On April 12, 2023, I had a hysterectomy. I took the picture with the bandages right after I got home from the hospital around 3pm and the second picture, I took later that night around 9pm.
It still makes me sad to have lost a part of me, the part that gave life to my two beautiful children. I had several massive fibroids that caused me to have debilitating issues and severe anemia. This was the reason I was separated from the Navy during bootcamp.
I knew it had to come out, but for the months leading up to the surgery, I grieved the loss of the part of me that encompassed so much of my femininity. It's not an easy process.
It's been nearly three years and the scars have faded and healed. I no longer suffer from the issues caused by the part of me that made me a mother, but along the way became defective and was breaking me down.
Women, real women, deal with these types of conditions, often silently for fear of dismissal and criticism. My issue could of been diagnosed long before if my doctor would of taken me seriously and just ordered an ultrasound instead of telling me my issues were just prevalent with latinas and put me on birth control.
This is one of the reasons that I have such a strong reaction when I see a man in a dress pretending to be a woman... he will never know what this feels like... and I didnt even go into detail about my symptoms and afflictions. But, thats a whole other rant.
My point is, appreciate your mother and show her you care. Take care of your wives and listen to them. That support means the world to us.