I saw the surgeon yesterday. I have an incisional hernia; i.e., a hernia developed along the incision line of the previous surgery. Apparently it can happen soon after a surgery or even years later. This is good to know, simply because it doesn’t mean the surgery was poorly performed OR necessarily that I did something in particular to cause the hernia to develop. It’s something that simply happens sometimes along a surgical incision.

And, they don’t heal themselves. The muscle is torn and needs to be repaired one way or another, depending on the size and nature of the tear. The cut-and-sew method works fine for a localized hernia. For the bilateral inguinal hernia, they did a laparoscopy surgery, but those patches ripped out before I even left the hospital and they had to do the cut-and-sew method to correct it on both sides. The problem, in my current situation, is that because of the nature of this hernia, developing along the line of this long-ass 12-inch incision down my abdomen, the surgeon would rather use robotics to go in with a camera, inflate the abdomen, and view the surrounding area to see from the inside any other weaknesses or tears so they can do what is needed to correct or reinforce the whole area as needed. So, they’ll go in with the camera and robotics, and then do the cut-and-sew method if that’s warranted.

And the surgeon said I would need 6-8 weeks to let it all heal again, so I will be on weight- and activity-restriction again. It won’t be as complicated or bad (I hope) as the last surgery, which wreaked havoc through all my inner organs.

So I am tentatively scheduled for surgery on November 11. I still have to hear back from the surgeon’s office about insurance approvals and co-pays and so forth. I already know that I won’t be making any money for a month or two, at least, and I don’t know what other expenses may come up. Once I have all my facts and figures, I will know what it will take and what sort of help I will need. If I hadn’t had an amazing benefactor last time, I would not have survived the financial stress from the last surgery, especially since I did not know what all would be required of me. Now that I know, I’ll have a better idea. And, having been through this before, I already have the walker and rollator and other helpful aids, so it won’t be quite as expensive. But I’ll still need to cover rent and utilities and food and so forth, no matter what. I will likely set up a GoFundMe for that, or perhaps use my Paypal account to accept personal gifts that won’t be charged with fees the way my yarns do. We’ll see.

Yesterday I went to have the ultrasound done on my abdomen. The technician said I’d get the results back in a week or two. Last night I got a message back with the results — I have a “periumbilical hernia … with loops of bowel”, and I’m supposed to schedule a consultation with the surgeon in the next few weeks.

It wasn’t clear if my PCP would refer me to a surgeon, or if I’m supposed to contact the surgeon who did the Triple A last year, or what I’m supposed to do, so I sent a message to my doctor and should hear back soon.

This is not the news I wanted to hear, but if I need to have a surgical repair I would rather get it over with sooner than later. I am generally healthier now that I was in January, so I don’t think this will be as involved or complicated as last time — it’s just a repair of the muscle that they cut through last time, not a whole re-arranging of all my innards. At least, that would be my understanding of it, so far. I could be quite mistaken, of course.

Oh well… into the day I go. If I’m facing surgery in the coming weeks I have a bunch of stuff to get done before then.

I was feeling particularly spry and able, so I took my cane for a walk (like it needed the exercise, right?) up to Manor. I was hurting before I got to the corner, but didn’t turn around until I reached the corner. Fortunately, it is almost entirely just muscle pain, not joint pain or random nerve firings, so I will definitely survive. The weather is slowly turning, so I can resume my exercise walks, but I also have to increase my exercise dancing and movement around the house as well. I discovered the other day that my flexibility is almost entirely shot, and that’s not a good thing. So many things I need to be more diligent about.

One thing about the walks — I’ve used a cane for walking regularly since I moved here (2006) because of my right hip. But I think I will start using the rollator walker again when I take my walks. The cane lets me favor one side (which was helpful for the hip joint), but the rollator will help me exercise both hips and legs equally to keep both sides stronger. At least, that is what I’m thinking. And I am grateful that Oscar strongly encouraged me to get the rollator instead of the basic aluminum walker. I bought it on my own (as well as the original folding walker) since I didn’t know Medicare was supposed to provide one every few years. My long-term goal is to not need a mobility device, but it’s nice to have it for now, and nice to know a new one can be provided if it is ever needed in the future. I will, however, keep both walkers for now and see what happens.

In other news my daily numbers are good, and I’m generally feeling pretty good today. My right hand, however, feels rather crinkly with a couple of trigger joints causing pain, and other digits rather stiff and sore. I’m not sure what work I’ll be able to do today.

I do have things that need doing, so I’ll do what I can and go from there, I suppose.