After fourteen months of silence on the blog front, I will open up now with a trip to the hospital. I spent two nights this week in Al Ahli Hospital, which is located about 2 minutes from my house. Let me rewind and explain how this came to be.
We are currently halfway through our second year living in Doha. I had not had any sort of medical check up since moving here (besides dental), so I asked around for an OB-GYN and scheduled an appointment. This was in early February.
I went in fully expecting just to talk with the doctor, instead of actually receiving a check up. I had heard from other teachers here that insurance has to be approved first, so you cannot actually have anything done during the first visit. The doctor asked me a couple questions, and seemed very surprised to hear that I have an IUD (mirena) in place, even though I do not have any children. This was a concern I had two years ago when I had it put in, because I had heard that IUD's are for women who have already had children. My doctor in Bellingham assured me that that is not the case; they are great for women of any age. I am not sure that I completely agree with that, but I am not a huge fan of putting additional hormones in my body. Alas, I did not want children, and was moving overseas for an indefinite amount of time, so I had it put in. Back to Doha. The doctor had me jump up on the bed as soon as she heard IUD. She said she needed to do an ultrasound to check it out. The next thing I heard was, "big cyst," and "you need operation." Hmmmm... I took a few breaths and waited for her to explain herself. She never really did, but she insisted I return first thing in the morning for a transvaginal ultrasound, to get a better look at the cyst.
Of course I looked up ovarian cysts immediately and read what I could find: almost all women from teenagers to menopause have ovarian cysts, they go away on their own, there is no cause to worry. So by the time the next day rolled around, I was certain there was not much of a problem. I went in to a different doctor this time, and she pulled up the cyst on the big screen. "Are you in pain? This is very big. You do not have pain?" I had not had any pain that I was aware of at this point. I guess I was lucky, because I have heard they can cause severe pain.
I returned to my original doctor the same evening to hear the results, and for the pap smear, which was the purpose of my original visit. She told me that the cyst was 7 centimeters and needed to be removed soon. She mentioned missing work, anesthesia, and not being able to drive. I was hardly hearing her since I was still trying to process the news. Mostly, I was thinking, are you sure? Isn't this a little rushed? Shouldn't you watch it for a while?
She probably sensed my hesitation, and then told me to go home and return after my period. I waited about ten days to go back, which allowed for the pap results to come in, and my period to finish. She told me right away that my results were in and everything was normal. Phew. A bit of relief. Ten days gives you a lot of time to come up with things that are wrong with you. The ten days also allowed me to contact Dr. Duenhoelter, the doctor who delivered me and all of my siblings. It felt funny and unique to be calling my mom's old OB-GYN for medical advice, while he was on vacation in South Africa. But you should know that I do keep in touch with him quite often, so it was not as strange as it sounds.
Dr. Duenhoelter immediately quelled my suspicions and agreed that any cyst that size should be removed. He offered his advice and encouragement, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I scheduled the surgery for Sunday, the 28th.
The morning of the surgery I was anxious to get it over with, but not nervous. I knew someone who had had a similar surgery done by the same doctor, and I read online that laparoscopy was a surgery she specialized in. I was just eager for it to be over, and curious as to how I'd feel on the other side. I checked in at 10 AM to a nice room on the second floor. Jake was with me the whole day. They prepped me with an IV and fluids and then I had a three hour wait until surgery. The actual thing happened about an hour later than it was supposed to, so you can imagine that I was itching to get it over with. I didn't want to miss a lot of school, and the faster it's over the faster I could heal. A team of about 10 nurses were with me in the operation room. The filipino nurses were kind and friendly, and kept me distracted through conversation.My doctor came in and said hello and then they put me under. I found out later the cyst had grown to 8 centimeters by the time they removed it.
I woke up about an hour later, just like they said. I had 30 minutes of recovery before they wheeled me into the hallway where I saw Jake and Rachael. For the next hour I was pretty groggy, but felt alright. Jake and Rachael talked with me, and then Alex showed up and the three of them were eating dinner in my room when a nurse came in to check on my bandages. When she pulled back my covers, we were all surprised to see a large circle of blood covering my gown. My belly button incision had bled through the bandage and my gown and created a perfect circle. I joked that it looked very Game of Thrones-ish. A different doctor pressed down on it, until they could clean it up and re bandage it.
After that, it was smooth sailing, for the most part. I had to be on a liquid diet for dinner and breakfast following surgery. They said I could eat after I "passed gas," which they checked up on every hour it seemed. "Did you pass gas? Miss, pass gas?" You will all be happy to know that some time after breakfast the day following surgery, I was able to return to my regular diet. The food in the hospital was good; the nurses were nice. Overall, I was impressed with my stay at Al Ahli. The doctor came in and checked on me and told me to return next week to see her again. I have three incisions that are healing well, it seems.
I am so grateful to have Rachael here. From the hospital readiness list, to the huge bouquet of flowers before I even got out of surgery, she has been checking on me at every point. I told her I felt pretty spoiled throughout the whole process. Alex joined her, too, spending their Sunday and Monday evenings with Jake and I in the hospital. Matt and Yolanda came by separately for visits and it was great, as usual, to chat with them. Danieal was checking on me throughout the week and of course delivered a bouquet of flowers, despite my greatest efforts at telling her to only bring herself. Tuesday afternoon I was discharged, and today was my first full day at home. Maha (my supervisor) and Reem (fellow teacher friend) just came by after school with another beautiful bouquet of flowers and ice cream. Reem is always bringing me my favorite treats.
All of this to document and remember my first surgery since I was 4, and the first one overseas. I have been grateful throughout the whole process for jobs that provide us with good medical care, time off of work, teachers that support me in my absence, and friends and family who have visited, called, and written to check up on me. Jake has been here at every point, making sure I don't lift a finger. I am lucky to have him, and appreciate him entirely.
And that sums up my trip to the Qatari hospital! :)
I went in fully expecting just to talk with the doctor, instead of actually receiving a check up. I had heard from other teachers here that insurance has to be approved first, so you cannot actually have anything done during the first visit. The doctor asked me a couple questions, and seemed very surprised to hear that I have an IUD (mirena) in place, even though I do not have any children. This was a concern I had two years ago when I had it put in, because I had heard that IUD's are for women who have already had children. My doctor in Bellingham assured me that that is not the case; they are great for women of any age. I am not sure that I completely agree with that, but I am not a huge fan of putting additional hormones in my body. Alas, I did not want children, and was moving overseas for an indefinite amount of time, so I had it put in. Back to Doha. The doctor had me jump up on the bed as soon as she heard IUD. She said she needed to do an ultrasound to check it out. The next thing I heard was, "big cyst," and "you need operation." Hmmmm... I took a few breaths and waited for her to explain herself. She never really did, but she insisted I return first thing in the morning for a transvaginal ultrasound, to get a better look at the cyst.
I returned to my original doctor the same evening to hear the results, and for the pap smear, which was the purpose of my original visit. She told me that the cyst was 7 centimeters and needed to be removed soon. She mentioned missing work, anesthesia, and not being able to drive. I was hardly hearing her since I was still trying to process the news. Mostly, I was thinking, are you sure? Isn't this a little rushed? Shouldn't you watch it for a while?
She probably sensed my hesitation, and then told me to go home and return after my period. I waited about ten days to go back, which allowed for the pap results to come in, and my period to finish. She told me right away that my results were in and everything was normal. Phew. A bit of relief. Ten days gives you a lot of time to come up with things that are wrong with you. The ten days also allowed me to contact Dr. Duenhoelter, the doctor who delivered me and all of my siblings. It felt funny and unique to be calling my mom's old OB-GYN for medical advice, while he was on vacation in South Africa. But you should know that I do keep in touch with him quite often, so it was not as strange as it sounds.
Dr. Duenhoelter immediately quelled my suspicions and agreed that any cyst that size should be removed. He offered his advice and encouragement, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I scheduled the surgery for Sunday, the 28th. The morning of the surgery I was anxious to get it over with, but not nervous. I knew someone who had had a similar surgery done by the same doctor, and I read online that laparoscopy was a surgery she specialized in. I was just eager for it to be over, and curious as to how I'd feel on the other side. I checked in at 10 AM to a nice room on the second floor. Jake was with me the whole day. They prepped me with an IV and fluids and then I had a three hour wait until surgery. The actual thing happened about an hour later than it was supposed to, so you can imagine that I was itching to get it over with. I didn't want to miss a lot of school, and the faster it's over the faster I could heal. A team of about 10 nurses were with me in the operation room. The filipino nurses were kind and friendly, and kept me distracted through conversation.My doctor came in and said hello and then they put me under. I found out later the cyst had grown to 8 centimeters by the time they removed it.
I woke up about an hour later, just like they said. I had 30 minutes of recovery before they wheeled me into the hallway where I saw Jake and Rachael. For the next hour I was pretty groggy, but felt alright. Jake and Rachael talked with me, and then Alex showed up and the three of them were eating dinner in my room when a nurse came in to check on my bandages. When she pulled back my covers, we were all surprised to see a large circle of blood covering my gown. My belly button incision had bled through the bandage and my gown and created a perfect circle. I joked that it looked very Game of Thrones-ish. A different doctor pressed down on it, until they could clean it up and re bandage it.
After that, it was smooth sailing, for the most part. I had to be on a liquid diet for dinner and breakfast following surgery. They said I could eat after I "passed gas," which they checked up on every hour it seemed. "Did you pass gas? Miss, pass gas?" You will all be happy to know that some time after breakfast the day following surgery, I was able to return to my regular diet. The food in the hospital was good; the nurses were nice. Overall, I was impressed with my stay at Al Ahli. The doctor came in and checked on me and told me to return next week to see her again. I have three incisions that are healing well, it seems. I am so grateful to have Rachael here. From the hospital readiness list, to the huge bouquet of flowers before I even got out of surgery, she has been checking on me at every point. I told her I felt pretty spoiled throughout the whole process. Alex joined her, too, spending their Sunday and Monday evenings with Jake and I in the hospital. Matt and Yolanda came by separately for visits and it was great, as usual, to chat with them. Danieal was checking on me throughout the week and of course delivered a bouquet of flowers, despite my greatest efforts at telling her to only bring herself. Tuesday afternoon I was discharged, and today was my first full day at home. Maha (my supervisor) and Reem (fellow teacher friend) just came by after school with another beautiful bouquet of flowers and ice cream. Reem is always bringing me my favorite treats.
All of this to document and remember my first surgery since I was 4, and the first one overseas. I have been grateful throughout the whole process for jobs that provide us with good medical care, time off of work, teachers that support me in my absence, and friends and family who have visited, called, and written to check up on me. Jake has been here at every point, making sure I don't lift a finger. I am lucky to have him, and appreciate him entirely.
And that sums up my trip to the Qatari hospital! :)
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| Pre surgery snap chat |
Thanks for sharing! Glad all went well and that's behind you!
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