Hi Julia,

Yes, I do remember the surgery. 

I had surgery on the same day as my older sister (I was actually 2 months away from 8 and my sister was 9) so I think that it was less scary for me because I had someone going through exactly the same thing at the same time.  I do remember being very nervous and frightened and dreading the surgery very much.  These feelings would primarily surface around consults and appointments when we would talk about it in more depth, but I definitely wasn’t sad about it or afraid on a daily basis before the surgery. 

I wouldn’t say that I was too involved in my surgery decision, but I think that was probably right for our situation.  I was 8 and was a pretty lighthearted kid--I didn’t really have a lot of "why" questions and just basically thought that I didn’t form properly so it had to be taken care of so I could have a period, not get infections, and later be able to "make a baby" if I wanted to.  Just my opinion based on my personal experience. 

I think it was a tough thing to go through as a kid, but I can’t say I really thought about it much after that year or that I feel like I was traumatized by it in any way.  Though I obviously wish I didn’t have CAH and didn’t need surgery, I don’t view the surgery as a major event in my life.      

Hope this helps.  You can e-mail me at adfw1@yahoo.com if you have more questions.             

Take care,

Alison