Senior Memories

As I was going through some of Em's memorabilia from her final senior year celebrations, I was taken back to my own graduation 29 years ago. I cannot believe it's been that long... nor can I believe my own baby is a high school graduate already. Yikes, I'm getting old.Here are the "paper highlights" from Emile's graduation.And here the the ones from my graduation.

When Emile and I looked though my memory book, I pointed out the program announcement with a bible on it. She asked what that was about (because heaven forbid you have a religious reference in schools today). I explained what a Baccalaureate Ceremony was. Of course she had never heard of such a thing. My how the times have changed.Emile just before Commencement Exercises.And me just before my graduation.And finally... my tassel. Yes, it's the one I wore. I carefully preserved all my senior memorabilia in the memory book I purchased. I'm glad I did because it was fun going through everything with Emile. The comparisons were pretty cool. Some things were very similar; others were worlds apart. Very interesting

So there you have it. My walk down memory lane. Time has moved by too quickly. I suppose before I can blink I'm going to be watching Brie graduate as well. Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.... Right??

Monday's Magnet

 

Today's magnet is one of my older ones. I have had it for about 19 years. When I was married and living in Utah, my husband and I took a vacation to Pennsylvania. We ended up on a day trip in Amish country, which is where I found this little copper magnet. I loved it. It's still just as pretty as it was the day I picked it up.

One Month...

Well I made it through my first post-surgery month. I was told by several people to take pictures each month so I'd be able to see my progress. I hate to admit it, but I don't see much, if any, progress in these pictures at all. Bummer. I know I've lost weight... As of four days ago, I have lost 31 lbs. That's great. I just don't see it when I look at myself yet. I can tell in how my clothes are fitting though. The shirt I have on in this picture I used to hate wearing because it was always tight around my arms. Now it fits nicely. I just want wait until I lose the preggo stomach look.

Oh, well... baby steps, my dear. As long as I'm on the right path that's all that is important.

Tough Lessons

Emile is going through a very challenging time right now. As the end of the school year approached, she was excited to graduate and go the the shore with a group of her girlfriends for a week. Unfortunately things did not turn out as she anticipated. Some poor choices were made which resulted in ugly comments being thrown back and forth. Emile came home two days early because she didn't feel she fit in. The entire situation has escalated to a point where it didn't have to go.So now Em's left feeling defeated and betrayed by a couple of girls she truly thought were her friends. I'm NOT saying Em's in the clear on this situation. She made her share of mistakes and contributed to the problem. She's having a difficult time understanding how everyone turned on one another so quickly.I've been trying to remind her of what a true friend is. We have all had people who came into our lives and left a mark on our heart which remains forever. At the same time we have also had people who came into our lives and things just didn't work out in the long run. Such is the case here. Em's having to learn a tough lesson. Time will pass and she will heal. It's just hard watching her cry as she goes through this. I know she has many other people who love and support her. I've seen these people stepping up to try and cheer her up already. Seems to me it's time for Em to...What's done is done. It's time for her to move forward. Greater things are ahead.

Monday's Magnet

 

Today I picked a magnet that my niece, Jamie, brought me when she Andy went to Thailand and the Philippines a couple years ago. Both served their missions in Asian countries (Jamie in Thailand, Andy in the Philippines). After being married a few years they were able to travel back to the countries they served in. Jamie has made several food items that she learned to prepare and eat while living in Thailand. She also has items she brought home with her following her mission.From pictures I've seen, Thailand looks beautiful. I'm sure there are areas of poverty, however, the country still looks fascinating. It's wonderful having relatives who have served missions on other countries so we can learn about these lands and people.

Monday's Magnet

 

In honor of Em's graduation and trip to the shore, I present this weeks Monday's Magnet. Even though Emile is NOT in Aruba (she's at Bethany Beach), I thought this magnet would do. This one was brought to me by a friend of mine, Karen B. She and her husband went to Aruba several years ago and this is one of the magnets she brought home for me.

Emile's Graduated!

Well, it's a done deal. Emile graduated last evening from West York Area High School. Here are some of the highlights.Just family in these pictures.Different pictures from Commencement Exercises. The picture in the bottom right is Emile receiving her diploma from Dr. Lonardi.Friends and family. Clockwise: Matt & Em, Aunt Cindy & Em, Rachel & Em, and finally, last but not least, Tibbs & Em.Back at the house after graduation. Em opened cards and gifts she received before getting ready to leave for the shore the next morning.

I can't believe it. My baby girl is all done with this phase of her life. It's time for her to leave the nest and move on to bigger and brighter days. Congratulations, Emile! I'm so proud of you

Senior Prom

And here it is....

 

The formal from West York's Senior Prom! For those who guessed which dress Emile selected, you were wrong. Actually the dress everyone picked was the least flattering of the three. In all fairness, if I had shown more of the dress, you may have picked a different one.

 

Emile looked lovely and Matt was very debonair. From everything I heard afterward, the evening was a huge success and they had a wonderful time.

Monday's Magnet

 

I thought this magnet would be a great choice for today. I feel as if I've been moving like a turtle for the last 10 days... so this seemed perfect. This magnet was brought to me by Sandy Benko. She picked it up while on a trip to Hawaii. Remember how I mentioned that people bring me magnets from all over the globe? Well Sandy used to work with Dr. Knudson as a CRNP. She knew us from seeing us over the years and in addition to this magnet, she brought me several others. I'll highlight them later down the road. Very cool.

Adjustments

It's hard to believe I'm already 10 days post-surgery. I'm doing pretty well. My biggest issues to this point are terrible itching around my incisions and in my groin area. I think I figured out the problem. I vaguely remember getting Diflucan the night of my surgery through my IV. The nurse explained it helps prevent and/or treat yeast infections. I picked up some anti-fungal cream and hopefully that will help.

The other challenge is with what to eat and how much. Here is a picture of what has been done to my stomach.The little area at the top (with the arrows) is what is now my "pouch" or active stomach. It is roughly the size of my thumb and capable of holding about 2-3 oz of food or fluid. I've been eating pureed foods for 5 days now. Some days have been better than others. I measure out a 2 oz portion of food to eat. At times that seems like enough... sometimes it seems like too much and I end up hurting. I have not experienced full blown "dumping syndrome," more just abdominal discomfort. I find my breakfast the easiest meal to tolerate. After that it seems to go downhill. Perhaps I'm just being impatient and expecting things to happen faster than they do. Again, I really can't complain. I'm recovering well. I'm getting stronger every day. I just have to get through this part and remind myself that this is just a "hick-up" on my journey.

No Way!

I had my first follow-up appointment with Dr. Monk yesterday. I was really looking forward to it because I was really hoping to get the surgical drain removed. There's something icky about having a tube hanging out of your body, attached to a bulb which is catching your bodily fluids. It's also uncomfortable because you can feel some of the tube pulling inside your body. I was still draining quite a bit so I wasn't sure if Dr. M would remove it or not. Fortunately he did! Yay for me.Before seeing Dr. Monk I had to weigh in and have my vitals checked by the nurse. I stepped up on the scale and just about flipped. I weighed 312! I couldn't believe it. I felt so defeated right at that moment. I was so excited when I found out I had lost 12 lbs. before surgery, then to have gained 20 lbs. in less than a week. What the heck. Both the nurse and Dr. M assured me that this is absolutely normal and happens because of all the IV fluids that are pumped into the body. While I understand that, it doesn't make the reality any easier. Since I can't do anything about it, I just have to accept it and move forward and lose the weight all over again.

Other than the weight gain, everything else was terrific. My vitals were normal. My Coumadin levels are good. Everything is healing nicely. I was even cleared to drive. Dr. Monk told me to go see a movie or do something else fun for myself. I really love this man. He's a good guy... and my hero.

A New Day

I've had several people mention they couldn't wait to read my blog post about my experience with my gastric bypass surgery. Here goes. To begin... here are the final pictures of me before I got changed in the pre-op area. Many people told me to take "before" pictures so I could see how much I change.As of May 26th my weight was 292. During the 11 days prior to surgery I lost 12 lbs. and was totally thrilled! After pics I changed into a gown and the nurse started all the prep stuff. Having arrived at 8:15am, my surgery was estimated to begin at around 10am. For unknown reasons, I wasn't taken back until nearly noon. While waiting I saw Dr. Nick, Dr. Monk, and the anesthesiologist. Each doctor went over last minute details and Dr. Monk wrote on my stomach to indicate what I was having done. Afterward he gave Emile the marker. BAD IDEA! Emile had a delightful time amusing herself.When it was time to say our good-byes I headed one way, Em the other. I've got to admit that I was surprisingly calm and ready. I think it's because I have been working for so long to get this done that when the time finally arrived I was in the mind set of "get r' done."After entering the OR I had a few things explained to me, asked a few questions, then had a nurse put a O2 mask over my face as the anesthesiologist told me that a drug he was putting into my IV would probably make my arm burn and ache for a few seconds. That's the last thing I remember.... Nice! Next thing I know I'm waking up in recovery some 4 hours later. I wasn't in much pain, however, I was feeling pretty nauseous. I remember hearing a nurse tell me she was giving me some meds for that. Thank heaven. I have a terrible time coming out of anesthesia.

At around 5:30pm I arrived at my room. I was asked if I wanted to walk in and I responded that I did. I knew it would hurt, but at the same time I knew it was best for me to get moving. I made it to a reclining chair a few steps later... blessed relief. I only remember bits on pieces of that night. I know Cindy, Emile, and Matt were there. I heard some stuff on the TV about severe storms in the area, but other than that I was pretty much out of it. I ended up sleeping the entire night in the recliner. I was ok with that.

Friday morning at 7:30 I went down for an upper GI; it's done to make sure all the staple/suture lines are tight and there's no leaks. Other than getting onto the X-ray table, it went just fine. A couple hours later I found out I had passed and I was able to have my foley removed and start sipping water. The rest of my hospital stay was pretty routine. Lots of bloating, lots and LOTS and LOTS of walking. Even the nurses on the overnight shift couldn't believe how much I walked. Frankly, it felt better to walk. Showers also felt wonderful. By Saturday afternoon I was cleared to go home but had to wait until 4 bags of potassium (which took 2 hours each to go in) were infused. I finally finished up at 6:30pm. Em had arrived about 40 minutes earlier so I was ready as soon as they said I could leave. After a quick stop at Wal*Mart for my prescriptions to be dropped off, we got home at 7:30. It was so good to be home. Even though I got wonderful care in the hospital, there's still no place as great as your own home.

SO there you have it. Now it's onward and upward to bigger (figuratively speaking) and better things. I'm so thankful for my health remaining stable and for the skilled medical team I had caring for me. They have truly given me a wonderful gift.