Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is documenting her recovery after undergoing a hysterectomy as part of her ongoing treatment for cervical cancer.
“Today’s the surgery day,” Snooki, 38, said in Instagram footage uploaded Saturday, August 1, documenting her pre- and post-op experience. “I’m heading to the hospital to get my hysterectomy. My kids just left with Jionni [Lavalle], so I got nice warm hugs and I love them so much.”
Snooki, who shares three kids with 39-year-old Jionni, was diagnosed with stage I cervical cancer in April. As part of her treatment, the reality TV star decided to have a hysterectomy to remove her uterus and cervix.
While Jionni stayed with their kids during Snooki’s procedure, the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star’s parents accompanied her to the local hospital.
“You always need your parents, I don’t care what age you are,” Snooki stated in her upload. “I need my mom and dad. … Here we are strolling into surgery. I’m literally terrified at this point.”
In the next slide, Snooki revealed that the surgery was a success while sharing more recovery images.
“It’s starting to get dark. [I think] my surgery ended at 9:30 or 10:00. I’m going to be honest with you: not great,” she explained. “I told you guys, in general, I’m not good with pain, and I’ve really been trying to be tough, but it’s not great. The reason is because we did that C-section cut, and [my doctor] ended up taking out the uterus, my cervix and some parts of my vagina just to make sure we get everything.”
Snooki further noted that her surgeon did not remove her fallopian tubes or ovaries, the latter which she said was so she “doesn’t go into pre-menopause.”
“It’s been a lot,” Snooki continued, wiping away tears. “But, the good thing is, obviously I’ve had three kids, so when you have kids your abs disconnect. … [My doctor] ended up putting them back together, which is nice, because they were totally separated from my three kids.” (Separated abs during pregnancy, known as diastasis recti, is experienced by at least 60 percent of people who get pregnant and can be fixed with special exercises or surgical intervention, per the Mayo Clinic.)
While trying to look on the bright side with her newly stitched up abs, Snooki was still primarily overwhelmed by the pain she was experiencing post-surgery.
“Just dealing with all the pain, it’s not great,” she tearfully added. “I’m doing my best and I’m trying to stay optimistic. I hope I sleep tonight. I have a heating pad, so that’s helping. We got my fan, I have a ton of ginger ale and, yeah, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. … The first couple days is hell, and then it’s going to get better, so I’m trying to stay in good spirits.”
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