Bonnie’s Questionnaire (version 9) (For more Questionnaires please click here)

*this questionaire is constantly evolving and so some people may not have been asked or had chance to update their informaion to the new version, that is why some questions will have not asked next to them

Background

Our admin ….. 0020

Age at hysterectomy? ….. 23 (1978)
Questionnaire completed ..... April 2003 (version 7)
How arrived with us ..... through Anna at radical midwives
Address .... British Columbia, Canada
Children ….. male c-section
Religion ..... not asked
Marital status before ….. common law
Relationship changed? ….. married
Ethnic group ….. caucasion
What academic level did you hold prior to hysterectomy ..... not aked
Did you / do you smoke ….. no
Mother survived ….. yes
Baby survived ….. yes
Job or career before / after ….. daycare provider

Pregnancy

Was it 'normal' ….. very, just a little morning sickness
Whist expecting did you develop any conditions? ..... not asked
Where was the birth wanted/planned home or hospital ….. planned for hospital, with a midwife, instead of doctor. In Canada, you have to choose either midwife or doctor, our medical will only cover one
If a planned home birth why a change of plan ….. n/a
If c/s, planned or elective, why ….. emergency c-section due to failure to progress
Hospital …… yes
Doctor/s ….. yes
Previous 'childbirth' vaginal, c/s etc ….. none
Did you want to / plan to breast feed ….. yes
Have you breast fed before, for how long ….. n/a

Labour and birth not asked

Date that labour began? …..
Were you induced? .....
Date of delivery? .....
Problems during delivery? .....
If emergency caesarian why? were you happy with this? ..... emergency c-section due to failure to progress
Problems after delivery? .....

Before operation

If planned c/s how long was the consultation? (should be no less than an hour) .…. unplanned - had never even talked about it
Were any risks including hysterectomy given to you? ….. definately not
Was sterilisation talked about / planned / agreed to? ….. No
Were you asked if you would consent to a blood transfusion? ….. No
If after arrival of baby were you given any transfusion? ….. Yes
What were the circumstances for you to be taken (back) in? ….. Loss of blood, uterine atony
If taken (back) in were you told it was for a hysterectomy or warned it may result in hysterectomy? ….. yes, they said at worst …. But I was incoherent anyways
Were you asked if you suffered from depression? ….. No
Were you asked if you had ever been abused? ….. No
If you were abused in the past has this come to mind more than before the operation ..... not asked

During operation

Hysterectomy date ….. 17 Novmber 2001
Were you conscious or under general anaesthetic? ..... not asked
What did they try before undertaking the hysterectomy ….. drugs, internal stitching
How much blood transfused before / during hysterectomy ….. eighten units plus
Consent specifically given for hysterectomy? ….. No
Minutes from death, if applicable ….. no, but if I kept bleeding I would have died
Did you go into cardiac arrest ….. No
Was your husband told they were going to do it before they did it? ….. he dosen't remember

After hysterectomy

How did you learn of your hysterectomy ….. nurse told me by accident
Reason for hysterectomy ….. ensure survival, due uncontrolled uterine atony, uncontrollable bleeding
How much blood were you transfused after hysterectomy? ….. NONE?
Type of hysterectomy, sub/total? If total were you told straight away that it had been done and were you given a reason for this? ….. sub/total
Do you still have both ovaries? If not were you told straight away that it had been done and were you given a reason for this? ….. Still have both
Was your vagina pleated? If so were you told straight away that it had been done and were you given a reason for this? ….. No
What incision scars have you? ..... not asked
If more than one do you know what was for caesarian and what was for hysterectomy? ..... not asked
Intensive care/ how long? ….. 3 days
On recovery/ward care? ….. 4 days
Infections post hysterectomy, either in hospital or shortly after ….. air in lungs
How was pain managed? ….. morphine, then tylenol 3's
When expected to fend for self and baby? ….. i wanted to, they couldn't have stopped me, let my husband stay with me the whole time
How were you treated by the staff? ….. some where okay, some were alful - nobody really knew what to tell me, nobody even told me how to feel after the c-section - i had such horrible gas pains i thought something was really wrong - never once did they tell me that was just normal of having c-section. every nurse was different, and would tell me different ways to breastfeed, finally i just broke down, every 12 hours there was a shift change, finally they got it together and let the next nurse know what was going on
Did they care for you well? ….. I had my family there, so they did the nurses job
Did they care for your child/ren well? ….. my son was in the baby ward for four days, they said he had colic, but the few times he was allowed with me he was fine, and the whole time I had him with me, in the maternity ward he was happy and barley cried)
If you were crying were you given compassion? ….. by some not by others, not really much
Were you told that you should be grateful you had a partner/husband (many women in here do not)? ….. No
If you had your ovaries were you told you could still have children with surrogacy? ….. No
Were you told to adopt ? ….. No
If you were very unhappy were you told to change your attitude or you may well loose your partner / husband? ….. No
Did a counsellor see you? ….. No
Did the physiotherapist see you/ Were you given exercises to make your uterus contract? ….. no, but i was helped to cough, and walk around a bit
How long was your hospital stay? ….. 7 days
Were you encouraged to stay as long as you needed or not? ….. no, I wanted to leave, I hated that place
Were you told how often this happened? ….. told - very rare - not many doctors heard of this happening - my doctor has been working 16 years and this is the first for him
Were you given any information about how long your ovaries would 'last'? ….. not at all

(After) Leaving hospital

Were you given information on family planning? ….. No
How much help did you at home and for how long? ….. I had friends and family helping me - they were super
How were you treated by your GP? ….. good
How were you treated by your midwife? ….. she wasn't even there, she came to the hospital once, and was unsure if she even wanted me to be her patient anymore
How were you treated by your Health Visitor? ….. n/a
If you wanted to go though a process of more children were you helped? ….. No
Did you breast feed for as long as you wished. If so for how long? ….. yes, about nine months

Consequences

Your well being ...

Did you bond with your baby or do you feel the operation caused problems? ..... not asked
Do you feel like a survivor or victim?….. ((Look up))
Do you feel as though you have been raped? ..... not asked
Do you still feel like a woman? ….. Yes
Do you feel there is anyone to blame or fate? ….. happenance of fate, a little of both, I guess .
Are you grateful to be alive? ….. yes, I am grateful to be with my son
Do you tell others what has happened? If not do you have a reason? ….. yes, I tell them
Any legal action taken? Sucessful? ..... n/a
Do you know, have you met the doctor that did the operation? Was the doctor a consultant? ….. Yes
Has the doctor gone over your notes with you? ….. Yes
Have you obtained your notes? Were there any problems? ….. Yes and no
Do you believe they are an accurate portrayal of what happened? ….. Yes
Did you have all your questions answered? If so was this straightaway or did you have to go though some form of complaints procedure? Successful? ….. yes, even when I phoned the doctor, he phoned me back right away
If applicable were the police contacted? Successful? ….. n/a
Have you suffered post traumatic stress disorder? ..... not asked
Have you suffered a change in depression? ..... no
Do you now suffer from anxiety? .....no
Do you suffer from sleeplessness? ..... only when it is time to see the doctor
Do you have nightmares or have you had, that you feel are associated with this? ..... not asked

Physical ...

Has / did your menopause start early? ….. No
Do you now have or a change in IBS? ….. n/a
Do you now have incontinence, if so when did it start? …..No
Do you have movement in your abdomen like a baby moving? (a couple of us guess it is just the bowel doing its job)? ….. Yes
Do you now suffer from a shortness of breath? ….. not asked
Can you still stretch properly? ….. not asked
Has you libido changed (as it altered your sex life)? ….. No
Do you now have problems (pain / incontinence) coug hing and sneezing? ….. No
Do you have abdominal pain? ….. no, although sometimes I have sharp pains, near my scares
Do you now have a problem with weight gain? ….. no, although sometimes I have sharp pains, near my scares
Do you now have a different figure? ….. No
Do you suffer more headaches? ….. No
Do you now suffer from rashes? ..... not asked
Have you had any tidy up operation/s? comments? ….. NO - for awhile there it looked like I might need to because I still have a bit of my uterus left, and I was worried I may still get my period

Hospitals reaction ...

Do you know, have you met the doctor that did the operation? Was the octor a consultant? ..... not asked
Was an internal review undertaken to see hat happened and if mistakes coul be learnt from? (Anna was told this was standard practice with such an outcome) ..... not asked
Did you think about having your organ (s) returned to you? Any results? ….. no never mentioned
Have you obtained your notes? Were there any problems? .....
Do you beleive they are an accutate portrayal of what happened? .....
Has the doctor gone over your notes with you? .....
Did you have all your questions answered? If so was this straight away or did you have to go though some form of complaints procedure? Sucessful? .....
If you wish to meet or speak to the peole involved in your 'care' are you able to? ..... not asked
Have you gone back to the hospital if so was this helpful for you? ..... not asked
With hindsight would you have done anything different? …..

Miscellaneous

When did it HIT you? ..... days after it happened, yesterday, today, tomorrow, every time i think about it
Did you plan to be an organ donor before the hysterectomy? Are you still? Or vice versa. ….. YES AND YES
Has it effected family life, if so how? ..... not asked
How has your husband / partner dealth with this? ..... by not talking about it
How has this changed the quality of your life? ..... not asked
What are your overall views? .....
With hindsight would you have done anything differently? ..... i would have found out about c-section and forceps, I would have tried pushing longer, I would have seen a doctor instead of a midwife.
Advice for others ….. read and learn everything before - don't just think "oh that won't happen to me" - that's what I thought, birth would be a breeze.
Any other thoughts or comments? …..

If IVF before hysterectomy… n/a

Cycle number …..
Eggs retrieved - embryos …..
Embryos implanted …..
Result …..

More children wanted/hoped for ? If so how many? ….. at least three

Surrogacy ….. No
Eggs retrieved - embryos …..
Embryos implanted …..
Result …..

Adoption ….. thinking about it

* Bonnie's account

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