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Well, here I am, three weeks out! I had my surgery on Oct 5. Now it just seems like a blur. The years I waited for this surgery and here I am, drinking my shake thinking that it has been three weeks already. So I guess I should share some information about my hospital stay. My surgery was done at the VG Hospital in Halifax. The VG site is part of the QE11 hospital that consists of many hospitals. Well, my DH and my sister, Dianne, attended with me in the absence of my beloved sister, Aldona, who passed away in January. Everything was awesome and everyone was so nice and very professional UNTIL I got back to my room. With the exception of one little sweet nurse, my story is a bit depressing. Not only is there a nursing shortage at that hospital, but the bed-side manner of some of the nurses is just not there. Oddly enough, there was three people in my ward, but I had a different nurse than the other two. Their nurse was in and out all day long. My nurse only came in if I buzzed her. I han't peed for two days and no-one really seemed to care. Then when I told the Dr. he suggested a catheter. I don't know, but I was so glad to get home and get some proper care from my DH and my sister. At one point when I thought I needed to pee, I buzzed a nurse. She told me over the speaker to just unplug my iv pole and go to the bathroom myself. Well, for starters I was as weak as a blade of grass, and for seconds, my iv pole only had one wheel. There was no way I could maneover myself with that horrid thing. Two days in that place was enough for me. Maybe I am spoiled because our local hospitals are like spas and the nursing staff becomes your friend. Thank God I am home and doing so well. Apart from not knowing when I am hungry or full, I am coping well. I have lost only about 10lbs but I have never lost that much weigt in three weeks on a conventional diet. And I am down 23lbs since July. So, I am happy. I have a long way to go but I have to tools to get me to goal. What I love about the sleeve is that there is no fuss or no muss. If I eat what I am supposed to there will be no problem. I am learning to slow down and eat smaller portions. That is so important in any diet. I am on my way and I am so grateful for Dr. Ellsmere and his wonderful team. They are stars!! Good luck everyone who embarks on this journey.

Well I thought an update was in order. So here I am on a Saturday morning starting to get a bit anxxious.  Tomorrow is just clear liquids so I am wondering how I will get through maybe being hungry......Well Monday is liftoff day!  Acutally, all the anxiety aside, I just cannot wait to get this part of my journey over with.  Lots of emotional hugs and best wishes at work yesterday. I just want to shake my head or pinch myself because I can almost not believe I am at this stage of the game. I thought it would never come. My sister has really come on board with me. I think she feels guilty because my sister who passed away was in on this plan with me and she has to watch me from Heaven now.  It is all good though. I actually had a great week on liquids. Drinking lots of protien so I wasn't hungry. Didn't really mind very much the "not eating" thing. Actually I challanged myself by visiting my neice and her family on Friday night. You see, Friday night is her pizza night. I thought "if I can drop in and see the kids and not succumb to pizza, I can do anything". Well it wasn't easy, I can say that. BUT I did it!! I think they might have felt a bit guilty but I played with my little Julia and Heather and it took my mind off of it. I did enjoy a 500 ml box of skim milk so the protien in that satisfied me.  So here I am saturday morning. I am about to shower, do some work, get my hair cut, get a pedicure and visit a friend. Packing tomorrow and getting scyked. Heading for Halifax at 4 a.m. too get to my appt. by 7:20 am.  Thanks to everyone, my cyber family, for encouraging me throughout this journey. I am eternally grateful. Kim, Suzanne had their surgeries over the last weeks and they are so full of knowledge, like excellent teachers. I have gone from 215 to 208 this week so Dianna and Dr. Ellsmere will be happy with me and hopefully my liver has shrunk a bit. I am holding on and going to enjoy this journey. I am not going to let this turn into anything I might regret.

Well, today I got my surgery date. October 5 pending I don't get bumped by someone more serious. So I met Dr. Ellsmere today for the first time. A very nice man, a bit shy or something that I cannot put my finger on. Didn't make eye contact but nevertheless, a very nice man who wanted me to ask questions. He seems very non-chalant. Anyway he has credentials up the ying-yang and that is all that matters. So, he told me that over the last 18 months the results from the VSG have been "stallar". He is confidant that I am a great candidate for this type of surgery given the amount of weight I have to loose. He is excited to see the end result. He told me he can assure me I will be very happy with the results. Even getting off of a few meds. that I take. So, on I go with the preparation for this awesome, life saving journey. I feel so priviledged like I have just won the lottery. Stay tuned for much more excitement.

Well here we are in September. I got a call a few weeks back telling me my case has been approved by MSI and I was to see the surgeon on Sept 3. Excited, no, estatic, yes!! I was very nervous also as I hear that Dr. Ellsmere is not a conversationalist-and I am.....Anyway, I guess he is just shy but very gracious in answering any questions we may have. So last weekend I headed to Walmart to buy new jammies and a few essentials. I packed my bags in anticipation on a not-so-long wait. Low and behold, I was trumped by a Kidney Transplant!  Seriously though, that is O.K. As I told Dianne at Dr.E's office, I have been fat all of my life and a few weeks will not make much difference. Then she told me my surgery had been booked for Sept 14. I was just shocked! They were going to spring that news on me when I went in for my consult. I should have known actually, as Dianne had booked all my pre-op tests for that afternoon. Anyway, now my appt. has been postponed to Sept 17. I am still hopeful that the surgery date won't be too far along.  I am packed and ready to go. Right now I am creating a  list of questions for the good ole Doc as my memory tends to go blank in a pinch. I bought all my protien drinks and this weekend I am going to get some soups and concoct some purees. I bit the bullet and bought a "BULLET" It is awesome and does a great job with ice. Much better than my blender and much easier to clean. Blender=yardsale now!  I am worth the $32 I spent on it.  The weeks will pass by fast and this delay gives me time to loose more weight. I have 93lbs to loose so I am hopeful I will loose it all with the VSG (minus whatever I loose on my own).  At this rate Xmas Turkey will still be on my menu. YEAH. I do have some concerns thought. One being "where are  all the chins going to go" Will the skin just hang or will it tighten up. I have never see my cheekbones....I wonder if I have any. And what is a collarbone anyway!  All these oh so important questions that I sit and wonder about.   I will keep you all posted in the upcoming weeks. Thanks for reading my blog and being interested in my journey.

Well I thought (actually I was reminded) I would post some happenings as things are moving right along. Well, summer was bitter sweet. I miss my sister terribly as summer was always the time she would visit me in NS from Ont. Also because she is the only sister that knew what I was up to in terms of my surgery. She had DS done about 14 years ago and she wanted to come with me to my appts. and to the hospital, look after me when I got home and plan all my meals. Instead I had to confide in my other sisters who are just not as interested. So I am doing this on my own with my teddy-bear in hand ( a memory bear made out of a pair of her PJ's) My wonderful DH and my son, who is actually more afraid than me. So all summer I passed up on the delicious potatoe salade and BBQ'd sausages. We limited our BBQ parties to 2 so I wouldn't be tempted. Actually I am quite proud of myself. July 21 brought my second meeting with the team. Two shrinks, one NUT and the NP. It was an interesting meeting but because I had tried three times unsuccessfully to do a week of solids, my file was put on hold. Needless to say, the following week was my official liquids week. I did it and I was so darn proud. By day 4, I wasn't hungry. I got so much encouragement from all my cyber buddies on OH, my friends at work and my family. I actually had a colleague at work who would knock on my office door every hour on the hour to remind me to drink my 250ml of water. I am just so blessed.  My mission was to loose 20lbs by the time I saw the surgeon. Well, I lost 10 at least. I did loads of swimming and took water aerobics to help with the exercise.  I attend TOPS weekly to keep me on track. Actually, I am the group leader so that really helps. So that wraps up my summer. Hope yours was awesome too.

So it is the end of May. I cannot complain that I am still waiting. I got a letter with my next appointment being July 21. I have to have my blood work done the week before and I think I will be seeing Janet and Diana. There are many more appointments to go but at least I know things are moving along.  I have created a couple of menues for Stage 3 and 4 and I am working on Stage 5 which is our lifetime guide to healthy eating. I don't want to call it "diet" as that has such a negative connotation. It is interesting working on my plan and recruiting my home team.  Our clinic leaves alot of the work up to us which I think is great. We have to do this for ourselves using the 'sleeve' as a tool. This is my liquid week. I know it will be a challange. I cannot kid myself about that.  I am constantly thinking of ways to distract  myself from head hunger. A lobotomy perhaps?  I will update when there is news. Thanks for reading.

So here we are nearly May 2009. No appointment yet. After missing my Oct informaiton session many things have happened. The sister I was visiting in London, Ontario, passed away on January 19.  It was just such a loss. She was going to help get me through this. She was my biggest support. She was so proud of me for taking this journey. I was so proud of her for all the journeys she had taken during her 6 year battle with breast cancer. So when I arrived home from London in January, I recieved an invite to attend an informaiton session on Feb 17 in Halifax. We were given a wealth of information and the protocol we were to follow. I met Suzanne there. She is a sweetheart. The information session was awesome. BUT here I sit nearly May and nada, not a word from the clinic, not a peep. I worked so hard to get all my informatin together and recruit a team here in my home town to support me both medically and nutritionally. I have told many friends and family and have secured their support. Even my supervisor and colleagues at work support me. I am getting old just waiting. Thank Goodness for OH and all of my cyber friends. Fingers crossed everyone and a few prayers wouldn\t hurt. Chow.

I was so excited to see the letter from Capitol Health as I just new it was from the WL clinic.  It said "Congratulation, you have been selected..." I almost died. BUT, here is the kicker. The information session is today, Oct 31 in Halifax. BUT, I am in London, Ontario until Monday visiting my ill sister. I called and explained my situation. Dianne said the Drs are doing 100 surgeries so I will be booked for the February session. Has this "set me back in terms of the surgery" Does anyone know this answer.