Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - November 15, 2024

Another medical adventure

Husband Art and his father Tom were long-time fishing buddies. When Tom was young, his job involved daily contact with local farmers and so, was familiar with every nook and cranny of the county. One day on the way to one of their favorite streams, Art chose a different route and when they reached a certain intersection, Tom pointed to the nearby farm and the huge tree by the home.

"That's where the farmer sat on the case of dynamite and lit the fuse," Tom said.

Startled, Art asked why. Tom explained that suicide was not all that uncommon for farmers who were getting up in years. Once, they had been their family's breadwinners, but when they began to struggle with the demands of their farms, they saw themselves as becoming burdens. Hanging, taking carbolic acid, or using a gun were the most popular methods of doing the deed. But dynamite? That caught people's attention.

Years later, when Art began his family history pursuit, he made it a goal to read every issue of the local weekly newspaper from Tom's hometown. He eventually came upon the front-page story of the unusual suicide. What struck Art was the physical details included, such as where various body parts were found - details no newspaper would consider printing today. Yet in the 50-plus years of papers Art had read, the word "s-e-x" never appeared once.

Tom noted it was the "Roaring Twenties" and people were doing what people always had done, but writing about it in the newspaper just was not an acceptable thing to do.

During my years as a journalism student, then as a journalist, and finally as a journalism instructor, we had many discussions about what was legal to publish and what style to use. We also discussed ethical concerns, such as what is acceptable to publish and what isn't. But there is an even more gray area - a question of TMI (too much information) versus clarity, of propriety versus accuracy. That line often depends on the publication’s audience and other sometimes hard-to-define factors.

This latter concern arose when I wrote this column.

By the time it is posted, I will have had a surgery that was neither trivial nor major - one that many women have. On the home page of "Kansas Snapshots," I offer three reasons for writing this column. The very first is "to share personal stories that have a universal message." This medical matter qualifies as it is certainly personal. Since somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 percent of U.S. women have prolapse surgery and 50 percent have a hysterectomy by age 75, it's bordering on being universal as well.

But in sharing my experience, I hope I have found a proper balance.

A woman's baby-nurturing organs are supported by several ligaments. However, as we age, these ligaments may stretch. Having children also exacts additional wear and tear. The consequence, if stretching occurs, is a displacement of the organs, particularly so while standing. The effect can be significant discomfort as well as interference with the proper operation of nearby organs. It is most likely to occur with women well past their child-bearing years.

This is a problem that has been around as long as there have been women. The only solution before modern medicine was to insert something called a pessary, from a Greek word meaning a smooth or oval stone, into the vagina to push the organs back into place.

But modern medicine offers another solution - reattaching the organs to a point farther up the now-stretched ligaments. This is usually a one-and-done affair, but for some, continued stretching will dictate a re-do later in life.

Since I am well past my child-bearing years, removal of the no-longer-functioning uterus reduces the load on the ligaments as well as eliminates the possibility of uterine cancer down the road, so I opted for that as well.

In preparation, the doctor said she wanted me well hydrated and to that end, I should drink 100 ounces of water each day leading up to the surgery. Hmm ... a bit like voluntary drowning! She also said she wanted my digestive system calm, so I guess it was good I wasn't planning a spicy burrito supper. But she added it would be nice if I was pretty well "cleaned out," to use her term. Those spicy burritos would have taken care of that.

The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday and I am writing this on the Sunday before, as I have been told both by the doctor and other women who have had such surgery that I should think in terms of taking it easy for a few weeks and have Art spoil me. While that prospect sounds inviting, the operative word here is "sounds." I may need Art's help to keep me on track as I have never been very good at taking it easy. My distractible nature invariably kicks in when something catches my attention, and before I know it, I've forgotten I should be taking care of myself, and so am up and about. Fortunately, I have another column subject that has been intriguing me that I can largely research from home.

In any event, I'll add a few words at the end here to let you know how it all worked out unless the pain pills make me more loopy than usual. In that case, Art will provide an update.

Update - Wow, that was fast! We had arisen at 5 a.m., so Art took a 20-minute snooze in the waiting room, about 40 minutes after I left for the operating theater. The doctor's call went to voice mail as the whole affair took 50 minutes. I was a bit tender when I awoke and only ate about half of my lunch. But the salmon and carrot cake at supper were mighty welcome!

So, another adventure is winding down. I wonder what's next.