Sunday Success Secrets 1 - Technology

Don't get me wrong - the lack of a Sunday Grateful Post is not due to a lack of gratitude, but more because it can take a while to get it down properly. Also, with the option between this and a Success Secrets post at the end of the weekend, I feel protected against having to whip a grateful post out of thin air. Doing so would undoubtedly result in some disingenuous topics, which would also lessen the gravity of the posts that deal with people or groups for whom I am deeply thankful. With that in mind, please enjoy the first Sunday Success Secrets post, a series in which I plan to share my little tips and tricks to help make life more manageable post-op.

Soft Foods, Back to Work, and 6-Week Appointment

Weeks 4-6 were full of milestones and surprises. I advanced to a more adventurous food stage, stopped a medication that I'd had to take after surgery, went back on a different medication that I'd had to stop for surgery, dealt with some interesting mood swings, and went back to the world of the working woman.

Sunday Grateful Post 4 - Mum

This one goes out to none utha than my mutha! Not only did she stay longer than originally planned and put up with my various mood swings (some of which were hormonal, some of which were...jerky), but she kept me well entertained in the hospital and my first 2 weeks after.

Pureed Stage

Ah, the pureed foods stage...also known lovingly as the "don't even think about getting anything accomplished" stage. I was so looking forward to eating my new smorgasbord of mushy food options that I had ever so slightly lessened my "absolutely not" stance on pureed meat. Little did I know that these two weeks would be frustrating, time consuming and contain my first strains of buyer's remorse. Remember how, at my 2 week post-op appointment, I had posed the idea of going back to work early? Well, those dreams were quickly dashed to the rocks...

Sunday Grateful Post 3 - Marissa the Admin

Ok, ok, so it's Monday...at least I'm making an effort. Besides, I did a lot of cleaning, chores, special projects and worked a show in Delaware. But enough excuses, back to business. Today's grateful post goes out to Marissa, the admin for Dr. Murayama's office.

Full Liquids Stage & 2 Week Follow-Up Appointment

Going home from the hospital, I was under instructions to be on a "full liquids diet". This means protein shakes made with milk or water, thin soups strained of all particles, sugar-free (SF) Jell-o, SF pudding, and other similar items. This was to last for 2 weeks, until I went to my first follow-up appointment at the surgeon's office.

Sunday Grateful Post 2 - Nurse Kristen

In my last post I mentioned the bariatric nurse Kristen. I was lucky enough to have her care for me 2 out of the 3 days I was in the hospital. I'm glad that I was "with it" enough to have my dad pick up a thank you card for me to write her a nice note before I was discharged. I'm pretty sure that most of it was in coherent English, too. As this one was done "on the fly" I don't have a typed copy to transcribe here. However, it's not hard to remember the general gist, or the reasons why I am thankful.

My Hospital Stay

I have no concept of how long I stayed in the recovery area, where they continued to monitor my vitals. Nor do I remember going to my room. I'm not even sure if I had to change beds, or whether the one I came out of surgery on was also my multi-function home for the next couple days. My memories from this general time period are a bit hazy but I do remember that when I became conscious again, I was in my room and my family was there.

The Big Day

The day before surgery, my parents came down from Boston. They had planned to be in the area for Christmas anyway, so just moved up their travel a few days. I called the hospital surgery hotline to find out what time to arrive the next morning, expecting it to be dark-o-clock (also know as the ass-crack of dawn); I was told 10 AM. Great, more time to sit around worrying the next day! I expected to be a nervous wreck that evening, as past experience led me to believe that I would be spending my time going over endless "what if" scenarios in my head. But I was strangely calm. Then, the big day came...

Pre-Op Class & Diet

The final step to getting surgery after insurance approval and scheduling a date was completing the required 2 hour pre-op diet and lifestyle class and the 2 week low-calorie diet. The class was scheduled for almost 3 weeks before surgery in order to give enough time to do shopping before the low-cal diet, as well as to procure groceries for the first couple weeks after surgery.