It’s Not About the Bike

Although my blogs typically are about cycling, this one’s a bit different. This one’s not about the bike—not directly anyway. This one’s a special edition detailing my recent hospital stay.

Being a fairly private person, not exactly secretive, but certainly reticent by nature, I tend to keep events of my life relatively quiet. But I can’t help but notice that my health has become a somewhat public issue at the moment.

Through the wonders of social media, news of my recent surgery has spread rapidly, but partial information has left many confused and concerned, and for those not on Facebook, possibly out of the loop entirely. I’ve received so many wonderful messages of support and warm wishes, far more than I can possibly reply to properly. After some consideration, I decided that the best way to fill in the missing details would be my blog.

A brief backstory: For the past several years I’ve struggled with poor health—frequent illness and a feeling of being not quite right: constantly on the edge of (or immersed in) illness. Myriad tests have revealed situation normal; nothing conclusive to pin the problems on. Late last year, an ultrasound finally uncovered a potential culprit: a uterine fibroid.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths within the wall of the uterus. They are composed of smooth muscle cells and come in all sizes. They’re relatively widespread, affecting about 40% of women between age 35 and 55, and are the most common reason for hysterectomy. What causes fibroids is unknown, although in my case genetics was a primary contributor.

My fibroid was difficult to diagnose because it didn’t present the usual symptoms. In fact, it was really only found by coincidence. However, upon discovery it had grown to an impressive 11 cm (almost 4.5 in) in diameter. Being a highly dense mass of cells, the growth dominated my abdominal cavity, essentially bullying other organs out of the way. The fibroid enlarged my uterus to the size expected at 18 weeks of pregnancy. A dorsal location resulted in the mass pushing upwards rather than outwards, shoving my stomach into my diaphragm and gradually squeezing my lungs into a smaller and smaller space. Effectively, my lungs felt like they were being compressed by a vice.

Interfering with necessary bodily functions, the mass needed to go. Because of the size and extreme vasculature of the fibroid, hysterectomy was necessary. Timing was not ideal. I had recently finalised plans to race with the US pro cycling team Vanderkitten for the 2013 season, beginning with an exciting (and gruelling) UCI tour in El Salvador in late February. Should I proceed with surgery as soon as possible, probably sacrificing the early season, or hold off till September, hoping to make it through the season without further complications? Over a few short months, my symptoms escalated, the pain intensified; the choice became clear. I wouldn’t make it through to September. The time was now.

I booked the first available surgery date, 21 January, giving me five weeks to recover. Not much. To add further dilemma to the situation, Brian was scheduled to manage a team racing the New Zealand Community Classic in the North Island that very week. He’d worked for months putting together the team and raising funds to cover costs. I thought it silly for him not to go to the tour. I know it tore him apart to not be there to support me through the surgery. However, he certainly did an effective job drumming up support in his absence!

I spent a total of four days in hospital, the first day being dominated by surgery, plenty of vomiting following surgery (not nice), and lots of sleeping. Having a catheter was quite nice because it meant that, with food and drink arriving at 2-hour intervals, I didn’t need to get up for anything. Day 2 post surgery, drain removed, I was up wondering the halls of the hospital and adding in some careful sessions of lunges and squats. By day 4, the doctor couldn’t come up with a good reason to keep me there so I was released into the world (and on my stationary trainer for a 45-min ride that afternoon). Since I wasn’t allowed to tackle the 5-hour drive home, I spent a few days under the care of wonderful friends Vicki, Phil, and Max Novis until Brian returned from the tour. Monday, he caught a flight down to Christchurch and, eight days on from my surgery, we headed home.

Days 4, 5, and 6 I was on the stationary trainer and seven days after surgery I headed out for my first ride back on the road (1.5 h). Now two weeks on I’m relatively back to normal, although still requiring a tad extra sleep, a moderate approach to work and other thinking tasks, and a bit of extra care when moving about. A flexible schedule and working from home has definitely allowed for a faster recovery.

The surgery was challenging, requiring four hours and a bit of extra care to dissect out my right kidney which was partially engulfed by the fibroid. My rapid recovery is a real testament to the excellent skills of my surgeon, Dr Michael Laney.

In addition to Dr Laney, the surgical team,  and the multitude of nurses who cared for me while recovering at St. George’s Hospital, I owe huge thanks to all of you who supported me through the ordeal. I feel truly blessed and loved knowing how many people out there care about me. Special thank yous to the Whites—Sharyn, Simon, Emma, and James—for lots of visits while I was in hospital, especially Sharyn who visited me every single day!; to the Novises for ferrying me around Christchurch and expertly looking after me following my release from hospital; and to Brian Grant for flowers and treats every day I was in hospital, extra attention and assistance in the past week and more to come, and for making a special trip to drive me home.

I’m breathing easier these days, literally, and feeling heaps better. I expect that all the blood that the fibroid was drawing will find good use elsewhere in my body. A further happy outcome of the surgery is that hip pain, which has plagued me for years, has diminished significantly, possibly due to removal of endometrial tissue that was discovered during surgery.

I’m on track to head to the States on 17 February to kick off the 2013 season with a Vanderkitten training camp, and then the Vuelta El Salvador. Keep abreast of my progress through the season by following my blog: simply enter your email address in the box on the top right labelled ‘follow by email’ to receive an email notification when I update my blog. For those interested in supporting Vanderkitten, consider becoming a Vanderkitten VIP. Alternatively, check out the contribute link on the VK website. More info at http://www.vanderkittenracing.com/#