I meant to update with my post-op hysterectomy, but life happened.
I had surgery on June 23rd. My post-op appointment was July 31st. Work started August 1st. But…My mom had a house fire on July 23rd.
The house fire was my childhood home. I grew up in that house and lived there for 26 years. Memories filled that home with good and bad. A lot of the “major” events of my life happened there: graduation from high school, graduation with my Bachelor’s degree, graduation with my Masters, first job, current job, and much more. My mom lived in that house for 40+ years and owned it. She didn’t have insurance due to State Farm dropping her for previous claims.
If you’d like to donate to the GoFundMe, we would greatly appreciate it. I also have Venmo (@AngelBoucher) and Cashapp ($AngelBoucher).
My brother and she lost everything: clothes, hygiene, their home, furniture, bedding, towels, etc. My brother’s car key and phone melted in the fire. We had to call a locksmith to make him a new key. She also now needs to find a new home of some kind. My mom is 70 years old, which is nearly impossible to start over. HUD housing has a 2+ year waitlist. Habitat for Humanity is not taking applications. We’ve reached out to a million people, and there just isn’t much help right now, understandably so.
My mom and brother made it out, barely, along with their dogs. Some cats made it out, while others did not. Immediately following the fire, my brother moved in with my oldest brother and sister-in-law. My mom moved in with me.
The fire started with a window air conditioning unit. Because Texas has had an extremely dry summer, the grass around it was dry and dead. The fire spread quickly, causing the majority of the house to burn and all of my brother’s RV. What wasn’t burned was filled with soot from the fire. The house was declared a danger, uninhabitable, and a total loss. Two cities had to come help put out the fire. It took several hours to put out. It reignited and required them to come out a second time.
It’s been extremely stressful and depressing since the fire. Add on work stress and normal life stressors. It’s been a rough month and a half. I haven’t had the time or mental capacity to update. Processing so much loss in a short amount of time is difficult.
Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 what’s left of the house gets demolished. At first, I was okay with the thought. As it nears, I am much more emotional about it. I couldn’t figure out why. The memories exist regardless of the physical house or not. But then it hit me…
The house has two meanings to me:
1) It was the last big physical memory of my dad.
2) The house was symbolic of my life: from the happy, new beginnings to the demise into pieces. I won’t go into details right now, but…it really made my emotions make sense.
I knew I had to make this post. Not only to update those curious about the hysterectomy but also just a general update. I’ve been struggling, mentally.
Mental health is not talked about enough. As someone who used to write for a mental health company, I am pretty self-aware. Not everyone is, and not everyone has support. I think it’s important for more people to talk about the reality of how strenuous things (small and big) can be on the mind. At times, it can feel incredibly overwhelming. At other times, I feel completely numb and lack any empathy.
As for my post-op, everything was fine. I had a few stitches not yet resolved. He cleared me to return to normal activities. I have yet to make it to the gym. He said that a year after surgery, my body was only 80% healed. I found that fascinating. The doctor mentioned that my scar tissue would break down and build up over and over throughout the healing process. I may feel times of discomfort, but generally, I should be okay. He emphasized listening to my body. He did say I wouldn’t need any future exams, as I chose a full hysterectomy.
In the midst of everything going on, I chose to get a tattoo to symbolize my hysterectomy.
Yellow = Endometriosis
Teal = Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Magenta = Adenomyosis
Purple = All three mixed together
A lot has changed in my life in the last month. A lot will continue to change. Every day I get stronger – mentally and physically. Life will never cease to amaze me.
I plan to use the next couple of months regathering myself and figuring things out.
Angel Boucher 