The size of a grapefruit!

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It was the middle of March 2013, I had to have surgery for an ovarian cyst. It would be one of those minor surgeries where you would wake up and say "Oh, that was nothing!" but when I woke up I said "Oh! That was something!" I remember my doctor was by my hospital bed waiting for me to wake up and she told me that it turned out the cyst was a lot bigger than 10 cm, it was the "Size of a grapefruit!" as she described it. "You now have a crazy story to tell" she told me. My groggy mind tried to comprehend what she had just told me. I looked at the pictures they took and instead of being grossed out I felt so shocked and amazed at what my body had inside of it all these years. A ball the size of a grapefruit! How is that possible? How could I not feel that much pain?

My biggest question was "Did I do this?" as it turns out I was probably born with it. The crazy thing was that I knew I had a cyst even before my doctors, I was the one that after months of going to them and them sending me home with different kinds of medicine I decided to do my own research. I got on a medical website and typed in my symptoms and it would always say it could be a ovarian cyst. I told my mom and off we went to the doctors one last time and I told the doctor "I know I have an ovarian cyst and i'm pretty sure it's a dermoid cyst (a cyst which can contain hair, nails, bones). She looked shocked "Okay let's send you to get a CT scan." Off I went to get the CT and then I had to wait a few days, then the nurse calls "Valeria, the CT scan came back and they found a dermoid cyst in your ovary." I wasn't shocked nor surprised I was just thankful we finally got an answer.

I got home the next day after surgery and the pain was manageable I just couldn't walk that well. My parents and brother were the ones taking care of me, I'm so grateful to have a loving family. I remember one day my cousin came to the house and she asked if I wanted some pan dulce (mexican bread) and knowing me I couldn't say no. My aunt and uncle came over and I explained to them what had happened and why I had surgery. Out of nowhere my cousin says " So you basically ate your twin!" we all laughed. It took me around 4 weeks to fully recover and I'm so grateful for all those who came to help my family and I through that trial.

This experience was one of the many I would have to go through but I think I learned to understand my body and to listen to what it has to tell me. Never ignore warning signs from your body, it's just like a computer if something is broken it will give you warning signs and if you don't get it fixed it will just get worse. Our body is capable of healing itself but sometimes it needs extra help or help from an expert. Just learn to trust your body. Thats a lesson I learned and perhaps it can help you. Most importantly speak up no matter what the expert tells you, you know yourself more than they do and you're the only one that feels what your body feels.

P.S.

Yes the picture was taken when I was high on pain meds hahaha ;P