An Extreme Change

I am mother of four children and my life was normal until one day I had to face a reality that changed all my life. It was March 2008, I was doing my chores when suddenly I sneezed and I felt pain in my right upper thigh. I did not pay attention, but the pain continued, so I sat and took a rest. After taking a rest, I did not feel any pain. I went outside because I wanted to take a walk around, but as I started to walk, the pain came back. This time I went home and took a pain killer, and it stopped the pain. During two more days the pain came back, but then, nothing reduced the discomfort. I decided to go to the doctor, and they did a lot of testing. Finally, I had the results of the test, but I did not like the results. I had tumors in my uterus and my ovaries, and they had to be removed as soon as possible because they could be malign. I had to get surgery. Before the surgery, the doctor told me that after the surgery my life would change because I was young for that kind of surgery, but in my case I had no option. I did not understand too much about that, but I wished that the surgery went well because I needed to recover soon in order to take care of my children. Everything was fine because I was still on time.

After the surgery my life changed completely because I started to experience many physical and psychological changes that come with an induced menopause. Sometimes I was in bad mood, and I shouted at my husband and children. I also was depressed, and I did not want to talk to anyone or go anywhere. Sometimes I did not want to do anything at home; I did my chores, but I felt tired as if I was working all day. I thought that nobody understood me, and I felt alone. I also started to gain weight, and it was something that killed me because I always took care of my body, exercised, and was active, but even though I continued my life normally, I gained more and more weight. One time I went to the doctor and asked him why I felt the way that I did and why I was gaining weight so fast. He told me that my hormones were altered due to the surgery because my body did not produce anymore estrogen without my uterus and ovaries. Then he said that he could not do anything for me because if he gave me medicine, it could affect me worse because the hormonal replacement treatment had secondary effects that could cause cancer. I did not like to accept my fate, but I could not do anything, so I decided to deal with it and change my life.

I decided that I had to change because my children needed me, and they needed a strong mother that was available to them. They did not need a sick person that was always sad or depressed. My husband needed a happy and active wife that shared with him and walked this life together. I learned that my worth comes from the person that I am, not what my body looks like. I decided to study because I always wanted to be a nurse, but I did not study because I was always taking care of my children or because I did not know this language very well, but I set a goal in my life, and I wanted to accomplish it. I had to have time for me because my children were no longer babies that needed me to stay with them all the time and I needed to do something for me because it is never too late to follow my dreams. Now, I am a strong person, and I have accomplished some of my goals, but I am not going to stop until I get all of them. I know that I have to walk a long way, and it is not easy, but I think that I can do it because I have taken the decision to one day become a nurse.

Nobody imagines that in one day your life could change totally, but it happens very often. The most important is to find the best of the worst because a bad experience could help to build a better person, a person that you never imagine that exists.