Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Dr. Parker is truly a remarkable, talented, gifted and compassionate physician!!  Surgery was a complete success and I'm doing so well.  I'm sure this will be a long post, which is why I haven't gotten around to it until now.  So please bear with me.

Dr. Parker and the oncologist were able to do the procedure laparoscopically, without complications and with a very healthy uterus intact.  So amazing to me!  For them, it was somewhat technically challenging but for me it was a breeze.  He was able to remove that one giant fibroid and two smaller ones.  He also discovered a previously undiagnosed problem and fixed that.  It's called a hydrosalpinx, meaning a blocked, damaged Fallopian tube filled with fluid.  That fluid is believed to drip back into the uterus and is likely toxic to embryos.  It can cause embryo implantation failure and increases the miscarriage risk if the woman does become pregnant.  So he removed my left Fallopian tube as a fix.  When I asked if he could estimate how long that had been there, he said it was impossible to say.  But it would seem likely that it was there at least a few months back and possibly contributed to the failed cycle in February.  I had asked for pictures and he provided, about 25 of them in all.  So interesting to me.  

In his book, he talks about how he likes to be there as the patient is brought into the OR, and stay with them as they are medicated.  He says he talks to them about going off to some tropical location as they are put under anesthesia.  And I couldn't help but wonder if it was really going to happen that way.  It did!  Exactly like that.  He helped wheel me into the OR, helped the team position me for a minute then stayed right by my side, holding my hand, talking about Tahiti until I heard the anesthesiologist say "here comes your Versed." Then I was in recovery.  What a calming, reassuring way to go into surgery.

Laura arrived as planned while I was in the OR and I remember asking many times in recovery if I could see her.  The nurse kept making me wait.  I realized later that I wasn't making myself clear and she didn't understand the circumstances of me being from Virginia, and Laura having arrived from Pennsylvania only after I was in the OR.  She did finally let Laura in "for just five minutes."  We went back to the hotel about three hours post-op, Friday night.

Saturday Laura and I took the bus down to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  It's a nice shopping area, close the beach, with various outdoor entertainers.  The weather was beautiful and we just took our time browsing the shops, people watching and had a nice Italian dinner.  Sunday morning we went to church then back to the hotel for a short nap.  After that we went to the Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park and the beach.  Being Memorial Day weekend it was packed but again a beautiful day.  We shared a delicious crepe, with Nutella, strawberries and bananas, before heading in for the night.  I'd never had a crepe before and oh yum!  Monday we took a bus into LosAngeles for some more serious sight-seeing.  We found a bus that allowed you to "hop on, hop off" at several of the famous landmarks and spend as much or as little time as you wanted.  So we started at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel that is known for the movie Pretty Woman.  It's gorgeous, with tons of huge orchids all over the lobby.  Across the street is Rodeo Drive where we both loved the same pair of Versace shoes.  Too bad they were $775!  We rode a double decker bus that was open on top with very little clearance between us and the trees.  Laura had her picture taken at Michael Jackson's star on Hollywood Boulevard.  We shopped at the American Girl store for our niece, took pics of the Hollywood sign, saw the famous Chinese Theater, rode alongside Beverly Hills where many of the stars live, and just thoroughly enjoyed our day.  Just before it got dark we hit the crepe place again, this time splitting a caramel and banana crepe.  We took public transportation everywhere and that was an experience in itself.  At times scary, always interesting.  Managed to walk 1.5 miles Saturday, 4 miles Sunday and almost 5 miles on Monday.  

Dr. Parker called both Saturday and Sunday to check on me.  He caught us Sunday evening at dessert and asked if I was at a party as it was noisy.  I believe he was a little surprised that I was out.  But I really felt good, with only minor abdominal pain.  The worst part was the intermittent shoulder pain they had warned me about.  It's the result of having your abdomen pumped full of gas during the surgery to allow visualization. I had an appointment with Dr. Parker Tuesday morning and he was very pleased.  Said my exam was "remarkably normal" and I was cleared to come home.  We went straight from his office to the airport via another city bus, saving us quite a bit of money.  Thanks Laura!

I simply cannot say enough about Dr. Parker!  He did what five other physicians said was not possible, what three of them opened me up for and tried to do.  And not only did he do it successfully, but laparoscopically!   I will forever be amazed by Dr. Parker's skill, talent and what he has done for me.  Not only is he an awesome surgeon but so incredibly kind, patient, and gentle too.  The Patient Comments section of his website was very helpful to me when trying to decide if I should call for a consult.  I have written and sent to him my comments for this section.  I would recommend Dr. Parker to anyone with fibroids, especially a complicated case like mine.  He was completely worth the trip across the country!

Here are a few of the pics from our trip.

Beverly Wilshire Hotel