A few months ago, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment to have my IUD removed. At this appointment, one of the arms of my IUD broke off and was stuck inside of me. I was told the next step was to have surgery to look for the missing piece and hopefully remove it, which ended up being unsuccessful. Two different ultrasounds confirmed the broken arm was still inside of me. My choices were to leave the broken piece inside of me and risk migration and perforation of an organ or bowel, or have a hysterectomy to ensure the piece would be removed. I decided to proceed with the surgery because ultimately, I wanted what was going to be safest for me long term. As an otherwise healthy woman, that choice came a lot of grief recognizing what I would be losing and is still a sensitive topic for me.

My hysterectomy surgery happened and I was recovering seemingly well. I took two weeks off work which used up my sick time, and then had winter break which gave me an extra 3 weeks where I didn’t have to worry about PTO. I was planning to return at the end of winter break but unfortunately ended up in the ER two days after Christmas. What started as a quick trip to the grocery store quickly became one of the scariest days of my life. I was having uncontrolled bleeding and passing consistent, large clots. The nurses and doctors were trying to figure out what was going on and why, ultimately deciding on surgery around midnight that took about 4 hours. I passed out on my way to the operating room and had lost over 1.5 liters of blood that night. Through it all, Tyler never left my side and stayed in the waiting room until the early hours of the morning and keeping family updated on my status. The surgeons and nurses saved my life and I was sent home the following afternoon with a minimum 8 week recovery timeline.

As school starts back up again, I am able to be on disability and receive a portion of my pay while taking time to recover at home- which I am so grateful for, especially as I am still in bed for most of the day trying to heal from this physically and emotionally. I have been overwhelmed with how people have supported us so far in my recovery, and I will continue to have thankfulness in my heart for you all. These funds will go towards paying our current and upcoming bills as we feel the impact of me being off work the next two months. I always do my best to pay it forward after going through hard situations like these, and I will continue to do so. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

-Amber