There are other colours than black!!!!! – Lorraine’s story

I’m a 52 year old wife, mum and nanny and feel I’ve been only half the person I could be. My problems started after my last daughter was born, they diagnosed fibroids 5, 6mm ones…ok so what do we do? My consultant said nothing as I was 35 and usually they start to get smaller after the age of 40. I was told to try the mirena coil, as this could help.

Made the appointment to have it done and for the next 7 years (although it should of only been 5) my bleeding was little to none….Yippee.

Within this time we moved to Spain and started our new life, new jobs etc……life was great until I had the mirena removed and replaced with a new one. The new one just didn’t work, I started bleeding so heavy I was admitted into hospital and they took out 8 grapefruit size clots, but this wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the last. Spain is a wonderful country but I was always worried about the medical side, this is a girl that doesn’t like dentist, doctors…..I’m just plain scared!

After 5 trips to emergency and being told my body couldn’t keep losing the amount of blood that it was, my blood levels were on the border of having a transfusion, and to be honest I had no strength and always very tearful. Enough……..why was I doing this! I don’t need it anymore….Hysterectomy was all I kept hearing, it will be for the best, best thing I ever done. You have your life back……etc.

So in January 2015 I took the plunge and said enough is enough and booked myself a hysterectomy.

The hospital booked me a course of injections to stop my periods and actually put me into the menopause so I could build up my blood levels, which worked and my appointment came through for May 22 2015.

After months of sleepless nights, endless panicking, tears the day arrived. Can’t say I was pleased….petrified I most certainly was but quite calm.

The last thing my granddaughter said to me was ‘Be brave Nanny and I love you’…..and that’s the last thoughts I had when I went down to theatre.

Everyone tells you so many scary stories of things that go wrong but I want ladies to know yes things can go wrong and it’s a big operation but a routine one, one they do hundreds of times a day.

The next few days were a bit hazy, sore but no pain to speak of,and after 3 days in hospital they let me go home.

I’m now into my 2 week of recovery…am I pleased I did….you bet…would I do it again…most definatly…although I’m still in recovery, I’ve had tears, I’ve had bad days I can see a future…with colour….I’m feeling stronger by the day and I know if I keep to the schedule (hysterectomy.org) passed on from another member I’m on the road to a full recovery.

Living in Spain is amazing and I’m very lucky, but there is no information in English at the hospital so this site is so valuable, all the information so far has been spot on and I’m so grateful for it.

My Future……well let’s just say it’s going to be very colorful …..and definitely no black!!!