How to Survive

For those of you who have found this blog and are members of this oh-so-fun club of pph survivors and hysterectomies...

Find support... on line and in real life...

How did I do it?

Online support
1.http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pph-survivors/ --- this is the first group I joined. They are EXTREMELY active. I love this group - but there are some women who are quite angry, understandably so. I followed it for a while, but dropped out after a year or so. you have to write a letter explaining your experience - they try to keep wackos out. it was great just to know i wasn't the only one.

2. facebook (search pph survivors) - great way to get connected with some women who have been through the same - i started this when i was (mistakenly) not accepted to the other group. so far you just have to request to join - if there starts to be crazies - it'll be rougher to get in, but hopefully not. through this i have actually MET someone - and was interviewed for a study.

REAL LIFE

This has proven to be most important, I was so  blessed to have some awesome women come into my life just as I was beginning my journey as a mother.

I started off by surrounding myself with people. By the time B was 3 or 4 months old, I had joined a playgroup, was (still) running a girls' bible study, and attending women's bible study at my church. By the time he was 6 months old I had also joined an accountability group. This started with 4 women. Currently (yes currently 3 1/2 years later) there are 3 women. We share our life with one another, pray, do bible study (when the kids aren't screaming), etc. We actually just went on a week long journey together to Tennessee with our boys. woo hoo!

By surrounding myself with other women in the midst of motherhood I learned that there are problems for everyone. I have learned not to compete with tragedy. Just because they aren't going through "what I went through" doesn't mean I can't learn from them and they from me. It doesn't mean I can't hurt for them as they do for me.

Pregnancy sucks for some people - birth sucks for some people - and post partum sucks for some people.

Just because I had a hyster, just because baby showers and pregnancies, and other things sometimes (less than it used too!!!) are like a big ole sucker punch. Doesn't make other people's suckiness less sucky for them.

By joining with these women and supporting each other through life... I have continued to live!