We received news that unfortunately my ovary had not been visible in my earlier ultrasounds. The doctors ordered an MRI for me to have done as soon as possible. We had a lot of difficulty scheduling the MRI and the results consultation thanks to work travel for both Adam and me in the next week-and-a-half. After a lot of back-and-forth calling, we scheduled the MRI for early Tuesday morning. Our consultation needed to be scheduled with an oncology surgeon–those are certainly two words you don’t want to hear when you’re pregnant! Thankfully the oncologist was willing to see us in-between surgeries on Friday morning. This meant we wouldn’t have to wait 2 weeks to learn the results of my MRI.
On Tuesday morning we were at the radiology clinic by 7:30am. I had been instructed not to have anything to eat or drink (not even water) for 4 hours prior to my procedure. I was anxious to be done with the MRI and be able to eat my breakfast. Adam was jealous that I got to spend time in “the most amazing and relaxing machine on Earth.”
After being checked-in, I was taken back to change into some scrubs and begin the MRI. The waistband of the scrubs was literally large enough to fit around myself, Adam and another adult at the same time.
The MRI was not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. It was actually quite relaxing. I got to lay down, rest my eyes and listen to my favorite tunes accompanied by the bangs and clangs of the MRI machine. However, by the end I was hot and my fingers had fallen asleep thanks to not being allowed to move while the machine was running.
After the MRI, Adam and I had breakfast and coffee together (actually, I had juice and Adam had coffee), before taking Adam to the doctor to get his shots before his work trip and then heading back to work.
I left my work trip early on Friday morning to be back in Minneapolis in time for our consultation. I had been outside of cell reception for two days. Once I got back into cell reception, I noticed I had two voicemail messages from the doctor’s office; they were asking us to come 45 minutes earlier in the day because the doctor’s operating schedule had been adjusted. Adam decided to meet me at the clinic instead of having me pick him up. I showed up at the clinic nearly 20 minutes late, but it was the best I could do given the circumstances.
Adam joined me in the exam room as the doctor was discussing the results with me. The doctor answered the big and scary question first with good news–”Well, you don’t have cancer.” He also confirmed that the growth was a uterine fibroid on the outside of the uterus and was anchored only with one stalk, all of which were great things to hear as they were some of the best-case scenarios. The fibroid was very large though, measuring at 16.9cm at its largest diameter. They weren’t going to operate on it as it would mean a lot of blood loss. I might not ever have to have it removed, but it might need to be removed if it caused complications during a C-section. The doctor warned me again of pain associated with the fibroid as it grows and possible contraction-like events before reaching full-term.
We left feeling elated and giddy. A weight certainly been lifted from our chests and the dark clouds had been cleared from our minds. Adam and I went out for a celebratory lunch in honor of both the good news and his birthday.