A Gift of New Underwear

Do you know that story in the bible about the woman who bled?  She bled for an exceptionally long time.  It’s in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:24-34, and Luke 8: 43-48.  This woman bled for about twelve years.  As a woman, you read that story and think of how horrible that must have been. 

Well, I can honestly say that I probably would have wanted to die.  After twenty-one weeks of non-stop bleeding, I was completely weak and exhausted.  Yes, that is right, I bled for twenty-one weeks straight!

At the time, my husband had just left sales and gotten into marketing—his dream job.  We did not have health insurance, and it was difficult to find any doctor to treat me.  I did not know if I would ever stop bleeding. 

Now, I am quite open, and this next bit will be a little graphic, so if you do not have a strong stomach, I suggest you stop reading now.

The bleeding began in 2016.  I did not just bleed.  I had huge clots coming out of me.  Clots the size of my fingers.  I bled so much that all of my underwear, our sheets, and our mattress was covered in blood.  In fact, I celebrated my hysterectomy by buying new underwear..lol…

I would cover myself in a diaper of pads, and still the blood seeped out.  I felt self-conscious, embarrassed, and I hurt.  The blood hurt me as I wiped, felt like someone lit a match in my underwear!  My husband was so kind and loving during everything, but I know he was afraid for me.  It was an exhausting time for both of us!

Finally, I found a doctor who would treat me.  My mom took me an hour away to the doctor.  Luckily, I had stopped bleeding long enough for him to do a uterine biopsy.  Oh my word, that hurt!  I have a high pain tolerance, but boy oh boy, that hurt!

After seeing my medical history, he concluded that my best option was a total hysterectomy, removing everything.  I was thirty years old, and we already knew we could not have kids.  I happily agreed.  In a few months I would have health insurance through my job, as open enrollment was beginning.  I scheduled the hysterectomy for that point.

Surgery took two hours, the first hour consisting of them trying to discover what everything was.  The doctor said that I would have been in 110% pain, and that we would never have had children.  All of my organs were discolored, misshapen, enlarged, and stuck together.  To top it off, a large tumor was found in my left ovary.  I found that funny, because every time I had a period my left leg would go numb.  Now it all made sense!

My grandma (my mom’s mother), died at thirty-five of ovarian cancer.  It was a disease she struggled with for years.  Not only had my life been plagued by other diseases and health problems, but I most likely would have had cancer just like my grandma. 

At that point, I was so thankful for the twenty-one weeks of bleeding.  It was a huge pain in the butt, but it brought to light something that could have taken my life.  Isn’t it funny, how some of the most terrible events in our lives turn out to be blessings?  Jamie and I have often found that to be the case.

One of my husband’s coworkers asked him why he is so happy, after all we have been through.  My husband just smiled.  What else can you do?  We have been occasionally dealt bad hands, but we have each other, and we have love.  What more could you ask for in this temporary life?

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Has there ever been a terrible time in your life that you are now thankful for? Don’t forget to comment or reach out to me on:

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