The end of week 30 was my last day of work. Mentally I knew I'd make it this far, but physically I had no idea how many aches and pains I'd have, how draining the every day appointments would be. Legs and feet are swollen but I did the best I could and made it till the end.
My job was super supportive and I have no idea what I would have done or how I would have felt if they weren't. The transition from going to my appotinments every day, training my replacement, to finishing up as many loose ends, was as smooth as it could be.
Ironically, as my last day of work luck would have it, a very painful Pilonidal Cyst popped up on Tuesday. I was starting to be concerned about, not only was it painful, I was scared it could become infected. These cysts, occur at the bottom of the tail bone and can become infected. I talked to a doctor about it on Wednesday and she said I couldn't do anything until after the C section because I couldn't have any open wounds. The thought of having to endure this pain for another 9-10 days, was starting to worry me, but I was going to do it. It was in a very sensitive spot and could get infected if not treated. It also happened to be nestled inside a birthmark, which I'm sure just added to the nerve endings being that much more happy with me.
By Thursday, I not only was having trouble sleeping because of the pain from this thing, but also was having trouble driving. I called in the morning to speak to a doctor, but no one was in yet. When I went in for my fetal monitoring, I had to tell the nurses, because of the pain and all of the straps that were near and around that area was too much to bare. The nurses notified the on staff doctor to come look at it, because they knew what it was and how much pain I was in. They agreed that the cyst needed to get treated and they were able to roll me down to the ER to get it lanced and drained.
Most doctors think that ingrown hairs cause these cysts, the name Pilonidal means nest of hair, but there's also a theory that they appear after trauma to that area of the body.. WELL HUNTY, lets talk trauma!!! Web MD it if you care to know more. Let's just say, the pain from the numbing needle hurt more than child birth, but after that, it was all taken care of. Being pregnant has every part of me sore and tender, so it didn't surprise me that the needle hurt so much. Whew, the worse part was over. An ER deductable later, it was well worth it.
If it wasn't my last day, I would not have returned to work, but I did. I was able to make my rounds, finish what I could and say my good byes.
All in all I'm thankful for the fetal monitoring nurses who understood the urgency of getting the cyst looked at and cared about my mental and physical well being. Also I am very thankful for my team at work for not adding any additional stress to what was an already stressful pregnancy.
ok, it's late... need to get some rest, bringing this one to an end. Until next time!!
~ Truly Karae
