The Random in A Journey of Random Musings

If medical topics scare you, skip to the next post.

In this post I wrote about my upcoming surgery and how I was going to be out of commission for a while, but I would tell you all about it.

On Monday January 29, 2018. I went to the hospital to have an Open Myomectomy surgery to remove what I thought was 4 uterine fibroids. By definition, fibroids are benign tumors that occur in the uterus.  They can cause all different symptoms from bloating, to bleeding. Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths in the uterus that can develop during a woman's childbearing years.

I've been having symptoms of excessive menstrual bleeding, along with pain from cramps, intercourse, and vaginal exams. I also experienced bloating to a point where I looked visibly pregnant. This, I found out was from the fibroids expanding my uterus.  I also had weakness and tiredness in my limbs, especially my legs.  This was going on for years.  Each gynecological exam and ultrasound that I had over the past 3 years confirmed this diagnosis, but the fibroids were small, and not really a problem for me until the last 3 months before my surgery. I'm on birth control, and I forgot to take a pill at the time I would usually take it, and it caused me to bleed heavily, to a point where it scared me because I've never experienced anything like it. At that point, my doctor gave me the option of having a surgery to remove them.

There are many different ways to remove the fibroids: laparoscopic, open myomectomy, uterine fibroid embolization, etc. However,  because of the type of fibroids, and where they were located, I had to have an open myomectomy, which is the most invasive. The surgery itself is the same surgery as a cesarean section for pregnant women, but instead of a baby being removed, the fibroids were removed.  After the surgery, I spent 2 days in the hospital, because I had to pass gas and walk before I was able to be released.  Once I was discharged to my home, It took me 2 weeks before I left the house for the first time, and then another 2 weeks after before I felt comfortable to resume my normal activities.  In total, it took me 8 weeks to fully heal before returning to work. 

Fast forward to today, I'm back to full health, and ready to resume sewing, blogging and conquering this Journey of Random Musings.

When the Body Gets in the Way...You Coast Until it Moves

In my last post, I wrote about my 2018 plans to make a new wardrobe, along with my plans to participate in the 2018 RTW Fast hosted by Goodbye Valentino. Although I've been making some plans on what to start off with, and wanting to actually start sewing something, I've been hit with a road block of sorts. My Own Body.

In about two weeks, I will be having abdominal surgery, which will put me out of commission for at least six weeks. This means no sewing, no lifting, no doing much of anything but laying down and resting. Not fun at all.  I've known that I've needed to have this surgery (which I will blog about once its done) for a few months now, but it was recently scheduled and the date is around the corner. 

Since the surgery is abdominal, the side affects causing it has affected my sizing for many of the garments that are on my list of makes. While I am not a large person, I have gained enough weight as to not completely know how to fit my body.  This has made me leery of making anything that won't fit as soon as the surgery is over.

In the mean time, while preparing for the surgery and the resulting healing process, I have decided to learn as many techniques as I can during this time, so that once I am released by my doctor, I can start sewing. I hope that once I am feeling up to standing for large periods of time, I can make samples of the topics that I want to improve on.

Some of the topics that I will be doing more research about include:

Button Down shirts- more specifically how to sew collars and yokes. I need collared shirts in my life, NOW!!!

Pants and Jeans- Getting the fit right, since this is what I wear 99.99999% of the time. The goal is to finally make a pair of jeans

Pockets- I love the look of welt pockets, but I'm terrified of cutting into an already made garment

Tissue Fitting- I've been making clothes using knit fabrics for the longest time, however, what I want to evolve my style into requires that I make the leap into woven fabrics.

Between Craftsy, YouTube, and the rest of the Interwebs, along with my growing reference library, I know that I can learn and make so that my wardrobe will astonish even me.

See you in the next post!!!