I Wake Up Every Day Pain Free: Da Vinci Surgery Offers Gynecology Relief [Kim Vig]

I am Kim Vig. I was born and raised in Brookings, and I work at South Dakota State University as an instructional designer.

Why did you decide to have a hysterectomy?

I have struggled since I was a teenager with polycystic ovary syndrome and other issues with cysts and abdominal pains. And then I did really well for a lot of years, and then it became an issue in the last year or so, especially, and I started missing family events and social events, and work. I suffered for a good five or six months, severely, until I finally reached out to Dr. Haarsma, and we started working on a plan of what I could do. And I just decided it was time to get back to living a normal life again.

What is polycystic ovary syndrome?

With my polycystic ovarian syndrome, I really struggled with, your body is just constantly making cysts to an abnormal amount. Most women already have cysts. You just don't know when they come and go as often, and when you have PCOS, it's way more severe, and it causes a lot of abdominal pains and knives in your stomach, and it's just not a fun way to get through the day.

What treatments did you try before the hysterectomy?

I was on medications throughout the years, and they did some of the injections that helped, and they really did help for a good middle of the age for myself for a lot of years. So it really did cut it down, and sometimes I'd do patches or different things, but it just got to the point that there was so much bleeding and so much pain that it just wasn't tolerable anymore.

Why did you choose Dr. Haarsma?

I have heard so many wonderful things about her from other people, and Dr. Smith at Avera Brookings suggested that I go see her, and I just had no qualms about it, because I'd always heard such great things about her, and they were all correct.

Why did you choose the daVinci robotic hysterectomy?

I was told that it was way less invasive, and I did kind of my own little research on it. And I've known people who've had the full hysterectomy, kind of the old-school style or whatever you want to call it, and they missed work and activities for weeks, and I knew that I didn't want to do that if I didn't have to, and she just said that it was a great option for me in my situation, and so that's why I chose that.

How was the staff's communication?

Oh, very much so. Yep, it was neat and sometimes more detailed than you wanted in some of the things, but they did a great job both when I saw Dr. Haarsma in the clinic and even the morning of surgery. She just went through the whole process again, and what would happen, and yeah, it was very smooth.

How did the staff support your husband and family?

Really well. I think he handled it well and kind of stayed on top of things. And my mom, being a lifetime nurse, they were on vacation and she was concerned, so they actually hopped on the phone with my mom. Dr. Haarsma was good with that so that mom could ask questions, too, that John might not have known or thought of to ask. And so it was really nice that she was willing to do that and not have problems with that since I gave permission to do so.

How did the staff treat you?

It was just wonderful from the moment you checked in with Heather until the moment they rolled me back out to the car. I was a person who happened to be a patient, and you have connections, and even if you didn't know them personally, you know, it was people, "I worked with your mom back in the day right before she retired," or, "My husband golfs with your husband," and it was just really... Just to have those connections, even if you didn't know them, it just puts you at ease for something going into a procedure that you were a little scared about. I knew it wasn't a major thing, but I was still nervous, and it just kind of kept you calm, and they're just wonderful. Everyone we encountered was just amazing.

How was your recovery?

My recovery was really good. I would say even when they brought me to the recovery room and when they brought my husband in and we got to visit, it was really good, and they controlled my pain and were always checking on my pain. We had one incident that I had some excessive bleeding, and at first, I don't think they were really concerned, and then it got to be a little more, and they came in, and they were like, "Nope, don't give her anything to eat or drink in case we need to take her back in."

And it wasn't until we got home I said to John, "That was kind of scary." Would have been scary, but they were all so calm that it was like, "We're just going to keep watching you. Let's just not eat or drink yet until we know we don't need to take you back in." And I think because they were so calm that I never got scared, but after the fact, I was like, "That could have been really scary," but you didn't even know it, because the anesthesiologist came in, Dr. Haarsma was in, and they were just talking me through that they were just going to monitor me, and it turned out just fine, and I didn't need to go back in or get a transfusion that they were concerned with. And they just... I never once felt like they had a tough decision to make. They just were cautious.

How has surgery changed your life?

Really good. I would say I had probably two weeks that I missed work, and I just didn't do a lot around the house, which I thought, "Hey, I don't have to," but I really don't know that I would have wanted to, even if I felt good. But after that two weeks, my life was back to normal, and it was just wonderful. I never regretted it.

I wake up every day pain-free. I don't think twice about planning events with family and friends. We still get to all of our Jackrabbit games that we wanted to. I had to miss a couple of volleyball matches in there, and other than that, it's nice to not have to be, "Well, if I'm feeling good, I'll go." You know, I can take that out of the equation now and for the rest of my life, as far as that part's related. So it's wonderful.

How was your adjustment to menopause?

They did a total hysterectomy. So they put me... It puts you automatically into menopause. So your body has to still adjust to some of those things. So I have, since then, had a little increase in migraines and just some increase in just... You know, a little bit of weight that I haven't been able to...that I was off, came back on, and now it's working back down. But Dr. Haarsma has worked with me and just assured me that it's all normal. We're just trying to get to different levels. So we're playing with some estrogen patches and some medication right now to level that out. And she had warned me ahead of time that that could be the case, and that was with me. I have way less hot flashes. I was already in the hot flash stage before my surgery, and I would say I have way less. So I have faced some of those things, but to compare that to what I was facing before, still a piece of cake, and I can handle that. I can handle a migraine or two just to not have all the abdominal issues going on.

What advice would you give someone in a similar situation?

Just do it. Don't wait and say, "This isn't a good time. Next... You know, six months will be better," because your time is worth it, and your health is worth it, and your family deserves it, and your friends deserve it. So you'll be better all around when you just feel better.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

My favorite thing about the care was that I got it right here in Brookings. I've had a lot of orthopedic issues in the past, and when I was younger, I had to go to Sioux Falls because I had to go to Sioux Falls, because at the time, they didn't do them here what I needed done. And it got kind of grueling sometimes. You'd get in the car from having surgery, and you'd have to drive home for an hour, and you just want to be in your bed. And it just added that extra element of comfort to have it here, that you wake up, you're not even five minutes away from home, you're in your bed, and then you know if something happens, you're five minutes away from help. You don't have to, you know, try to get a hold of a doctor out of town somewhere else. But I think just the comfort in being home and just knowing that you were taken care of here is what I love the most.

Why would you recommend Brookings Health System?

They just see you as a person, and that's what I like the most. Like I said, even if you don't know them, there's a connection somewhere to someone, and, you know, it's easy for people... People often say, "Well, your mom worked at the hospital for 37 years," or whatever. Of course, you'll go there. Well, a lot of the people that she worked with aren't here anymore, but it still feels comfortable, and it just feels like home, and they care. And I think that's why I never thought twice about coming here for it.

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