Jenny Powell has revealed that her daughter Constance Baxendale has been hospitalised for surgery as she reflected on undergoing a hysterectomy a year ago on Thursday.
The radio and television presenter, 57, underwent a robotic hysterectomy 12 months ago to manage extreme symptoms as a result of menopause.
She has been open about her health battle and has often displayed her scars from the gruelling surgery as a way of raising awareness.
Now in a new post and video she told how on one year to the day that she had her surgery, her daughter Connie, 24, was back in the same hospital with the same surgeon to have a cyst removed amid her PCOS battle.Â
Jenny has two daughters, Connie and Pollyanna Baxendale, 16, whom she shares with her ex-husband Toby Baxendale.Â
Jenny penned in her post: ‘Well what a freaky moment… one year to the day since my hysterectomy and by pure coincidence we are back in the same hospital with the same surgeon for my Connie this time.
Jenny Powell has revealed that her daughter Constance Baxendale has been hospitalised for surgery as she reflected on undergoing a hysterectomy a year ago on Thursday
The radio and television presenter, 57, underwent a robotic hysterectomy 12 months ago to manage extreme symptoms as a result of menopauseÂ
‘As she’s just gone in now for surgery, it’s an emotional one on so many levels. She’s been beautifully brave, in for removal of a cyst and then Dr.El-Gizawy walks in… not seen him for exactly one year!Â
‘He said that he recommends his patients follow my hysterectomy journey on here as it is a help and comfort for many. I teared up… so much to say and not sure where to start.Â
‘Ladies .. don’t turn a blind eye to your symptoms / act on it / be persistent with doctors, consultants /talk about it /share your experiences and if you’re scared, unsure, remember you’re not alone… we have all been there.Â
‘My life has changed considerably… but it has taken a year to feel complete physically and mentally. I feel so passionately for all the women and even partners of those women who have connected with me and @dramirygynae in the past 12 months…Â
‘Our journey is a collective one and just to say my quality of life/ my zest for life as a womb free woman is pretty awesome. Don’t give up on that thought!’
Reflecting on her recovery and sharing images of her scars healing last year Jenny warned for other women to ‘take the healing process seriously’.
She penned: ‘What a month four weeks on from my robotic hysterectomy and healing well. I have been overwhelmed, truly, by the response to my posts and updates.
‘I’m planning on an event and building a community on here but also keeping in touch with as many of you as I can. So just to say, healing and slowing down to do so is hard work in itself.
Now in a new post and video she told how on one year to the day that she had her surgery, her daughter Connie, 24, was back in the same hospital
Jenny penned in her post: ‘Well what a freaky moment… one year to the day since my hysterectomy and by pure coincidence we are back in the same hospital’
She added: ‘As she’s just gone in now for surgery, it’s an emotional one on so many levels. She’s been beautifully brave, in for removal of a cyst and then Dr.El-Gizawy (seen) walks in… not seen him for exactly one year!’
She detailed what she had been through health wise in the past 12 monthsÂ
And shared images of her scarsÂ
Then she finally shared a picture of her one year on from the hysterectomyÂ
‘I’ve found it very hard to ignore the chores of every day life in work, at home and play. So take the healing process seriously or it will bite you on the bum later on down the line.
‘Make sure you have a plan in place and get the right advice post op regarding your hormones /HRT /self care and accept help whenever you a get it… (thank you, Mum, my girls and everyone at work!) so hystersisters, more to come as we are on the road to recovery… we’ve got this!!’
She shared snaps of her scars at each week for the four weeks and also posted a series of lovely messages from other women who had been through the same thing.
The high-tech remote-controlled machines were deployed by NHS Trusts to clear the backlog of women who missed out on vital operations during the Covid pandemic.
While the devices cost just under £2 million each, they slash the time it takes to perform the delicate surgery, and as they also work with pinpoint accuracy it means patients recover faster.
Called Hominis, this surgical system is operated by a human controller who maneuvers the robotic arms while watching the procedure happening on a screen in real time.
The robot features shoulder, elbow and wrist joints to provide human human level dexterity and 360-degree articulation.
An additional arm guides a laparoscopic video camera through a small, separate incision, to help visualize the internal procedure.
Hominis enters through the vagina to perform the hysterectomy and then wraps its arms around the uterus to perform the operation.
Jenny used the two week milestone after her procedure to give an update, telling her followers: ‘It is two weeks to the day that I had my hysterectomy.
‘I’ve had thousands of people messaging and I just want to clear one thing up – I had a robotic hysterectomy so I had a surgeon who was controlling a robot’s arms to do the whole operation.
‘So it was less invasive but also the recovery time is a bit quicker.’
Issuing a warning to others in recovery she then added: ‘Recovery wise I have been doing a few things here and there and I was absolutely floored yesterday because I did too much – so don’t over do it – it’s not worth it.’
Continuing her video as she displayed her scars: ‘The scars are looking good but there’s a lot of healing going on on the inside and that’s the thing so small steps.’
She also shared an image of her stomach and penned in the caption: ‘2 weeks post op: No need for painkillers (just itchy from healing). Can lie on my side to sleep at last.
‘Sticking to a high fibre diet. Readjusting my HRT with my consultant. Going outdoors/ walking/ rehab. Playing the healing frequency 285 on Spotify AND REST.’
Soon after undergoing the operation in early October, Jenny explained: ‘I’ve suffered for so long with all sorts of symptoms and tried all sorts, but yeah it’s time, so hence the hysterectomy.
‘Because I’m menopausal of course things are different it’s not like this is been brought on early.
‘But I’m just wondering if they’ll be any connection between it and my emotions. So it will be interesting. I’m just about to put my fancy gown on so come back later.’
Jenny previously revealed she was forced into hospital after severe menopause symptoms left her struggling to ‘get out of bed every day.’
The presenter said she was forced to undergo an iron infusion after suffering from anaemia due to severe blood loss.
Jenny has two daughters, Connie and Pollyanna Baxendale, 16, whom she shares with her ex-husband Toby BaxendaleÂ
She told Closer magazine: ‘The menopause affected me mentally and I didn’t feel like me. My periods were awful, I’d have to change about five times a day and I lost that much blood that I became anaemic. I was really tired and depressed.
‘I’d struggle to get out of bed and I couldn’t wait to go back to bed at night.’
Jenny spoke candidly about her experience with perimenopause – the time before a woman’s periods stop – and said she didn’t address her symptoms straight away and her condition became worse because she’d left it so long.
It meant she ended up needing treatment in hospital, adding: ‘I left it too long to get it sorted, so in the end I had to have iron infusions in hospital.’
At the time, Jenny also took to her Instagram Stories to share a sizzling snap where she made the most of the heatwave by taking a dip in a pond, with her scars on full display in her two-piece.
She seemed to be on cloud nine as she flashed a smile while dipping her feet into the water, captioning the post: ‘Days like these #wildswimming uk scars ‘n’ all.’
