Hysterectomy : Paper doll with punch hole above pubis

I told you I was a mixed breed.  Proudly Afrikaans, partly English…NIE jou tipiese Afrikaanse girl nie …

In my previous post I spoke about female hysteria. Please click here and read about something every women should know.

I enjoy language and words. Their root meanings and origins. So I found it fascinating that the root word for hysteria comes from the Greek ὑστέρα hystera “womb”. This ‘sickness’ hysteria was always diagnosed in ‘womb-men.’

Hysterectomy has the same root word.

A hysterectomy (from Greek ὑστέρα hystera “womb” and ἐκτομία ektomia “a cutting out of”) is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist.

Now I ask, if your uterus is removed , would that not cause you to become hysterical?

As I have no idea what this feels like, I asked a dear friend,who recently had a hysterectomy, and gratefully share her feelings here.

You asked about my feelings regarding hysterectomy.

I’ve written some here just days after the op.

Some things have become clearer since then, but here they are:

“Paper doll with punch hole above pubis does the vagina become an endless tunnel+ the abdominal cavity a catch all waste bin?  Where does it end? What is left over? What happens to the space wherein my babies conceived, latched+ grew into the beautiful beings they are today? This is part of my womanhood being severed stretched + syphoned out of me within one hour. Four keyholes and quartered quivering flesh. Flesh that birthed beautiful babies. Is this right? Is this ethical? Will there be blood afterwards? Where will the blood come from if the uterus was the cup from which it spilled? What amount of hormone did the uterus itself supply? How will it be replaced? Will my body cope and adjust without it? Did it have space occupying functions that will now be left empty? A gap? A non-place without feeling? Is there orgasm without a pulsating uterus? Sudden menopause/ instant ageing/ oesteris ceaseterous? What to expect when there’s nothing left to expect? Who does one go to with all these ?’S.

Those who’ve had one could be shocked or offended or worse- opinion-less and those who haven’t had one are just as clueless! The questions rage on and on and most are unanswered. What would we do without Google? Hyster Sisters? The Hysterectomy Files? The answers supplied are to the wrong questions though.

This seems so superficial, like deciding on a cut of meat in the local butchery section nothing like:  ‘this is MY own body- HELLO!?”

© Margie Visser 2013

Thank you Margaret Rose….And that is why I maintain my favourite quote still remains:

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at the typewriter and bleed.” – Hemmingway