Saturday we had a fall picnic to go to, so my husband, daughter and I went. The weather was great! The food smelled awesome and of course I was hungry.  As you fellow moms know how crazy it can be trying to get ready to go somewhere my day started off really hectic. I was able to get my daughter ready, my husband was at work (well ump'ing a baseball game) and I then decided to get my shower. Well my little darling comes in and puts her head right in the shower, so she gets all wet. Then about 20 minutes later I am fixing my hair and she said "momma's milk",  I looked and she had emptied my entire protein shake on the carpet. So I delayed fixing my hair, then had to break out the carpet cleaner, fix another shake, go back and finish my hair. Load up the car and off to the picnic. I arrived and she had fallen asleep, we made it 10 min early and were the 1st ones there. Ok, so now back to the good part...i watched everyone eat, and I even fed my daughter. I was starved, the Bar-B-Q looked so good, the chicken smelled great, home made smoked sausages (hot and mild), potatoe salad, coleslaw, baked beans, rolls, cookies. I would have just loved to have 1 bite of meat but oh no, couldn't do that. I would be too worried about what might happen if I did.

I was so hungry, then about 3 hrs later after chasing my little one, I was ready to go. I was tired, hungry and just plain exhausted.

Sunday was my nephew's birthday party! The pizza looked good but the same old thing. I watched everyone eat and fed my daughter. I was thirsty, hot and tired. However, the best part of it all was that I sat in an Adirondak plastic chair and I didn't fall. I had done this back in July and the chair had buckled and I fell out. That was the most embarrasing moment for me. However, this past Sunday I sat in it for a while and it was great to not fall. People noticed that I had lost weight and it was nice but I tell you the better part will be when I have energy and I am able to eat. The shakes are still not working and there's no way that I can have soups.

Wednesday is my next appointment and I will get my GI/stomach tube out. I am really looking forward to this. My husband has wanted to be intimate but I just cant, not with this long tube hanging out of my tummy. Plus no energy...means just no way buddy! My hope is that I will have my diet advanced a little more. I am over 3 weeks out from my 2nd surgery so I would think that I could add a little more food in but we'll see. I have wanted to eat but it's hard to know what to eat. I am kind of in a in between stage with foods (between soft foods and puree) so I hope they can give me more ideas.

Ok, so I decided not to be so lazy last night and make the recipe that I found on Eggface's blog. It's called Shelly's cheesy cauliflower casserole. DELICIOUS!! So delicious that when I woke up today I told my husband ohhh I can't wait for lunch. This is one of my favorite foods now. If you haven't tried it then you need to. Also, it's perfect for those of us who are on soft foods, I put my portion in the food chopper just like she said and it was perfect! I was ready to lick the plate when I was done and I ate my whole 1/4 c serving. Ohhh I can't wait!

On another note, I was telling one of my friends yesterday how Blahh I have felt  in the past. I am one of those people who always do for everyone else and don't put time or effort in myself. I got that from my mom! Thanks MOM! Ok, so after my daughter was born my focus was to tend to her, every waking and sometimes sleeping moment I am caring for her and doing for her. I neglected to buy myself clothes, didn't get my hair done, no pedicures, and just not putting myself first. I know that I will never really be first because my little girl comes first but I do know that I am not going to neglect myself. That was one of the biggest turning points for myself this year. I realized I needed to take care of myself and that was when I decided to have WLS. Since my recovery from my 2nd surgery I have been working from home for the last 2 weeks and it has been wonderful! I love it. You know my dream job is to be a stay at home mom. Not in this lifetime if I stay married to my husband.

Enough for now...Everyone have a great weekend! Try that casserole, it's easy and fantastic!

Ciao
Susan

Oh I feel so blessed! Yesterday I went for a follow up appointment and my surgeon advanced my diet to soft foods. I am so thrilled. Overall, my appoinment was good. He removed the Steri-strips off my incisions, and discussed how my second surgery was and reassured me about many concerns. I was weighed and I am now down 59 lbs, I am starting to feel so much better now. He advanced my diet to include tuna salad (minus celery and onions),eggs, baked  scallops, baked fish. 
I had tried chicken salad that was in the food processor (per my dr authorization) the week that I went in for my 2nd surgery, so I am afraid to eat chicken now. Not saying that it had anything to do with my 2nd surgery but I was so ill that I don't even have a desire to eat it. He did say that I could have it but I am not  mentally ready.

I do know that I have a lactose problem and I have tried many protein shakes and have not been able to stomach any of them. I did find a lactose free milk that i really like and it's organic. So I have been using that for cooking and making stuff. My hopes are to get my protein levels up so that I will not have a deficiency. I want to be healthy and not have any health problems. I can eat very limited amount of cheese like 1/4 oz and i feel ok. Any more than that and I feel ill, along with yogurt. One or two bites I am ok but more than that I am ill. So it's been hard for me to get the protein in but now I think things will be easier.

Ok well that is my short update for now. I hope to post before and after pictures soon. Now I need to find my camera!

Well, it has taken me a few days to decide to write about what has happened. Mostly because I am still very scared and very confused. It all started on Aug. 30th, I had felt like I was having a dumping episode. However, the stomach cramps were so severe that it was worse than labor. I had battled with the pain for 2 hours and decided to call my surgeon. His suggestion was take 2 of my pain pills and see if the pain subsided. If not, then go to the ER. So 2 hours after my pain pills, still having tremendous painful cramps that would leave me breathless, and unable to move, I drove myself to the closest ER. Those of us who happen to live in Hampton Roads area know that going through the tunnels to get to Hampton/Newport News area is an adventure of itself. You see where I live I have to go through the tunnel to get to my surgeon's office or to the hospital where he does his work. While I was driving myself to the hospital I decided that I could not go any further and stopped at the one that was not too far and it had a bariatric program. What I didn't know was that I was supposed to go to the original hospital where I had surgery.  So 10:30pm I arrived and was first seen by 11pm. All night I was receiving fluids, had cat scan done, x-rays and numerous exams. By this time it was now 5:30am on Aug. 31st and a surgeon (whom I had never met) walked into my room and informed me that they were going to transfer me to the other hospital where my surgeon was. I had the most horrific, Dukes of Hazzard style ambulance ride to the hospital. I was so happy to have made it alive and that I had not acquired  any broken bones or had any other injuries along the way. Once at the Hampton hospital they put me in my room and started more blood work. My surgeon showed up and examined me. He then informed me that I was dehydrated. So IV fluids were in full force and bags of potassium were on order, along with magnesium. Two more days went by, and I was still vomiting ever 20-30 minutes.  They were still unsure of what was going on but at this point they decided to repeat the Cat Scan on Thursday but with Barium contrast this time, instead of the iodine. Thursday rolls around and they do the Cat Scan and my 2nd (original large) stomach shows up and it is full of fluids. Thursday afternoon my surgeon calls and says they will do surgery first thing on Friday morning.  So five days after being in the hospital they do surgery. They had found a partially obstructed small intestine and my old stomach was obstructed. They put in a GI drain and did another re-routing of the bypass limb and added in a stint. I was released from the hospital on Saturday night. I was thankful to go home but I must say that I am scared. I never expected to go through this. This surgery is much more painful than the original one and the healing time seems to be longer. I am still on clear liquids only and at this point the thought of broth makes me want to vomit. My drain tube is full of fluids and is very uncomfortable, so I called the DR again. I now have an appt tomorrow and hope to get some good news, that maybe i can advance to full liquids.  We shall see.

My dreams of Bacon Cheeseburgers and blueberry pancakes are killing me. Each day I wake up thinking that I can have one and then realize that I had dreamed it all.

Broth, juice, decaf tea and water it is. What a luxury to have such a variety in comparison of the alternative biggest fear. I must say that I am thankful to have the Grace of God to have led me through this situation and I know that I am a better person for it. I know that he will use me and this situation to glorify him. I am thankful to have my life, my salvation and my family.  Each day I hope that I will be stronger and closer to recovery from my surgery.