One Year On

12 months ago I had a full radical hysterectomy as a final (extreme) attempt to regain a quality of life I was only able to dream of due to being a stage 4 sufferer of Endometriosis.

Lots of you will have followed the story on my socials but after years or debilitating periods, many trips to A&E, previous surgeries, juggling a busy self employed life with heavy duty pain meds and generally losing around 3 weeks every month to this goddam disease I decided (after a LOT of consideration and a couple of false starts) to proceed with another 'final' surgery.

It was scary, difficult, extremely emotional (hullo surgical menopause) and really super hard and of course painful at times. It is NOT a solution for everyone and in the big scheme of things this is still early days for me too. This disease can be relentless and can return, I am under no illusions. However, for me, in the current moment, I am living my best 90% pain free life and I am so glad I made the decision to have the surgery.

I have no periods (game changer right there btw). I am on an HRT gel that gets slapped on my arms in the morning and a capsule I take before bed, easy.

My meds have kept any major-ish menopause symptoms at bay and asides from the odd bit of internal overheating I reckon I've done pretty well!

My care team at my GP practise and at the Glasgow Endo clinic have been fantastic and supportive at every stage of my recovery and in the midst of a pandemic too.

Fellow Endo sufferers have been absolutely solid support for me, I can't thank them enough. Through Instagram messages with strangers, Facebook support groups and friends who also suffer, I have been in awe of these wonderful people who also have to fight and survive with this invasive and incurable disease. We have shared experiences with one another so personal that I doubt they could be shared without some serious eyebrow raising going on! Ha, the stories we've told!  Thank you to all of my family, friends and customers too, everyone has been so supportive as I've undergone this major surgery and recovery.

Sure, there are still some issues with my insides, I am awaiting further appointments to work on the tweaks to get me back to 100% but right now, life is good, seriously good people.

Apparently, never one to rest on my laurels, (or in thigh length support stockings) all that time I had to rest and recover has had me dreaming, plotting and planning the next chapter of my life. Big stuff all this removing of your insides and surviving Global pandemics right?

I have been gradually figuring out what my future looks like now that Endo is on (hopefully very, very long) hiatus. I decided it looks a lot like being back on an island where I spent most of my school years growing up, it looks like the seaside, it looks a lot like my kid holding a Zavaroni's ice cream cone after school, it looks an awful lot like a super cute shopfront beside a castle selling the very best Scottish jewellery I can design and make and using it to inspire others to live their own best lives.

It's taken a LOT of planning but finally, next month Bonnie Bling, me, my husband and my daughter will all be leaving the busy streets of Glasgow and sailing down the river to settle on the Isle of Bute.

It's time to go back home.

Comments

Carole Keogh:

Hi. So lovely to discover your wonderful website and read your blog. I do hope you’ve made it to the isle of Bute and are happy, well and enjoying your best life. All the best x

Mar 22, 2023

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