I will be having surgery soon. The surgeon felt around my tummy and said
that I had a good sized hernia and that we had to close it "as soon as
possible." So, if not before the end of the year, definitely the first week
of January. It depends on when they can find an open operating room. He's
going to try to do it laprascopically but I have agreed that if he can't get
the mesh in or if the hernia is just too big by then, that they can reopen
me to fix it. What they do with one this large is slip a mesh (similar to
door screen) under the hernia opening and tack it up to the layer that's
open (that's why laparoscopic is the best method for these surgeries). Then
that layer will scar into the mesh and form a solid front to keep my insides
inside. He made a point to tell me that the recovery is usually painful
because the body will fight having the mesh there. Can't be helped. Hernias
left unfixed can potentially become life-threatening. I'd rather go through
a few weeks of pain than have this sucker rupture or strangle something. The
doctor said the scheduler would call me the next day most likely with the
schedule and instructions for prep steps. I called the surgeon's office
today and his scheduler laughed. She said the doctor may think things work
that fast but they don't. He's completely booked in the operating room
through December so my surgery will probably be the first or second week in
January. In the meantime I am to keep a low profile. No lifting, carrying,
pushing, pulling, or long walks. Sigh. Doing nothing doesn't come easy to
me, but I will try.

When I sit up after laying down, a little "tennis ball" sticks up from my
tummy. It's quite pronounced but goes down as soon as I no longer have my
tummy muscles tight to sit me up. Bob is, of course, mother-henning me.

DeeTee