A Wrong Assumption?

I have always assumed that when you told someone you've had a hysterectomy, that they would know what that means. I have assumed this because we learned it in Health Class in high school. It was the same for Cesaerean Section, Appendectomy and Colonoscopy. They were common procedures......in my mind at least.

I have discovered that Hysterectomy is not necessarily understood by many people I have spoken with lately. At first, I had found it amusing when people were surprised that I would no longer have a monthly visitor. Or that I could not have a baby! But as the comments kept coming - and they did A LOT! - I was starting to get annoyed. This of course can turn an already emotional situation worse for the person who has had the surgery.

I even had NURSES make insensitive comments to me. I am saying they are insensitive, because I would assume that they would know what a hysterectomy is. I am not a trained nurse so I can only assume.

Take scenario #1 - I had a pre-admit appointment and the nurse had to draw some blood, review the procedure being done and ask me some questions. "Are you currently pregnant?" this is a perfectly fine question because obviously they cannot do the surgery if I am pregnant. I answered "no". The next question baffled me......"Do you plan to be pregnant in the next 6 months?" Well gosh, let me think about that......ummmmm, how is that possible and where would I carry the baby??

Scenario #2 - after my surgery I was upset at the thought that I would never carry a baby inside me ever again. I was told by the nurse that I was lucky enough to still have my ovaries and that I could always have my eggs and Seans sperm implanted.........ummmmm, again, where the heck would I carry the baby??

Scenario #3 - I had to return to emergency after my surgery because of some complications. When we checked in, we gave the history of the surgery and the first question asked was "How old is your fetus?" Sean was ready to knock someone out.

Now I do want to say, this is not a slam to nurses. I think nurses do a fantastic job. I just unfortunately encountered a few that were probably having a bad day, possibly tired or quite frankly does not enjoy their job and couldn't give a crap what I was going thru.

I guess the point of my ramble is this......when someone has had a hysterectomy, the LAST thing you should talk to them about is babies and periods. Just don't. It won't end well.

Thats my ramble for today. Clearly needed to get this off my chest.

Thanks for listening ;)