Survived and Doing Well

Nov 13, 2010

Hey there OH Fam,
Finally out and about and doing my thing.  Made my way to the public library just so I could update my profile.  I am 2 weeks out and feeling good, not great, still a lil sore but the pain is tolerable.  The exciting news is I'm 20lbs down! Woot Woot!  On October 29 @ 9:30am, I went in for my VSG.  The half hour spent waiting to be wheeled in to the OR was a lil nerve wracking but I had a lil talk with God and he assured me everything was gonna be okay.  When the time came I said my "goodbyes" to my daughter and neice (they were the only ones who were allowed in the waiting area); and was wheeled in to the OR.  I really don't remember much, I was asked to scoot my big butt on over to the operating table and place my fingers on this honeycombed shaped sponge thing, then the "doctor" said "I'm just gonna give you a lil oxygen to help you breathe", turns out it was the anesthesiologist.  So I passed out and next thing you know I'm waking up in recovery.  As I opened my eyes, I saw 2 nurses sitting down at their station, I asked them "is it over?"...one came over to my bedside and said "yes, it's over", then I asked "am I okay?", she said yes, then I said "peace out!" and fell asleep.  Must have been for hours because the next time I awoke was in my room, with family coming in and out, all taking turns to see how I was doing.  It's all a blur....don't really remeber who was there.  That night, Dr. Taller came in to see how I was doing and he explained to me how while under there was a lil problem, apparently a part of my stomach would not cut/staple.  So he had to hand stitch about 2-3 cm of it himself.  Because of this he explained my stay at Scripps Mercy would be extended to about 5 days depending how I did.  So from Friday to Monday I was not allowed to have anything.  I was thirsty and those damn lemon swab thing they gave me to try and keep my lips moist made me nautious.  Speaking of nausea, the anesthesia and the morphine also made me nautious, so much I had the dry heeves and at one point I spit up/vomited blood.  I know, its a bit TMI but I figure people want to know the real deal so I'm gonna give it to them.  I was scared, but the nurse told me it was okay.  The pain was terrible the first night, getting in and out of bed, luggin around the IV was a real drag, lol, literally.  But I got up to walk, I walked a lot since the first day to the last.  The loop on the floor was 1/16 of a mile, by the 4th day I was doing 16 laps or 1 mile.  Nurses were all cheering me on and guess word got back to Dr. Taller cuz he came in on the last day and congratulated me.  I was released on Wed. Nov. 3 and have done everything I was told.  I am still trying to get all my protein/water in.  I'm also eating soft foods now since my post op visit with my doctor.  I eat mash potatoes, unsweetened oatmeal, string cheese, Keebler crackers, etc.  Trying one food at a time.  Some like cottage cheese, have not agreed with me, so I have stopped eating that for the time being.  Although my journey is just beginning, and the lil tough stuff I had to deal with is a bit over, I would say it was all worth it.  Looking forward to the next few months and wondering where I'll be on the losers bench down the road.  I love my VSG (so far).

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