Dear all,
This is much later than I intended to get back here ? ah well.
I went in for the op (D & C) on Friday but knew that I?d have a long wait as I was booked as an ?emergency? (not that it was but it was one way of getting treated sooner rather than later). I had a hot cross bun and cuppa at 9am (just before teaching) and a glass of water at 11 am and that was it for food and drink for the day. Dh picked me up and dropped me at the hospital at around 12.30 and I was shown to a bed immediately in a 4 bed ward. This was in a brand new women?s hospital (only opened in December) so I felt like I was the first one to use that bed. There were 3 others in there and after about an hour or two of quiet reading we got talking ? one had been reading a ?Miscarriage Association? leaflet so I assumed she was in the same boat as me but it was a suspected ectopic pregnancy. She was also waiting for surgery and hadn?t eaten since the night before. Her other children were in their teens and she hadn?t wanted any more but had fallen pregnant after having a coil removed. She seemed pretty low but it was more the uncertainty and hunger as she was much brighter later when they decided not to operate and allowed her to eat. They couldn?t find anything in the scans so although the pregnancy test was positive they couldn?t see where it was. She had some pain and a bit of bleeding which indicated a possible problem so they were going to keep her in for monitoring.
The others were an older woman waiting for a hysterectomy and a mother of five who was 8 weeks pregnant and so dehydrated from sickness that they?d brought her in and she was on a drip. Once we?d all swopped stories it was a much friendlier place to be and chatting helped pass the time which dragged on and on for me as I just had to wait. By the time it was 10pm I was just changing into pyjamas when they came for me and I was in theatre in 20 minutes. The nurses were great and I asked one what would happen to my ?product of conception? (I hadn?t been asked what I wanted to do with it and wasn?t sure what I would have said anyway) ? she said it would be taken to a church for a blessing and then incinerated. Whether or not that was true I don?t know but it was the right thing to say to me at the time. I was under for about 20 minutes and amazed at being awake again so quickly and not feeling a thing. Back on the ward I was desperate for a cuppa which a kind nurse brought with 5 Rich Tea biscuits but that was all till breakfast.
I assumed I?d have breakfast and leave but we had to wait for the doctor so in the end I couldn?t get away till 11.30 on Saturday morning. The older woman had gone to another ward and a young girl who also was suspected of having an ectopic pregnancy replaced her. She had a 15 week old girl and was obviously scared of losing a tube and not being able to have more children. I told her the story of the woman on MN who had twins despite having only one tube but I felt that the doctors should be doing more to inform her ? she was getting really worried about everything.
We finally got away and I had a proper meal in the nearby Tesco café. Dh had taken the day off thankfully so I could relax although I felt fine really having had a good night?s sleep. Mentally I?d been prepared for a long time and as I said, when I was on the ward I felt I had more access to help and support than the other women and so felt very lucky. Naturally I recommended MN to them! S*d?s law having stocked up on 2 weeks? worth of pads, I have already stopped bleeding! I?m not complaining but it?s not what I expected ? or what any of you experienced (??)
A friend who lives in Peru called while I was in hospital and called back the next day when I was home. She?d just had a boy in September and I?d sent an outfit and a card. Anyway I decided to tell her where I?d been the day before and why and she revealed that she?d had a m/c before conceiving her son and it was a harrowing story as her dh had been away when she?d had to have the op. As it was their first they were both devastated. It was good to be able to share our stories although I dread to think what that long call cost her!!
Anyway that?s the closing chapter of my m/c experience. I might move on to a ttc thread but I?m scared of getting too hopeful / obsessed / not hopeful enough / not obsessed enough IYKWIM.
Thanks for the thoughts and hugs everyone ? (((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))) back! Hope you?re all well and picking up the pieces. Happy Valentine?s and successful bd to all who are ttc! (there?s something cliquey about this jargon but it?s a nice one to be in!)
BTW I like the new 'threads I'm watching' facility - much easier to lurk hesitantly!!