought maybe you were talking something completely different. Ack - I hope you don't have that much! Is it more involved that what someone with a c-section has to go through? Not that you'd (or I) would know, just wondering if the recovery is that involved for that - they cut to get to the same places I'd assume, right?

I sure hope they can do it with a simple lap. I've had 4 of those and it's easy-peasy.

nancy said...

oh - and do you have wendy's email? She went invite only and I don't have her email!!!

IdleMindOfBeth said...

Nancy,

I think the lap risk this time is tied quite a bit to the fact that I had a lap the 1st time. New doc, but similar cyst size & placement.

Old doc did a lap the 1st time because she couldn't tell from u/s or CT what specifically the cyst was, or what it may have been attached to. She also wanted "plenty of room" to get in there and make sure nothing else was involved.

I get the impression New doc may want to do some similar looking around, but thinks he can do it with the scope. I also think the scar tissue from the 1st lap might be a concern for the 2nd surgery, but I don't know that for sure.

Yes, I have a scar similar to a c-section. I think mine is a little smaller (4 or so inches across), but in the same area.

And sadly, I don't have Ms Wendy's email! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

nancy said...

Well, here's to hoping the lap will work. I've had 4 surgeries and the scar tissue didn't have any issue with the surgery itself (just with the problem itself!!)

I sure hope you get it taken care of quickly once they FINALLY get there. My god - I can't believe how long you have to wait for it. That's insanity!