laugh unself-consciously

It's been an adventure but generally I feel good. There are a few days there that I'm not too clear about and a few bad food choices that caused a little inappropriate body music but suddenly my brain woke up on day ten and said okay, let hit it and it jumped back on track. Thank you to my angel Nicolle who sent me a lifesaving email of encouragement when I needed one. Thank you to my beloved daughter reminding me that I had missed the "Hero" Award celebration for not taking pain meds and should take them (she was sooo right). Thank you to my support team in Chicago who keeps the home fires burning and stays in touch because they are eager to help and support me. So the purpose of this post is to say that the ten day rule hold up. Ten days after surgery, so much seems to click. Body rhythms, food requirements, meds, water, everything all works together. Tomorrow I go to see Dr. Rabkin for my follow-up and I'm anxious to get going on vitamins although his booklet says that they shouldn't be introduced before three weeks post-op. I have so many questions that have already been answered by this website. Okay, I have to say that since my angel, Nicolle, told me about this website, I have been lurking on it every spare minute. I mean up until two days before the surgery and three days after when I resumed. You guys are fabulous. I start to crave coffee and there's a thread about that. I start to think about planning my meals and there's a thread about that. I just begin to ask a question in my head and there's a thread about that. I'll keep blogging intermittently as I stumble through this first post op year but I don't want to forget to thank all of you for your support and valuable information.

Hello my OWL Friends: I'm sitting at my daughter's computer in a lovely sitting room they have prepared for me. It has a comfy futon, comfy recliner, big beautiful Mac computer and I share it with a big beautiful cat! My surgery was at about 1:45 PM on Friday, May 16. Dr. John Rabkin removed a portion of stomach, the gall bladder, appendix, a large syst on my right ovary (and the ovary) and detached and reattached my duodenum to make a 100 cm tract for reduced food absorption. All extraneous bits were sent to the lab. I don't have the lab results but the doctor said all looked benign. I feel great. I have had some pain but it is well-managed with Lortabs which I take when I begin to feel any discomfort. I make a lot of body noises and I love them. Little squiggles, erps, ugs, wahs, squoohs and all sorts of sounds creep out of my mouth when I am eating or resting. I have had no nausea or heartburn and very little flatulence. I have peed several times each day beginning only hours after the catheter was removed on Saturday. I "pooped" today around 2:00PM so everything is working. The hospital, St.Mary's, in San Francisco, is amazing. They are caring, efficient, and friendly and made me feel well cared for. The doctor and his P.A., Dana plus all of his office staff were wonderful throughout the experience. I hated to leave. I'm eating, slowly. I eat broth, tea, cream of wheat, yogurt, decaf coffee, an entire scrambled egg and other soft, delicacies. I sleep very well and am alert when I'm awake. I sip a lot of water and stay calm about everything. That's a pretty boring blog but I feel pretty good over all and wanted to share that with all of you who wished me so well. The only thing I don't know is my weight. They didn't weigh me at the hospital and my daughter doesn't have a scale. Go figure! marssie

So I opened up my email this morning to so many wonderful wishes on my upcoming DS.  I was shocked and so grateful.  Thank you for caring enough to post a message to someone you don't know but who needs your support so much right now.  Thanks guys.  Oh no, I'm crying all over again.

My angel will let you know how everything is going on Friday.  She's the best angel I ever had.  You've got super-wings, Nicolle!

It's only a few days away now, the long flight to San Francisco, the day of fasting, the surgery and all the rest.  I thank all of you for letting me sneak around this website eavesdropping on your conversations and learning all I can before May 16.  You've shown me that you're a very warm and generous group full of love and encouragement.  Thank you.

I promise to post some photos this weekend of my before - although I am dreading it.  You are all so brave.  More later.