For Longer than I care to remember I have battled daily with an unwanted bulge in my underpants
And before your minds all reach the gutter ,I actually mean my Lower Inaugural Hernia
Over the last few years it has become so bad not just in looks But also the ever increasing amount of pain and discomfort as it slowly tore open the muscles at that little weak spot
I had been trying to explain it to my good friend in Sydney . She was not able to understand my description so I decided to send her a profile photo of my hernia as it would look wearing a pair of under pants
her initial reply was "why on earth are you sending me a picture of your but" so i explained that it was the hernia
She was shocked At the Sheer size of it
You can imagine how difficult it would be for me to display a flat profile. every day for the last five or so years
I have worn at least two pairs of tight underwear just to contain it
Slept every night on my back just to ease the pain
even the food I ate was all to help reduce the agony I would feel if I ate the wrong foods
And consuming Eight litres of water a day just to keep flushing the toxins away
Life was not very pleasant having to deal with this inconvenience every day
I had been on the waiting list for 15 years or so to have this corrected
Finally I found a doctor who after seeing the state of it put me on the emergency list . Two months later I was Admitted in to the Broadmeadows hospital
On the admission form it asked a whole heap of the normal questions , and up near tho top was a section for preferred name . ten minutes later the receptionist calls Out "Alice Paige" Oh I was in heaven as I walked through into the changing area and waited for my surgery .As I waited for my anaesthetist's concoction to wipe me out I joked with the surgeons about giving me the snip we all laughed at that one and next thing I am waking up in the recovery room covered in blankets and feeling very groggy
The Nursing staff were lovely as they came over to check up on me " how are you felling Alice " " Alice are you up to having some food " My Doctor came over to check up on me and told me just how large the tear in my abdomen wall was Basically you could fit a whole orange though with ease
As I woke up the second time I overheard the head nurse ask one of the nurses say .And I can still remember her exact words " go and Check up on Alice and make sure she's comfortable " She came over to see me with tears pouring like a river from my eyes. too which I had to explain that they were tears of joy
My whole experience at the hospital was one of total acceptance and genuine respect given to me from every staff member I encountered that Day
For me it was the first time I had experienced so much support and care outside of my small circle of close friends.And the first time I had been referred to as she. Even nine months later I still remember that day and cry at the joyous memory of it
