HEALTH & BEAUTY HEALTH
Lessons from Legos Is No Longer Child’s Play By Dylan Roche Cheryl Talley of Lanham loves creating and tinkering with Legos®. Talley, a 56-year-old IT professional for a large health insurance company, enjoys the art of imagining, designing, and creating objects out of these colorful pieces of plastic. She finds it especially rewarding to flex her creativity while utilizing one of her most important character traits: patience. “I am a patient person by nature. I like to take my time to make sure I know what I am doing, whether it is in my work or when I am building my latest creation,” Talley says. Her patience and perseverance have resulted in miniature structures of model homes and sports cars—each containing several hundred Lego blocks and days of careful construction.
Be Your Own Best Advocate While Talley demonstrates patience in most aspects of her life, her personal health is a different story. Tenacity, perseverance, attention to detail, and a clear understanding of what is needed to get the best results are all critical qualities Talley has learned from her pursuit to become a Lego master artist. These qualities became vital as she faced a difficult and challenging medical condition. “I recently went through menopause, but still had irregular bleeding,” she says. “At first, I thought it was just part of the aging process, but the unusual cycles didn’t stop and I knew I needed to do something.” Talley’s first call was to her Board Certified Gynecologist, Dr. Susan Peeler. Armed with a list of questions, Talley headed to her GYN appointment at THE NEIL B. ROSENSHEIN, M.D., Institute for Gynecologic Care at Annapolis. “Dr. Peeler answered every question, walked me through the testing she needed to schedule and explained the best possible treatment plans for my condition,” Talley offers. “Dr. Peeler made me feel like I was her only patient.”
Trust Your Intuition After undergoing several tests for postmenopausal bleeding, Dr. Peeler diagnosed Talley with uterine fibroids and endometrial hyperplasia. Talley’s bleeding turned out to be a warning sign for uterine fibroids and endometrial hyperplasia, an abnormal thickening of the uterine lining. Fibroids are commonly found in women of all ethnicities, but occur more frequently in African American women. Most fibroids are non-cancerous but they are often quite painful and bothersome. Endometrial hyperplasia, for some women, can lead to a cancer diagnosis and an involved surgical treatment plan. Talley’s condition was caught early and she did not have cancer, though her condition required an outpatient minimally invasive procedure. Talley has no long-term complications and Dr. Peeler doesn’t see that changing thanks to Talley’s proactive approach to her healthcare.
“I credit Cheryl for trusting her intuition and seeking treatment,” Dr. Peeler says. “Together, we agreed the best course of treatment was to perform a minimally invasive, laparoscopic partial hysterectomy. What that means is that I was able to spare Cheryl’s ovaries and that gives her a decided advantage. By keeping her ovaries, Cheryl’s body will naturally protect against heart disease and osteoporosis.” Dr. Peeler performed Talley’s outpatient procedure at Mercy Medical Center and Talley returned home to begin her recovery the same day. “I was happy I was able to go home the same day as my surgery,” Talley says. “It was nice to be able to recover in my own bed.”
A Positive Outlook Leads to Inspired Imagination “I am very thankful I had an amazing recovery,” Talley says. “I wished I didn’t have to have surgery, but it was the right decision for me. Dr. Peeler and her staff assured me every step of the way and that made the whole experience so much easier on me. Having peace of mind and the confidence that I was getting the best possible care were among the reasons I think my recovery went so well.” With a clean bill of health and a positive outlook on the future, Talley is excited to resume her life and build new Lego creations. “I’m excited to construct something grand! Perhaps a mansion, an airplane, or some other large, distinctive object—wherever my imagination takes me, I can’t wait!” says Talley with a smile. “Now I’m onto the next build!” “Lessons from Legos Is No Longer Child’s Play” provided by Mercy Medical Center.
whatsupmag.com | September 2021 | What’s Up? Annapolis
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