At 28 years old I never thought I'd be uttering the words hysterectomy as a part of my life. It seems so young to be experiencing such a process, yet here I am.

In life there are moments that define a person's integrity. Not that a hysterectomy has a lot to do with my integrity. What I mean is my life is full of moments that have prepared me for this transition into a different chapter. I am convinced our lives are books being written, chapter by chapter. The past 10 years has written like 50. No just kidding, but really it's been a ride.

My first surgery I was 19 and was forming tennis ball size cysts nearly over night on my ovaries. An emergency surgery was warranted in order to save my left ovary and keep a cyst from bursting. It was a scary ordeal. I was very frightened and unable to keep my fear to myself.

I remember the nurse asking me what brought me to the hospital, where I snidely answered, "My mom." It was the truth. She had taken me to the ER. As my anxiety level rose, the nurse asked me if I would like some sort of tranquilizer to which I responded, "I'm not a horse." That's the last of my memory until waking up in recovery and having the buckling pain gone! It was such a relief.

For 10 years I've avoided having any sort of surgery on my ovaries or uterus and here I am. In February I started having menstrual related migraines, so at my yearly checkup in April I expressed the issues to my doctor. We decided it could be related to my birth control, so we changed it. I won't bore you with the not fun details of the next 3 months spent on pain killers and migraine meds, as well as dealing with nausea and vomiting.

In September I went for an appointment and the ultrasound showed, what we thought, was a stuck left ovary and decided to remove it. We also decided to biopsy my uterus to check for an illness called Adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is a condition in which endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, is present within and grows into the muscular walls of the uterus.

So after a week of recovery, here we are. I went for my checkup and it's concluded with a severe adenomyosis diagnosis. Seeing that the only other solution to a hysterectomy is menopause, which I'm obviously too young for, hysterectomy has become a part of my 28-year-old vocabulary.

Was I planning to have more children, not sure. I figured if it was in the cards it would happen. But it never did before this issue. It's not life or death. It's a new beginning in a pain-free life. And for that I'm very happy.

I have one of the best doctors I've ever had and one of the best support systems a girl could ask for. But we'll see how I feel after really having the hysterectomy.