Surgery went well, yesterday. I think the worst part was coming out of the anesthesia BLIND, FREEZING and in PAIN -- thankfully two of those were remedied quickly enough by several warm blankets and a shot of THE GOOD STUFF; it would however, take my glasses 30 minutes to travel to me from the family waiting room.
They had me up walking soon thereafter, although I wouldn't pass any "yellow line test." They walked me to a little x-ray room where they had me drink a cup of barium, so they could make sure everything was flowing well. They then ushered mi familia in for a wonderful family reunion, where I finally got my glasses and could see just how cute (and married) my post-op nurses was.
Funny thing about the whole day was there was this lady I usually call "Mom" who turned paparazza on me. That's the last time I teach her how to use her camera phone and tell her I've started a blog on my weight loss journey. She said to me this morning, "I should have taken a picture of you and Dr. Smith before you went back for surgery," tonight, "We need to take a picture of your incisions." Now, I live with the dreaded fear of photos of me half sedated in a hospital gown wearing no makeup being leaked to the public. There goes my future political career. I am starting a photo journal of the process as well, but you won't be seeing those pics for some time. I snapped some photos the night before surgery (Fully clothed! No Biggest Loser style photographer, here!) and plan on taking an updated photo each month. Eventually (when I'm comfortable enough), I'll add them to my Flickr account and allow you to take a gander. Don't count on seeing mom's handiwork there.
I'm on a 48 clear liquid diet, so it's been: beef broth, chicken broth, sugar free jello, no sugar added juices, sugar free popsicles, coffee, and tea. On the third day
I've been working to stay ahead of the pain by setting the alarm on my phone to go off every four hours, so I don't miss a dose of pain meds (liquid yuck). Last night, I got off by just 2 hours, and well, let's just say OUCH!
My job this week is to just walk. Get up and move around. Keep the longs a breathing. Keep pneumonia at bay. Not lifting. No pulling. No changing a flat tire. And to look helplessly as someone else has to pour the HUGE jug of apple juice my sister bought at the store. In her defense, it was on sale! (she knows me so well!)
My family has been great. I feel bad asking them to do things, and they keep telling me to stop apologizing. I appreciate everything they are doing for me. I have learned, however, that one should have a more stoic family when it comes to abdominal surgery because laughter really isn't the best medicine. Laughter hurts.
(Yesterday morning's pre-surgery weigh in found I had lost an additional TEN pounds since Monday's pre-op visit. That's a grand total of 37 pounds since the end of August.)
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