On January 10th, 2022 me, Patrick and LilyAnne all tested positive for Covid. We all felt pretty crappy and we spent almost 2 weeks at home together recovering. I was having severe back pain, stomach pain, acid reflux, and just overall did not feel well. I contributed all of those symptoms to having Covid. On January 17th I noticed tenderness and swelling in my stomach, but again, I contributed it to Covid. By January 26th my abdominal distention was extremely noticeable and I started to get scared. I thought I was having an ectopic pregnancy (again), but after 2 negative pregnancy tests I knew that probably wasn't the cause. With all of my ectopic pregnancies before, I would get a positive pregnancy test and also I never had this stomach distention. I knew something was wrong at this point.

On January 27th, 2022, I called my OBGYN's office. They told me my doctor was in surgery and that I needed to go to the emergency room. I drove myself to the ER praying the whole way. I kept telling myself that I had just had a normal pap smear and a normal pelvic exam only 2 months ago so there is no way it could be anything too serious. I sent a text to 2 of my best friends and let them know what was going on, but I told them not to worry. When I arrived at the ER around 8:30am, they took my information and told me to have a seat in the waiting room. I waited for hours and finally they called me back. They took my vitals, got blood work and a urine sample and they did an ultrasound. I then went back to the ER waiting room for what felt like an eternity. I told my best friends that I did not want anyone to worry or come be with me, but secretly inside I was a nervous wreck and felt like I could bust into tears at any moment. And that is just what I did when I saw my best friend Megan walk through the door with chicken salad chick in hand. I wasn't hungry, but I was so happy to see her. About an hour after she arrived, I still had no answers. I went to the check in desk and asked the receptionist for an update. Her response almost knocked me on my knees. She said that the good news is my pregnancy test was negative (little did she know that was actually not good news to me), but the bad news is that they did see something on my ultrasound and they were ordering a CT scan with contrast. I almost had a panic attack right there in the ER. I went back to tell Megan what I was told and I could not control the crying and shaking that overcame me. A few minutes later they called me back for my CT scan (which was a literal nightmare because the IV infiltrated and my arm swole up like a balloon). 3 different people tried to get my IV and they couldn't do it...finally a sweet nurse came along and was successful with the IV. I was traumatized at this point and just wanted to get this over with and get some answers.

After my CT scan, I sat in the waiting area with Megan and I tried to prepare myself for bad news because I knew something had to be wrong. I was hoping it was just a blockage or something minor. I just prayed and pleaded with God to please let everything be ok. Nothing could have prepared me for the news I received from the nurse practicioner. The CT scan showed a 15 CM abdominal mass that looked to be stemming from my ovary. I could feel the worry and empathy in the nurse's voice and body language when she told me and that threw me over the edge. I lost it. I started crying uncontrollably and I felt like I was in another world. Surely this could not be happening to me! Is it cancer? Am I going to die? What is happening??! Thank God Megan was there because if not, I would have received this news alone. She was there to comfort me and be my ears because anything the nurse said to me after this news was all a blur. Patrick got there as quickly as he could and I lost it all over again when I saw him. I was told that I would need to follow up with my OBGYN so we called their office and they told me it would be 2 WEEKS before she could see me. 2 FREAKING WEEKS!!! Keep in mind, the doctor was in the same hospital as me that day and she was told what was going on and her response was "oh, it's probably nothing." She never came down to see me in the ER. Still to this day I cannot believe that she did not have the decency to walk down to check on me. Even though I was only a patient of hers for a short time (I had just changed doctors), it still blows my mind the way she just blew me off. (I do NOT see that doctor anymore, BTW)

Patrick lead me out to the car and I could barely stand up or walk. I was crying uncontrollably and I just did not know how to handle this news or what to do next. I was a mess. He assured me that everything was going to be ok and that no matter what, we would get through this together.