Today I sneezed and it didn't hurt.

4 weeks and 1 day in and I finally had a comfortable nights sleep...on the couch. I just might graduate to the bed - move over honey, I'm back!

On January 4th I had full blown surgery: Ovarian Wedge Resection on both ovaries and removal of Stage 3 endometriosis, performed by the famous Dr. Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. As the over-achiever I am, I expected to be fully recovered earlier than the "average" person. And although I am feeling fine most of the time, especially when I rest for most of the day, I am not yet able to say that I am 100% in the clear. I have to constantly remind myself, and my husband helps periodically, that I had major surgery and although the outside looks nice, it's the inside that we need to be most concerned about. I am still a little swollen, and my incision is now at that "incredibly itchy" stage, but today I sneezed and it didn't hurt. To me...this is a sure sign that I am healing.

So what is an Ovarian Wedge Resection? It surgery for women with Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD or PCOS), in which the doctor removes a wedge of the ovary. In my case, my ovaries were five times the normal size, and Dr. Hilgers kindly made them "normal". I interpret this to mean that he cut out 80% of both ovaries. My left one, probably not that big of a deal, but my right one was invaded by an alien, endometriosis, which had to be cut out and lasered. I called it "my alien" until 1/4, because that is what it looked like. To see the pictures of it taken in November during my laparoscopy made me literally scream outloud - it was beyond gross-looking. I called it hidious, Dr. Hilgers called it aggressively ugly. We prayed it wasn't cancer...and it wasn't. It was endo, and Dr. Hilgers said he can remove it, of which he did. Then we heard the number: 80%. My surgery was a 10 out of 10 and the predicted chance of us conceiving now is eighty percent. I wanted to name my blog eighty-percent, but some monkey guy has it and hasn't posted in two years. Grrr!!! But My Heart Exults is more appropriate, for my suffering is not new to women, it is historical. And these women inspire me to trust in the Lord, for nothing is impossible...