Monday's Magnet

After spending 3 days at York Hospital, I was so happy to go home. Thus the reason for today's selection. There's truly...
No Place Like Home!

It's Here!

The day has finally arrived. In a little under three hours I'll be at the hospital getting ready for my surgery. I cannot believe it. The wait that seemed forever has finally arrived. About a year ago I began giving gastric bypass serious consideration; eight months ago I attended an information meeting.... and you know the rest. Lots of consultations, tests, classes, support group meetings, and appointments with surgeons later, here I am ready to go. Here's a quick recap of the last 11 days.Starting on May 15th my daily eating plan took a drastic change. Beginning in the morning and then three more times throughout the day, I had an 8oz. glass of a high protein meal replacement shake. In addition to the shake I was allowed up to two cups of select fruits and veggies.This is the majority of what I ate. I was also ate onions and mixed spring salad greens. I was also allowed to eat as much sugar free jello as I wanted. Additionally, I had to drink at least 64oz. of clear, non-carbonated, sugar free liquids a day. All in all the 10 days I did this went fairly well... minus a few blood sugar drops. Depending on how accurate the scales at the vascular surgeon's office were, as of this past Monday I had lost 10 pounds since I began the pre-surgery diet. The purpose of the diet is not so much about weight loss as much as about shrinking the size of the liver, adding protein to aid in healing and recovery, and to get you prepared for what the next several weeks are going to be like (as well as the rest of your life) eating wise.At 10am yesterday I had the pleasure of drinking 10oz. of Magnesium Citrate. It was a "Pleasing Lemony Flavor." Yeah, right! It was pleasing enough to gag a maggot. The purpose of the Mag Citrate was to cleanse the digestive track. Yep, you guessed it..... QUALITY TIME on the toilet. To be honest, I can't even complain about that. I didn't go as much as I thought I'd go. In fact I even called the bariatric nurse because I thought I should be going more. She explained that due to the fact that I'd been going a lot since I started the diet, there probably wasn't much left to be eliminated. Cool!

And finally, last evening my nephew, Andy, and Bro. Tibbs, came over and gave me a blessing. I feel very good about everything that's going to happen today. I trust my surgeons and know they are going to do their very best to keep me alive and well.

Here's the plan. I'm taking Brie to school at 7:20ish. I'll come home and close up the house for the day. Emile will take me to the hospital. We have to be there by 8:15am. I'll be prepped.... and give or take, I should be in the O.R. by around 10am. The vascular surgeon, Dr. Nick, will place the blood clot filter as soon as I'm under anesthesia, then Dr. Monk will step in and do the bypass itself. The surgery should take about 3 hours.. again, give or take. I'll be in the recovery area for about an hour and a half to 2 hours. They'll start me walking while I'm in recovery. Amazing.So, there you have it. My rebirth is mere hours away. Living awaits.....

Chap Stick

My good friend, Cheri, sent me this little story earlier today. I just had to share it. Thankfully, I've never really been into lip balms much AND to my knowledge this never happened in my household. Too late if it did. Enjoy

Chap Stick

We had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on the mat in our bathroom. We have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old.

The middle one is Eli. Eli really loved chap stick. LOVED it. He kept asking to use my chap stick and then losing it.

Finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom that I kept my chap stick and explained he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer after he finished because I used it sometimes several times a day.

That year, on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around to try to get ready for church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box.

I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car, and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally go into the bathroom.

There was Eli. He was applying my chap stick very carefully to Jack's rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped..."

Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right - their little bottoms do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth!?!

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever, because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize... they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

Monday's Magnet

 

As I hit the home stretch of my journey to have gastric bypass surgery, I decided on this magnet for today. I want to thank all of those who have stood by me as I've made this journey. You know who you are. Without your love, friendship, and support, I'm not sure if I could have gotten this far. You have inspired me to become the very best I can be. And each and every one of you add a VERY special "seasoning" to my life. Only 2½ days to go!

And The Music Plays On.....

Last evening Emile and I attended her last band banquet. I can't believe it. This was our fourth time attending... When I went to the first one her freshman year, I never imagined this last one would arrive SO quickly. Time is racing by now.The banquet was held at the Valencia Ballroom. What a beautiful place. The meal looked delicious, but I stuck with my shake and salad, which is all I'm eating these days. ☺ After the meal the awards were handed out, the senior tribute video was played, and a special tribute video to Mr Eyster was shown. After 34 years as West York's band director, he's retiring this year. Everyone gave him two standing ovations. As he said his final remarks, he became emotional. It was interesting to see how many students cried. There's no mistaking the fact that Mr Eyster could be a real hard nose when he wanted to be, however, he truly loved the music program and the students he taught. It was a really nice event.Emile with her first elementary school band director, Mr Meckley (on the left), and her high school band director, Mr Eyster.

My wish for you, Emile, is that you always have music in your life. As you go forward, listen for the melody and try to stay where the sounds are gentle and pleasing. Avoid the pounding, troubling notes. Always, always seek those things which will bring you happiness and joy. I'm so pleased with all your hard work. I love you with all my heart. May your life's music play on for many, many years....

Can You Guess???

Here are some pictures of Emile trying on prom dresses. She positively cracks me up when it comes to her Converse sneakers. They are disgusting.... and she loves them. So, from these 3 pictures, can you guess which dress she selected? You'll have to wait to see the full dress picture. That will come when Emile's all polished and pretty.Dress #1 Dress #2 Dress #3
Let's hear from some folks on which one you think she picked!

Monday's Magnet

In honor of the kitchen I'm not spending nearly as much time in now... and for the next month (give or take), I give you today's magnet. Needless to say, I'm not eating anything like a piece of chocolate cake right now.

Monday's Magnet

In honor of Mother's Day (yes, I know it was yesterday), I selected this magnet. It speaks for itself.

 

Hopes and Fears

With my surgery date only 18 days away, I'm getting more and more excited and a bit more apprehensive at the same time. So much is riding on this procedure. I have an opportunity to "start over" again. My future depends on how well things go... not only on the day of surgery but for the long term.As I've explained before, with all my co-morbidity factors, I'm a walking time bomb. I know I have to do this in order to survive AND have a good quality of life. In addition to the health improvements Gastric Bypass surgery will give me, here are some of the other things I'm looking forward to:

• Taking less medications
• Crossing my legs when I sit
• Riding a bike
• Walking without losing my breath
• Not being scared when I sit on certain chairs
• Fitting into tight seats
• Going up stairs without my knees hurting
• Fitting in the seat belts in all types of vehicles
• Not dreading stepping on scales
• Not worrying about embarrassing my daughters/family
• Shopping "off the rack"
• Not being judged because of my size
• Living to see my grandchildren
• Living.... PERIOD

I will admit that I'm scared. Not so much of the surgery itself. I'm confidant that everything will be just fine on that end. What I'm most scared of is not keeping the weight off. To that end I'm setting some goals to help me maintain a healthy weight.

• I have joined a gym
• I have started walking daily
• My personal *stop* number for weight gain is 3lbs. If I gain 3lbs., I'll go back to eating the initial post-surgery diet....
  
• I will continue attending support meetings. I have found that there are people who are up to 8 years post surgery still attending meetings.
• I will continue blogging about my journey. Seeing it in writing is a motivation for me.
• I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON MYSELF AGAIN

Stay tuned......

If You Were a Horse... Part 3

Once upon a time... in a land far, far away... lived a beautifully complicated young lady... Oh, who am I kidding? Poor Emile's life has been anything but a fairy tale as of late. Thus the image of shooting a horse comes to mind... AGAIN. As I explained in Part 2, Emile was put on an antibiotic (Bactrim) again. This time she was supposed to take it twice a day for a full month. Not a problem, she had already taken it along with the Keflex last time so we figured she was good to go. Wrongo! She ended up having a severe reaction to the Bactrim. I've heard people describe someone as being as red as a lobster. I always thought they were exaggerating, I learned they were not.Emile had been with her boyfriend, Matt, when she called me around 2pm on Sunday. She said she was dying. You have to understand Emile.... she's always dying so I didn't get alarmed. She explained what was going on. I told her to run over to Dover FD to have Matt's dad (who's an EMT and was running on the rig that day) check her out. From what she was describing it sounded like an allergic reaction and I needed to know how serious it was. I got a call from Chris a short time later and decided to have her stop the antibiotic, get some Benadryl, and ride it out. Five hours later I got another call saying she was worse. This time I told Chris (who was home from work now) to head to the hospital and I'd meet them there.Long story short, Em was lobster red, swollen, itching, had a fever of 100.9, and her eyes were totally blood shot. She was miserable. After 7 hours, a bolus IV, and 3 different IV meds, we were heading home. We were both exhausted and fell into bed at 4am. The antibiotic was changed and she'll be on a steroid for a few more days. What a mess. Can you see why I'm thinking of horses???

Monday's Magnet

In honor of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton last Friday, I decided this would be an appropriate magnet to share today. It was a gift from my nephew, Andy, and his wife, Jamie. They were able to make a trip to England in February and brought this home for me.

 

I Have A Date!!!!!!

I'm approaching the finish line! I got a call from Dr. M.'s secretary yesterday. My insurance company authorized my request for Gastric Bypass surgery. YAY!! My scheduled date is Thursday, May 26th. I'm so very excited and thankful for this opportunity. It's going to be a lot of hard work. I know I can do this. The starting line is in site.... My NEW LIFE is about to begin.

If You Were a Horse... Part 2

We have had some very interesting stuff going on with Emile again. This time it's some sores on her body. Man, oh, man... does this kid of mine have issues. It really is a good thing that she's not a horse!Starting a few weeks ago Em noticed an itchy spot on her abdomen. At first it looked like a bug bite of some sort. After the first week things started changing and we began to keep a closer eye on it. I'm so glad we did. The caption "Day 1" was actually day 11 but the first day I took a picture. That's about how it had looked the entire time. Day 2 was Thur. April 14th and Day 3 was Fri. the 15th. When this thing "took off" it really took off. As of Friday evening at 10pm it looked really bad and Em had already been to the doctor the day before about it... AND she'd been on an antibiotic for over 24 hours. By midnight the spot had a secondary welt starting to form with a wide streak heading back toward her hip. Right then and there I decided it was time take her to the ER.The doctor made a 3/4" to 1" incision to drain the sore. It was positively disgusting. I was stunned by how much "gunk" was there, as well as how deep the wound was. It was at least as deep inside as it was swollen outside. It took 12" of medicated gauze to pack it. After going to an all night pharmacy we arrived home close to 3:30am. We were both pretty tired.As part of the ER treatment the site was cultured to determine what the infection was. Yesterday I received a notice in the mail. Em was positive for MRSA. Ironically she had another sore starting on her low back. It looked just like the other one looked in the picture on day 2, only without the pustule. I called the doctor first thing this morning and explained what was going on. Emile had taken her last antibiotic a week ago so I was really concerned. Dr. K. immediately called in another prescription for an antibiotic which she will take twice a day for a month. Here's hoping this one knocks the MRSA completely out. I really need for her to be well again. My poor kiddo.

Monday's Magnet

 

I've picked today's magnet for a very specific reason. I need Lady Luck on my side. It's been two weeks since I saw Dr. Monk the last time... and I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance company about my surgery authorization. I'm going crazy. I'm trying very hard to be patient. Since Cheri sent me this magnet and Las Vegas is known for.... gee, what is it known for again??? ☺..., I thought it would bring me luck. I need it today!!

Easter Fun

It seems that time is passing so quickly lately. Every time I turn around one of the girls is telling me they want to hang out with one of their friends. It's way more fun for them to be with others instead of home with their frumpy old mom. That is until the other day. I finally suggested something fun for Brie and her friend, Chelsey, to do. Yay for me!Who can't resist painting Easter Eggs? We had a fun time experimenting with colors and glitter. Who knows, maybe next year I'll try some of Martha Stewart's ideas. I'll have to be brave to do so.After all was said and done, I don't think our eggs looked too bad at all.