Your Sista's Havin' a Hysta - Part 1

I recently went in for my regular "lady's check" only to have my doctor peep her head up over my draped knees and proclaim, "Nancy, your uterus is huuuuuuge!" I'm not sure which caught my attention more, the news itself or the look on her face when she told me. Lifting her slim tall frame to standing, she positioned her index fingers about 8" apart and said, "We're gonna have to make an incision this big to get it out."

"Well...how big is it?" I inquired, grasping for a tangible visual. "About this big" she motioned as if holding an invisible ball. The light mood in the air turned a tad serious. With only one minor bladder symptom, neither of us expected the findings.

I left her office dazed trying to absorb the news. All this time I'd had some stealthy thing growing inside me and was totally clueless to its presence. Now surgery with a six week recovery was on the docket. This was a lot to assimilate. Pulling out my cell phone to call Jimmy, I paused to search my mental dictionary. How shall I describe to him what she showed me with her hands? I got the visual I needed from her but now had to convert it to words for him. Where could I begin?

My first inclination was to scan the world of sports, since nearly all games involve balls. Jimmy loves golf but a golf ball is far too small. Her hands held a much bigger sphere. Hmmm...baseball? No. Softball? Nope. Bigger yet. Basketball? Ugh, thank goodness that's way too big. Soccer ball? Naw, still to big. I was at a loss to come up with any more balls to describe my huuuuuuge uterus, so I left the arena and headed to the grocery store.

Walking down the glass corridor of the medical building, cell phone still poised and ready, I set off on a mental voyage to the produce section of the grocery store. I was convince beyond a shadow of a doubt I'd find a fruit to fit my doctor's grip. Ok, let's try this again. Strawberry? No, that's smaller than a golf ball. Apple? Negative. Pear? Nope. Watermelon? Well, that's bigger than a basketball but I could sense I was getting warmer. Ahhh hahhh! That's it. What else is round, grows on a vine, and has seeds you have to dredge out of the middle? Cantaloupe! Yes, yes, yes! I have a cantaloupe sized uterus. Perfect. That will be his visual. Now I can explain the finding to him in a way he'll understand.

I gotta say I'm not thrilled about having surgery and came a hair's breadth from keeping it all private. But then I wondered if maybe this experience might help someone. I have no idea how but I don't know a lot of things. I do trust that the Lord can use it in some way if He chooses to do so. That's why I've decided to chronicle the journey. It won't be about me or my scar but rather what I learn through it all. After all, nothing comes to a child of God that is not first sifted through His hands. There is a good reason why I must stop life long enough to allow my doctor to pluck this fruit and there is some rationale as to why He's allowing it at this time.

Surgery awaits me tomorrow and while I'm not fearful, I am dreadful. I don't hurt at all right now, I never have, but tomorrow things will be different. Life will grind to a halt, leaving me to slowly recover and regain the strength that is so abundant today. I don't look forward to the discomfort but I do look forward to a harvesting of this cantaloupe. My doctor assures me I'll feel better once this thing's gone. My pants will fit better and I will be able to bend over without feeling 4 months pregnant.

We'll chat again soon. Until then you may hear from Jimmy a time or two. I've given him permission to be my right hand blog man.

Much love and blessings to you all.

Be good!