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So the title sums up the last month and this week!
For starter -- see the doc on Thursday.  My original surgeon is now on the West side of thes state so this is the guy who assisted.  I've heard good things about him so I'm looking forward to it.  I'm not looking forward to going back to the clinic (never been impressed with most of the staff) but maybe they've gotten their act together.  It'll be interesting to see/hear about my blood test. They'll draw a ton of it and check all my levels -- time to see where my vitamin regime stands.  I feel great and haven't had any side effects so I'm assuming this will all go well.  Total weight loss since June: 134 lbs.  
So it was fun to see all the family on Thanksgiving.  It's one thing to hear about the weight loss and hear how someone is doing, but another to see them.  I know my grandparents were impressed/surprised by how I looked!  It's fun that I wasn't trying to stay away from the picture, but actually felt comfortable getting in them this time.  My booster treasurer said that she just saw a picture of me pre-op from band camp and just laughed and said "wow".  
Eating the food at Thanksgiving was actually a little easier than I was expecting.  Had a decent sized plate and enjoyed eating the stuffing.  Friday and Saturday was more of the same.  I was starting to get a little worried that I was stretching my pouch or doing something wrong since I didn't have any side effects except a little full feeling Thursday night.  Well, Saturday cured me of that!  I was actually relieved to have my pouch fight back and 'reject' the last of the leftovers.  After that I felt much better and am actually glad to be back to my routine of food (boring as it can get).
We did two parades after Thanksgiving, the first in Port Huron and the second in Chatham, Ontario.  Both were cold experiences, but fun.  I was leary of the border crossing, but had absolutely no problems.  Once again, we had one of my kid's fathers be our imigration officer so that helps (as does having kids in full uniform on the bus, lol).   The Canadian parade was an experience.  It's about an 1 1/2 drive into Ontario from Port Huron.  Once we got there they had a church set-up for us to wait in and they provided snacks for the kids (fruits, rice krispie treats, hot coco).  Their parade was long (about 2 1/2 miles) and had lots of 'floats' in it (about 50+).  Now, we were the ONLY group that walked it, lol.  They really don't have music in the schools over there so a band in the parade is quite the novelty.  The parade was packed nearly the whole route and we kept hearing "Wow -- they're huge!"  Kids enjoyed it, course none of us knew how long it was and we were out there for a little over an hour so they were glad when it was done.
Well, this week our fruit comes in.  It'll be a long day Friday and Saturday.  Saturday we're also hosting a music clinic for area band directors that will include a composer/teacher and a guru of grant writing.  
After that I've got my winter concert in a couple of weeks (wow, literally 2 weeks from Thursday) and will be going to my annual conference in Chicago the following week.  Need to get some time off and re-charge the batteries.  Thanksgiving was great, but it does cut into th re-charge when you do 2 parades over the weekend.
I guess that's it for now, hopefully I'll get another update sooner than this one!

As the title suggests, I'm just cruising right now.  Everything health wise is still going great -- averaging about 5 pounds a week now.  I'm thinking I should be pretty close to 100 since surgery at Thanksgiving time.  I know us bariatric patients talk about how different life is, just sit back and let us!  My blood pressure is averaging about 135/76.  Top number is a little high yet, but the low number is doing great.  That's without medicine so I'm happy.  I'm sleeping great at night and feel my sleep apnea is greatly reduced if still there at all.  
Since last blog -- took the kids to Cedar Point.  Didn't ride anything this year, probably will next year.  It'll be a fun experience to get back into the coasters and everything.  I know the kids will have a good time with me if I do go on them.  The park was packed, everything had at least an hour+ wait.  Next year we'll go in the spring after school gets out -- hit the park on a weekday.
The following weekend I took my drum majors to the UM/Minnesota game.  It was a good game and it was fun watching the Michigan Marching Band rehearse.  Brought back memories of being in college again (hard to believe it's been 10 years).  Another thing that was fun is the new marching band director is who I did my student teaching with.  After the rehearsal got done we attempted to tail gate -- in the cold and rain!  I had made chili Friday night (after a football game) and had it in the cooler.  I had borrowed one of the camping stoves and we thought we were set -- well 1 hour and about 100 matches later we still didn't have fire.  I went over to the people next to us and asked if I could through my pot on their stove.  They were great about it and we were very grateful to heat up our chili.  The game was good, but we did leave about 4 minutes into the 4th quarter.  Did I say it was cold yet?  Another one of the band parents was having a hay ride and bonfire at their house and we had energy so away we went for about 45 minutes or so.  It was nice to see everyone there (about 40-50 kids + 10-15 parents), but I was very happy to hit my bed.
This past week was our annual spaghetti dinner.  The night was very successful and I'm grateful everyday for my students and parents.  My folks brought Sarah and Brandon with them and I got the devious idea to call my mom on stage when we do the chicken dance and have her dance with us.  None of my kids know what my parents look like and I thought it would go over well.  Now of course I wasn't going to do the dirty work, so Gary made a little speech and had her come up.  She did great and wanted to kill me the whole time .  For the third (and probably final time) my boosters auctioned off a quilt.  They make a flannel patch work quilt every year that includes the songs of that year's show and some of the sayings of the group.  Well, I've though they look great and have wanted to win one (of course I could've won one!).  This year, unknown to me the parents who make the quilt made one just for me.  Not only is it a really neat quilt, my boosters made some very nice remarks and then my student officers got up and said what I meant to them.  No one goes into teaching to become rich, but there are some riches that are beyond financial.  I've always known I make a difference.  Even though people say "you don't know how much you mean to me/us/the school" I feel like I do see it.  I prefer to not be shouting about how great I am -- that's not what it's about.  I know what a difference a well placed mentor can be for a teen going through high school and making that transition from child to adult.  One of the greatest things about all of that was watching my parents beam and my mom cry.  It's always nice hearing good things about what a difference you child makes to other people.
Well, later that night it was time for us adults to revert back to children.  Gary, I, and another one of my boosters decided about a month ago that for Bill's annual UM/MSU party we'd leave the scaffolding in his yard.  Now this is 18' scaffolding, AND we wrapped it in UM material for good measure.  Well, Bill's son had a friend over and when he left he saw it.  When he went back to the door Bill's kid forgot that he had just set the alarm and set it off.  Now Bill was pissed at first for having the alarm go off at 1:45 am, and then he saw my little present.  He figured there was nothing he could do about it (we took the boards with us after we put it up) and that he'd have to wait for us to come back and take it down.  Julie couldn't believe Bill wasn't going to do anything and Bill replied "what do you want me to do, push it back to Dan's?"  With that they went back to bed.  About an hour later they heard some noises and Bill jumped out of bed.  He found Garrett (his son) and the friend outside pushing the scaffolding.  He asked what they were doing and they said they were going to push it back to my house.  Bill just shook his head and went back inside.  He decided that he couldn't sleep because he was too worried about the kids.  So out he went to find the boys -- mind you it's about 38 degrees and he's in his robe, pajamas, and slippers.  Eventually they made it back to my house after pushing it about 1/4 mile on a major road and having to take the top section down.  I couldn't believe it when Gary was ringing my doorbell at 9 the next morning and there sat the scaffolding.  It was a fun time on everyone's part and a great story to tell during the game!
This week is conferences and next week is my auditions for 2nd semester band and chair placements.  It'll be long weeks.  
Last thing to report on -- and hopefully I'll be reporting on this periodically.  Ryan and I have a $100 bet going.  At the poker game Saturday we got to talking about how I was doing and I said that one of my goals is to bike a century.  Don't know why, but that's been something I've wanted to do for a long time.  Ryan said no way and I said let's bet.  The only thing that bothers me somewhat is that we said June, so I better get cranking on this.  I do have an indoor trainer for my bike and I'll have to start using it.  I'll be looking forward to hitting the pavement hopefully in March or early April so I'll be ready to go.  If I can pull this off it will truly be a pivotal point for me. 

Yep, if only for a couple of hours, I hit the 100 pound mark today !  We'll start with the health stuff for a change:  So I'm down 100 pounds since my first consult on June 8th.  They didn't weight me before surgery and I wasn't sure on my scale accuracy, but I lost around 25 lbs between June/July/August and down 75 since surgery!  The good thing is that when I hit 100 lbs since surgery there'll be another celebration of numbers to say goodbye to!  After that, well we'll see -- goal maybe the next milestone for me.
I've had little complications (only that infection that is now gone) and have done absolutely incredible!  I have more energy than ever, eat because it's time, and don't always feel/worry about the next meal.  I have thrown up 3 times now.  I am learning what it feels like when I eat either too much or too fast.  I had a good experience on Saturday night and knew it was time to stop.  Started to feel like my pouch might be fighting back and things settled down -- got to learn to recognize those signs quicker.  One of these days soon I'm going to buy a blood pressure machine and start taking it at home, I can only imagine that it's close to normal.  Be nice to be done with those pills (not that it's a huge deal, but it's another pill that marks my illness).   Lastly, my BMI is down to 39.8.  I’m just obese!!  Yes, I’m celebrating that – I’ve lost the morbidly obese label.  In about 80lbs I’ll just be ‘overweight’  The little joys are where it’s at I’m telling you!
My 5 mile walk is around 1 1/2 hours -- I'm hoping to get that down some.  I still love doing it, though my legs are starting to get a little sore.  Today it was raining yet again, and about 55.  Out I went, it's not like I'm going to melt (well, muscle that is ).  I've had a lot of people ask how I have the time for it, and at times I wonder too.  Then again, I wonder how they DON'T make the time for it.  I've lived at school long enough, and even though I need to put some time in on Sunday, when that bell rings it's time for me to leave.  I love being there for the kids, and will stay if needed/asked but if not out the door the kids go and so do I.  
Speaking of the kids, last week was crazy!  We had our traditional Monday night practice and things went very, very well.  Tuesday was our big festival day -- we hosted about 1250 students from 10 different bands.  I was proud of the kids and the parents that worked to make it happen.  We probably had about 100 parents volunteer through the night doing everything from concessions to ushering to escorting bands around campus to selling tickets.  You name it, we were there!  The kids did all right, not great but still ok.  It's hard to keep their nerves down and they flew during the songs -- probably 10% faster each song than it should've been!  They still managed to get a Superior Rating (division I), the best rating possible and it was great for them.  It's been a hard year and they've worked so hard I was pleased and really proud of them.  The next day some of the kids said "yeah it wasn't our best performance" to which I replied "isn't it nice to know that something that isn't our 'best' is still worthy of a I?"  It made them think and you should've seen the pride that started to sink in about the level they're at right now!  All I’ve heard since then is how much everybody loved our show and the band!  I wasn’t thrilled with how we sounded, but man other band directors and knowledgeable people were complimenting us on how great we sounded!
On Wednesday a number of us came back out and went right back to work in the concession stand/selling tickets/ and ushering!  One of the smaller athletic conferences up here put on a marching band festival and wanted a site that all bands + spectators could sit on the same side of the field and watch the entire event.  (Oh yeah, we had 2500+ for our MSBOA event)  It turned out to be a nice night, cold but dry!  When we got done I looked at the parents in the concession stand and said "why don't we take tomorrow night off!"  Well, they chased me out of there pretty quickly for that one!  
Friday, well it sure wasn't TGIF for us!  It was our homecoming celebration and I believe that Satan himself wanted to make sure we all know what the 7th pit of hell will look like, and that's it.  Here's the day:
15 minute classes (yes, a big waste of time), a games assembly, and then early dismissal.  We let everybody get out of school and bring in pizza and water for the band kids and then let them change quickly.  We march out (in full uniform) to the start of the parade route and warm-up quickly.  Then it's time to start the parade.  The police decide the previously agreed upon route wouldn't work so we had to work plan B up as we went (didn't work at all, and neither did C, D, or E!).  The way this parade works is hectic and not fun for the band.  It's too far to march them all the way, so we load and unload at various points (3 for the parade).  Every time we got on or off the bus one of the bus drivers screwed things up, it was exciting.  So after the parade got done we ran over to Gary's elementary school and went through the halls playing our fight song.  Great fun, but 1 of the 4 drivers "didn't know we were doing that" and didn't get the drummers or low brass there on time!  Ughh, these drivers make life interesting!  Then we went over to the 2 middle schools that feed into PH and marched through their halls.  My kids have a blast as do the middle schoolers.  It's fun but we're on and off the bus and marching from 1 until 3:45.  The kids had 45 minutes off until we had our 4:30 practice.  It was the last one and none of us really wanted to be there.  The kids worked hard and it went fairly quick.
After the practice the boosters again feed them hot dogs and chips.  Well, knowing I shouldn't have hot dogs they brought me in a hamburger patty (they treat me well).  Some parents also brought fruit and veggie trays, I was in heaven!  The football game was somewhat boring (45-13 we won) and was uneventful till the end.  I told Bill that I thought there was going to be a fight before the end of the game; I was only half-right!  The band decided to perform our half-time show after the game so our parents could see it one more time.  As we were lining up the football teams were doing their customary shaking of hands and things got heated.  The coaches were trying to get the teams separated but I thought "great, normally I'm in the stands now I’m on the field.  Damn it, they've got pads on and I don't, this just ain't going to be fun" Fortunately our coaches were being pretty physical with our players getting them out there before things really escalated and everything was over just as quickly as it began, and more importantly before I got to the action!  The most amazing thing is that everyone in the audience stayed for our performance!  I told the kids, they saw the brawl start and then realized "hey the bands going to play" and decided to stick around.  They chuckled; I know that's not the reason.  This community really loves this band and they showed it on Friday night.  None of us could believe that everyone stayed; we probably had about 1500 people watching our performance, AFTER the game!  Really makes me proud to be at the helm here.
Saturday I got to play with the niece and nephew a little bit and Sunday I spent some time with Jamie and Terry at their gym.  Like I've posted, I walk just about every day and I was wondering when I went to my folks where I'd be walking.  Well, Jamie called me on Saturday and asked if I wanted to meet him at his gym, they were having an open house and I could get in for free, so we decided to go before church.  I had NEVER gotten on a treadmill before so I had Jamie show me how to use it and away I went.  It took some time getting used to the fact that I was 'walking' but going nowhere!  I also had trouble keeping a straight line.  I've been told both are normal and they go away, little did I know what was in store for me when I got off!!  I had thought I'd do some jogging (waiting for about another 25 pounds before I start that though) and after the difficulty in walking decided to stick with what I knew.  I walked for an entire hour and it was getting late for church so it was a 'short' walk for me.  Well, the magic ride was only beginning!!!  When I stepped off the machine I nearly landed on my a$$.  I managed to grab on quick enough to prevent a fall but anybody who saw it must've thought I was drunk!  After I gained some composure I made my way to the stairs to go down to the locker room (genius idea putting this stuff on the upper floor!).  Well, it took a lot of getting used to 'walking slow' but the world coming at you at warp speed.  I staggered the whole way towards the stairs and was surprised nobody asked if I was all right!  Well I hit those stairs and thought "this is going to be interesting."  Well, thank god I was holding one of the handrails or it would've been the shortest flight of stairs I've ever taken!  Jamie and Terry got a good laugh at my experience and I'm sure the length of time I was on it magnified what is normally not a difficult transition to make.  
After church I meet Mary Buda for lunch at La Shish.  God do I love their lamb there!  I'm still getting used to the idea that a meal at a restaurant will give me 5 meals.  I've enjoyed those leftovers so much though!  It was nice seeing her and I’m glad to hear that things are going well with her radiation and she seems to be in great spirits!  The last trip of the day was a great concert at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  Jamie's client sung with the choir and it was a great performance of Verdi's Requiem.  
Well, this weekend will be Cedar Point.  Don't know if I'll brave any of the rides.  It'll be a weird day, just Gary and I to roam the park.  Well have fun riding the train and embarrassing any student we see.  It's not my favorite place, but the kids love it.  Eating there will be interesting and a little challenging.  Gotta find the healthiest place with the smallest portions.  I know lunch will be at TGIF (there's one in one of the hotels there), dinner and snacks, well........

 

Well, I've hit the 90 pound mark!  I told that to Gary and he said "oh my God, that's Carly!!"  So, if you're curious what it's like, go find a smaller person, have them hop on your back and walk around for a while or try to climb an 18' scaffolding!  It's hard to believe that I've lost a WHOLE PERSON.  In one way it's a great accomplishment, in another it's a huge embarrassment that I had to lose that much (I'm not even 1/2 of my goal )  But that's what the surgery is all about I guess, re-learning how to live!
So, I'm up to 5 mile walks now!  It takes me a little over an hour and a half, but I plug in my I-Pod, just got a new Nano with some Shure earbuds and love it!  Spent too much, but I figure it's my reward for being out there -- spent about the same on both but the earbuds are noise canceling and I love it.  I can still hear cars, but everything is pretty mute.  I put on whatever fancies me that day and away I go. 
One of the things I'm noticing is that when I walk on the nice days/nights that if I listen to Beethoven or Chopin or Mahler I am able to just listen and love what I'm hearing without analyzing it.  
While I'm out I normally stop at Sharron and Gary's to see if either of them want to join me.  Gary has thanked me several times for getting Sharron out of the house and moving.  I'll also stop by at Bill and Julie's just to say hi and get a water refill (they're now at about the 2.5 mile point of my trip).  It's going to get a little easier after next week for my walks, we've been doing Monday and Wed. night rehearsals and this week we moved them up to 5-7 so we could see out on the field!  That has left me trying to run out of school at 12:30 (yes I'm done with classes then, but I do start at 6:30) so I could get my walk in those days.  On Monday it was raining, but probably 60-65 degrees so away I went.  I started to rain hard about half-way through the walk but I was loving it too much to cut it short.  I had to call my folks after that to talk about how different life is since the surgery because god knows that wouldn've happened before.
Things I'm loving:
Almost being able to wear pants that are 6" smaller than in June
Walking 5 miles every day and loving it!
Walking in the rain
Being happy -- and people are telling me how much happier I am
Taking out the trash at 6 am and enjoying the beautiful starry night (a rare sight for most people)
Not turning on the tv at night
Listening to music and rediscovering the joys and wonder of the great masterworks
Noticing the little things and caring
Seeing my students get something and lift-up knowing they're accomplishing something
Not caring about the little things that used to aggravate me
Getting on the scale and watching the numbers fall
Being a better teacher
Being a better mentor

Things that I'm still getting used to:
Not eating much -- man that's a hard one!  Today I got a chicken from Sam's and cut most of the breast off (probably 5-6 ounces, should've measured).  I only ate about 1/2-2/3 of it + about 15-20 grapes.  Man was I stuffed.  
Looking at a plate of food and thinking "dear God, that's a lot!"
Throwing away food (can't eat a whole lot anymore)
Eating by schedule, not hunger (though I'm pretty used to this)

I do want to talk about the being happy comment above.  I've also thought of myself as a happy person, but I'm realizing now just how unhappy I was.  I avoided seeing friends, avoided going places fearing seating arrangements, was scared of flying (will the seatbelt fit?), knowing that I was the one everybody at the poker table was adjusting to, ignoring the remarks that people would make.  All these things weigh on a person -- no pun intended.  Like I said, it takes awhile to get used to the fact that I've actually lost a whole person.  There's no question or wonder why I feel so much more energy and excitement in life.  How can you not!  I do look forward to seeing the reaction my family has when I see them at Thanksgiving.  Even though they know the story, and they know where I stand -- seeing me will be totally different.  Hell, I'm shocked when I see pictures of myself!  
Next week will be long and stressful.  We have our MSBOA festival and my kids can get anywhere from a I (best rating) to a III (not very good at all).  I was talking to my buddy Tim today and said they can be anywhere from a I to a III and he just laughed at me.  It's been one of those years.  Monday they were god awful -- and that's putting it nicely.  I videotaped the rehearsal so they could see what I was seeing and hearing.  The performed for one of the elementary schools today and it was a pretty good rehearsal, go figure.  I'm hoping they have a great rehearsal, but it is what it is.
On Wed. we're somewhat hosting about 9 small marching bands (largest being 95 and the average being around 45).  It'll be very different and I'm hoping my kids aren't too exhausted and show up to see these groups -- oh yeah, we've got 190 so it'll be a radically different experience for them to see!  Friday is homecoming day -- that is a day straight from the 7th level of hell.  I'll be with kids from 7:30am (jazz band is cancelled for next week) until probably 10:00 pm.  We still do a homecoming parade where we march downtown and at 2 elementary schools.  After downtown we'll head over to Gary's elementary school (he's a principal in the district) and march through their halls before heading over to the 2 middle schools that feed PHHS.  It’s fun, but there will be 6 loads/unloads off the busses, that's just a lot.  We'll have the homecoming game and for the first time ever we'll be performing AFTER the football game. 

Wow,
I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated on here.  So let's see, we'll start with school stuff.  My band continues to be a drama-fest.  Between last weekend’s game and the start of this week, dear God.  Friday was our big cross-town rival game.  There were approximately 6000 people at the game, the place was PACKED!!!  I've never really seen the crowd cheer for us like they did at the game.  I even got goose bumps; they went nuts when the kids started to do the show.  We did have to perform during pre-game, but even still there were lots of people in the stadium and it was still good.  Towards the end of the game, well things got crazy.  One random guy started to swear at one of my drum majors and Bill got in the guys face.  Now you have to understand Bill, he's probably 5' 5" or so and is actually an ex-cop.  The other guy was about 6 foot and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with this short white guy telling him what to do.  Bill kept his cool and was actually waiting for the guy to do something (the cop in him) and I was standing right next to the guy.  I think the fact I was in a shirt and tie and obviously with the school district was the only thing that prevented anything.  Eventually the guy leaves only to come storming back about 5 minutes later (pushing a 14 year old boy on his way) and got right back into Bill's face.  Well, I was there along with my drum instructor and another one of my friends (none of us small guys).  Fortunately there was just more shooting, but it was a little scary.  I actually had 2 more run-ins with people before the end of the night.  Too many people and those in charge were not easily identifiable.  Monday was crazy and on Tuesday I actually had a parent nearly break down in my office worried about her kid.  Oh yeah, and I had another parent threaten to beat up one of my other parents.  It was full-moon central in Port Huron this week!
On to me, I'm down 81 pounds as of yesterday!  That's 54 since surgery!!!!  I can't believe it, its one hell of a ride let me tell you!  Monday will be 7 weeks, hardly seems possible.  I had a meeting with some parents tonight and one of them said "you're inspiring some of these kids."  I said "that's good."  They just laughed, but it's hard to respond to that at times.  It can be really humbling when people just start saying wow and "I can't believe how good you look."  One of my old administrators stopped me on my walk yesterday and couldn't get over how I looked and said that I was his "inspiration."  All I can do is smile and nod approvingly.
I'm eating somewhat normally now, no red meat but everything else is pretty much good.  I discovered that raw tomatoes don't agree with me!  I had about a 1/3 of a tomato a couple weeks ago and felt horrible all night at my practice.  I actually told Bill I wish I'd throw-up.  I thought maybe I had eaten too fast or didn't chew enough (though I didn't think that was really it).  Well the next day I finished the tomato for a night snack and felt HORRIBLE!  I had finished the damn thing around 9:30 and went to bed around 10.  I couldn't sleep my stomach felt so badly and I had a hard time getting comfortable to read my book.  Finally around 11 I thought "I'm going to throw-up" and then it hit and I barely made it the bathroom.  Now, not gross anyone out, but it was the 'best' sick experience I've had.  Vomit and me don't mix at all -- cut off a finger, gush blood no problem, vomit and I'm done!  Well, since the pouch really doesn't have any stomach juices there was only the tomato to come back.  I know, too much info, but man I felt great afterwards and was asleep within about 10 minutes.
So my daily walk (near daily at least) is getting longer!  I had been doing a 2 mile loop and I've probably added at least 1/3 mile to that if not 1/2 mile.  When marching band gets done I'm going to join the local gym (not nearly like those down in metro Detroit but it'll have to work) and I look forward to getting on the machines and with weights.  One of my former students talked about joining and I told him we should and then work out together.  He was a good student that I had brought back t help teach at band camp last year so I hope he does (I believe his intention is still to become a music teacher).
Some of the little surprises I love:
I'm almost ready to use the clothes that are in the 'other' closet!
I'm wearing my class ring again
I don't really watch much tv (caught Judge Judy today, though that was because I needed a nap)
I want to be out and doing things, not sitting around the house
How much I love getting out of school by 2:30/3:00 and not sticking around for this or that (though it's because I've got 2 night rehearsal a week).  
I ENJOY getting to school @ 6:15/6:20 am
How tired I am the next day if I'm not in bed by 10/10:30
Being able to feel my ribs/see my ribs and collar bone.
Looking at recent pictures and seeing how DIFFERENT my face looks!
Lastly, how much happier I am.  I didn't realize how 'not' happy I was.  I feel like I've got a lot of my old personality back (lots of teasing, playing jokes, and acting like a 32 year-old kid). I've noticed that a lot of WLS patients 'change' after the surgery.  They have different attitudes and live somewhat different lives.  Well, it's because we finally feel like we've got our lives back.  I used to love being outside and I'm rediscovering that.  I'm not devoting my life to my job, nor am I willing too.  Life is too short to worry about some things, or care about others.  If somebody doesn't like it, it's just too damn bad.  Here's what I do and why, I'm not perfect but I try my hardest.  
I talked to Bill a little about this (as he had his own full-moon experiences).  One of them included the cleaning company of the boy that just passed away from my school.  He said when you have a major life-changing event happen you look at things differently.  People do have to remind me that I had major surgery and have had a major life-changing experience.  As I go through the journey it's easy to forget that, you get the benefits but you forget the difficulties of getting approved, preparing for the surgery, and the first couple days/weeks after the surgery.  As I've read, and believe that I keep writing:
There's no happiness like a morbidly obese person regain their life and losing the weight!

Hmm..where to begin.  It's amazing how quick the week went by.  I meant to post over the weekend, and well I got too busy and then my arthritis went through the roof and knocked me on my but!!

Last week my band practices were great -- one thing I'll say about my kids, they've got more heart than I've ever seen, wow!!!  We finally got a performance for this year, mind you we started parade practice in early July and the first performed game was September 1st!!  I'm going to hire my band out for performances in drought stricken places -- who needs a rain dance, just ask the Big Red Marching Machine to do a performance for you!!!  Jamie and Terry brought the kids up and made it just in time to see our pre-game show.  It's not much and I actually got t taught in about 40 minutes between thunderstorms (yes it rained on our practice Wed).  I was excited for them to come up as it's been a while since Brandon and Sarah saw one of my games, let alone Jamie and Terry.  I did feel bad because I was trying to get my band doing things in the stands and, well, it wan't working like it should've.  I had to get a second water bottle because my first one accidentally flew into the bleachers and exploded (got the point across though:).  The kids did good and the half-time show went well.  That day I wasn't too pleased with it, but I haven't been on ground level ever this year, as I'm normally up about 18 feet on scaffolding.  The kids were so pumped and excited, I wasn't going to rain on their parade.  Today I got to see the video, and it was actually much better than I thought it had gone:)

We won the game again, team's playing better than I've ever seen.  Well, the band kids were excited -- I was exhausted just standing in front of them.  They did go to CiCi's after the game, but with Jamie and Terry at my house it gave me a great reason not to go.  I guess things went well (I do have good kids) but I'm sure they were bouncing off the walls!!!
On Friday I woke up to discover that my Band-Aid over the infection site was soaked through with fluid (I wonder if that's why I got so exhausted at the game?).  I had Terry take a look and she didn't think I was necessarily getting another infection but suggested I call the docs office.  I did and talked to the physician's assistant.  Man I don't like that lady -- I wasn't impressed on my first appointment and even less after my phone conversation. 

That night was another poker night and I cleaned house again!  always a good thing, but in the middle I started to feel horrible.  I was close to having a fever and put a compress on my stomach while playing.  I did start to feel better, so all in all not too bad of a night.  Saturday was not a good day.  I slept most of the day and my arthritis was just horrible.  I haven't started back on my injections because of the infection -- so everything is flaring.  I've been through this, but I am not going to do steroid treatments so it's a matter of getting back on the injections for a couple of weeks and I'll be fine.  Sunday wasn't much better, but that night Gary and Sharon were out for a walk and stopped by.  They asked if I wanted to join them and a big part of me thought 'no I hurt too much' but of course I said yes.  Well out through the neighborhood we went.  I couldn't believe how quick we walked and how great I felt to be out and about. 

Monday I got out and did some yard work (Thursday I get to cut my grass!!) and did some work at school.  Gary and I put up the final section of scaffolding and it felt great to be helping and not looking on from the sidelines (it was only he and I).  I'm used to being up on it now, but it does get scary assembling that thing when you're on the 2nd section and adding the third section (about 15 feet up) and the guard rail on top of that.  It's easier to assemble all at one rather than add, but it didn't take too long.  When I got home I decided to go for a walk and probably did about a mile and a 1/2 at a pretty good clip.  I did stop at Bill and Julie's for a chat in the middle.

So that's been how it's going -- now for some good news I'm down 65 total and about 40 since surgery.  I think the walks helped on this week.  Tomorrow is my appointment and we'll see where I am mid-day tomorrow (probably really close to where I am right now). 
My principal today told me she just can't believe me.  I'm her 'inspiration' right now.  I had to laugh at that a little.  Bill and I talked about this tonight after practice.  Of course I've been told that people can really see my face now -- and I'll admit I can feel my collarbones and my ribs.  Yes, that's actually an exciting thing! I've read that there's nobody happier than somebody who was once morbidly obese losing their weight and getting their lives back.  I will say that I'm so much happier now.  I've got tons and tons of energy.  Bill was shocked at how fast I was walking yesterday and commented that how I was walking was actually quite different.  Friday after the game we march the band back to the school from the stadium and when I got the band going I was in the middle of the band (mind you this is 190 piece group of about 35 lines).  I caught up to Bill and he kept up with me, but finally said to himself 'he's walking too fast, I'll catch up at the end.'  I did pass the band and get inside the gate before them.  I didn't think much of it until he mentioned it tonight. 

I'm eternally grateful I had the surgery.  Yes life is much different now.  I'll admit I DON'T look forward to eating -- I actually try to avoid it (yesterday I cooked fish after my walk and took 15 minutes before I started to eat).  I'm getting used to throwing out food and getting used to the fact that I just don't need to eat much.  I used to LOVE eating and enjoyed eating things, for right now that seems to be the past.  I know it's not going to last forever, but it's a great feeling.

I do have some guilt over this because I've had no complications (except the infection which is minor) and things have just gone so smooth.  It was hard to lose those first 25 pounds and I'm soo proud of having done that.  I know so many people on weight watchers and doing other diets and I don't feel like I'm working as hard as them to lose weight.  Maybe it's because I've made a life decision and there's no going back so it's becoming my lifestyle???  Today I had 2 yogurt cups (Dannon light n' fit, low fat, low carb, 60 or 80 calories -- very good) a protein drink, 4 ounces of shrimp, and a 3ounce flounder filet.  Seems like I'm always eating (and to some extent I am) but I don't eat much anymore.  Best of all, I just don't feel hungry.  Of course I didn't dread eating as much today as I did Sunday/Monday.   I'll admit,if I didn't know it was important to eat and tried to stick to a schedule I'd probably feel fine eating half of what I did today (and that's not much to begin with!)        

This coming Sunday will be interesting.   It’s Brandon’s birthday party and I don’t believe Terry’s family has seen me since Easter.  While my family has seen me through the surgery and stuff it’ll be interesting to see their reaction.  It’ll also be a first time eating at someone else’s house.  While I’ve gotten used to eating, it’ll probably be somewhat amusing for people that haven’t been around me to watch what and how I eat. 

I was told -- hang on, it's a wild ride.  well, I'm learning what that means!

It's been an exciting time since the last update.  It's hard to believe it's been 2 weeks already!  I am very thankful that I prepped myself pre-op for things and have had it pretty easy.  Mentally I was ready and since I didn't know when this surgery was I've had an easy time adjusting to the new life -- and it is a VERY different life!  I talked to somebody else on here who shares the same surgery date and they had gained about 15lbs pre-surgery doing the 'last-meal' routine.  At that point we had both lost the same amount of weight, but due to the pre-op prep I had I was ahead of them.  If circumstances were different I'm sure I would've done the same thing.  It's been 3 months since I've had fast food and I don't miss it a bit (wow!)

 As I've already posted, my parents have been such a huge support.  My mother spent the week with me and I've got my closets all set.  As one of my friends said, "Man, what are you going to do about clothes?  You'll have to be buying a new outfit soon!"  Nope!!!!!!  I've got my clothes all set and I'm actually out of the shirts that I wore at graduation time.  I've saved one of them for posterity (and they weren't all that big on me!).  Not much longer, maybe a month and I'll be out of the current size.  As I go down I've got lots of clothes waiting for me.  When I go through the size in my closet I'll bag up the clothes and give to the Salvation Army and restock from my old supply! 

 We also got a lot of the food stuff set.  I'm currently eating some vegetable soup (pureed) that is very tasty.  Still in the pureed food, going to try the first 'soft' foods on Wed. (runny scrambled eggs).  Living on tuna fish salad and egg salad (11 and 13 grams of protein respectively).  We tried a shrimp dish, I think would've been really good but it sure didn't turn out that way!!!!  It called for 2 green onions, and 1/2 of 1 probably would've been plenty, yuck is all I can say.

 So Friday was supposed to be our first football game.  I've got a strange band this year, and those that have been with me for a couple of years agree.  You just never know what's going to show up.  My kids work hard, just not always smart or really friendly with each other.  One day they're great and the next I wonder if while they slept their brains oozed out!  Wed. was a pretty good rehearsal and on Friday, ughh.  I went in to school around 1 and our practice started at 4.  I knew there was a high probability that the game would get canceled due to weather.  We had our rehearsal and things were going ok -- not great, but the kids were going to be ok.  Got done with rehearsal @ 6 and the sky looked bad.  Heard reports about tornados in East Lansing (we're actually a little North of them) and metro Detroit and knew it was coming our way.  We did our uniform inspection @ 6:30 and were getting ready to go out at 6:50.  We delayed as long as we could since I was expecting the game to get called.  With about 4 minutes left on the pre-game clock I got the kids ready for the pre-game performance.  Let me tell you, this new crew of band students have had some luck with rain!  Our city parade got rained out for the first time in memory (I heard 1945), our first fundraiser (car wash) same thing, and then the first morning at band camp (Tuesday).  As soon we got into position there was the lightning and the rain.  Back to the band room to wait out the storm, and wait, and wait.  After an hour and twenty minutes they finally called the game.  The game got rescheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m.  I let the kids know, I could tell they were disappointed. 

 We used to go to Pizza Hut after football games.  It was great while we were smaller.  Last year we went over capacity by about 40-50 people and they just couldn't make enough pizzas quick enough.   It just wasn't a good situation and I didn't want to see any of the kids get in trouble, and that was trouble with a capital T in the works.  We went to Gary's (our band booster president) school and used their gym and cafeteria.  That worked well, but it also cemented us to being there every week.  Well, at some point a Cici's moved into the north area and we talked about doing that this year.  After the rain out the kids wanted to still go and hang out (band is a very social thing if you didn't do it) so up we went.  We had 128 people go and they handled us great.  Kids weren't waiting for food, plenty there, lots of room, and a good time.  We probably had about 10-15 parents there and I'll make an announcement after this week’s game saying that it's something we do, but it's not an officially chaperoned thing so any parent that can come please do, the more the merrier!  
The biggest personal thing that happened is how many parents and students are so excited for me.  I had a lot of people comment on how much happier I seem, and you know what, they're right.  It was great telling them about this procedure and what it really is.  There's a big lap-band center here, but no RNY really in the county.  As a result people just aren't really aware what it is.  I'm glad, right now, how open I've been.  It's going to be fun for all of us to watch and experience!
Saturday -- well I learned a lot about my new pouch and what I can and can't do!  I was at school from 10-2 while kids and parents helped clean, organize, and put new dry-erase boards up.  I had to leave at 2, but I think they stayed until 4 or so.  At 5 we had the football game and at 8 the poker gang reunited for our first game since the surgery.  Food intake was just not as steady as it should've been and I regret that.  Planning is going to be key -- I think when I can eat protein bars it will help, but still planning the meals will be my #1 goal.  Sunday I did even worse, though today I was back on track -- through deliberate planning.

Now my poker playing bugs my parents a little and I play a lot.  I love it and I'm pretty good at it.  If you don't play, it's a very highly mathematical game.  My June/July took me to a big high (had a couple of $1000+ nights) and then right back down.  I never played bad, just got incredibly unlucky.  I'm glad I was able to weather it through good bankroll management, but it was psychologically difficult.  Well, I didn't play any different on Saturday, but I tore our game up.  It was really rewarding to play exactly like I normally have, but not have the incredible bad luck continue to happen to me -- and by bad luck I mean a 5-10% chance of losing the hand and losing every time.  No I'm not exaggerating that -- I've lost with 4 of a kinds these past months!

I saw some of the secretaries at school today, always a nice thing to see people back at it.  The building becomes somewhat lonely during the summer.  Rehearsal tonight was great!  The kids started the same way, playing soft and wimpy and just not determined.  I got on their case and they started to pump out the volume like a 190 piece band should!  We got the show a lot cleaner and it looked 1000% better than it did during our Friday practice.  Jamie and Terry are coming up on Thursday with the kids and I think it will be fun to show off my group to them.  I don't think they've ever seen the marching band, and it's been a while since they've been able to see any of my program.  The football team is doing great, so it should be a fun, good night for them.

Last thing, I am down 15 from last week for a total of 53 pounds!  I feel great, am looking forward to returning to normality.  Can't wait till I get cleared to start doing the gym and get physically fit.  The journey is great and wild!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's the 8th day since surgery and I'm again feeling great.  I don't think I need the pain medicine anymore, I did take it because of what I have to do before and after my shower this morning so we'll see
On Sunday I was supposed to be coming back to Port Huron, and boy was I looking forward to getting back home.  My parents did a great job of taking care of me, but there's no place like home.  I decided against going to church, just didn't know if I could sit in the pews and how I'd handle the entire experience.  After my folks left for church I was about to get in the shower and I was looking at the HUGE bruising on my stomach (from the combination of surgery and the Lovax shots).  I noticed the incision where the stapler went in and out (the big one that's been hurting) was getting red, not bruising, but turning a different kind of red.  I thought, oh oh -- that's not good.  The plan was for my parents to get back and us to hit the road after packing the car.  When they came in I said I needed them to look at my stomach.  They both showed concern so we decided to call the doc.  Schunknecht gave us his cell phone number and said to call with any questions or concerns so at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon we gave him a call.  I was expecting to leave a message and talk to him in a while.  He picked up and we talked!!!  As soon as I said it appears one of the incisions is getting an infection he knew exactly which one.  He said do some warm compresses and schedule an appointment Monday morning.  
Well, my folks are about 30 minutes from the docs and my house is an 1 hour and it was decided to stay Sunday night at my folks.  I was a little bummed, but it made sense and I knew it was best for my folks.  The pain increased through the day and I dealt with a huge case of gas (or blocked gas).  It was just an uncomfortable day, pain in the incision and jungle noises coming from my stomach (though very little escaped gas!)  I took a nap around 6 and when I woke about 8 pm I knew I was in trouble.  I could feel I had a temperature and the pain was worse.  We took my temp (100.5) and called back the doc.  He called in a prescription and my dad went to get it (the pharmacist we later learned actually gave the Schunknecht a harder time than my dad picking it up).  The rest of the night I kept a compress on my stomach and watch the red area grow in size.
Monday we packed the car again and left for the doc’s office.  I had heard stories of my mom when she had her appendix out.  It had ruptured and she had an infection.  I guess the doc came into her room, pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed them into the incision site to let the infection site drain.  Well, I was worried going into this appointment, will he drain it, will I just be on antibiotics, etc?  When Schunknecht finished with his surgery that morning he made it to the office and into the back we went.  When he said "You know everything I do, I do out of love?" I knew I was in trouble!!  I replied "This is going to hurt like hell, isn't it?"  He said, "It won't hurt me a bit."  At that point I was lying down and decided the best course of action was to just keep my eyes shut.  My folks said the first thing he did was grab a pair of scissors and my dad thought 40 years later and things don't change much!
He said I had a subcutaneous abscess and he needed to drain it.  So he opened the incision site with 2 q-tips and went to drain it.  It did hurt like hell!  After a couple of minutes it started to feel better and I knew things were going to get back on track.
After the appointment up to Port Huron we drove.  It was nice to pull into the drive -- my house looked great and the yard had been freshly cut.  I've got great friends that were actually competing a little for my mail/yard duty.  When we came in there were large pieces of paper over my couch, coffee table and kitchen table that had been signed by everybody from my band.  It was so cool to read the messages from the kids!  
Bill came by around 5:30 to get me for the rehearsal last night.  I was nervous; would I have the energy to do the entire rehearsal?  How would they look/sound after last week’s rehearsal?  I had not thought about the show at all since band camp, would I remember enough of it to be as effective as I should?  Well....it was great to be at rehearsal.  I truly felt great running the rehearsal and I know the kids were glad to see me.  One thing I'll say about these kids, they've got spirit and work hard -- not always smart, but hard!  Friday's game will be interesting, but I think they'll do ok.  We'll see about Wed's rehearsal and Fridays game, don't know what kind of shape I'll be in.  Things had been going great before the abscess.  Hopefully the draining of it will make that heal quickly and then it's on with life!
Since surgery I've lost about 13 pounds and since June 8th a total of 38 lbs!  I feel great and have not been hungry since surgery.  I actually think, oh God, I've got eat/drink now.  I hope that continues, but it is hard to believe what a change in attitude I've had in food.

I regret not posting an update a couple of days ago.  I was shocked about how crappy I felt post-op.  I just wasn't expecting that level of pain.  Of the 6 incisions only 1 hurts and that's an understatement.  My dad kept saying, everyday you'll feel better and you won't remember the pain you're in now, well he was right.
This is the 5th day since surgery.  I can't believe how well everything is going right now!!!  My pain is way down and I actually was able to sleep 6 hours straight through last night.  The last couple of days I've gotten in 68+ oz water and about 60-70g protein.  I was expecting to have difficutly getting in the water, but it's been easy.  I was surprised how much I hurt in the first couple of days, and I guess now I can't believe how good I'm feeling.  Saw a movie yesterday, felt so good to get out of the house.
My parents have been funny, they don't want to eat in front of me.  When we went to the theatre my mom asked if not eating popcorn was going to bother me, I said of course not.  She said, "well, what if I ate it?"  I told her I made a choice and part of what I'm going to have to deal with is the psychological issues.  I changed my life, not theirs.  It's not anybody else's fault I got so large, don't feel guitly.  In a couple of months I may feel different about seeing people eat, right now I couldn't care less about food (to close to surgery I think).
I go back to my house tomorrow and am looking forward to it.  All my friends in Port Huron I know are looking forward to me coming back.  They've taken care of my house/mail/lawn and will continue until I'm able to do it.  Things have been very positive and I'm overhwhelmed daily by the support I've gotten.
On Monday I've got my first post-op rehearsal with my kids.  It'll be interesting.  One of my parents/friends told them what kind of surgery I had so I won't have to make a big ordeal out of that.  My only concern is I've got a home football game next week.  With the way the healing's been going I'm sure it'll be fine but exhausted at the end.
On final note -- found a protein shake I REALLY like Nectar Lemon Tea (I'm a big ice tea fan anyways).  Wow, it tastes better than the lipton fountain tea and has 23 gr of protein!  Found one that was GOD awful (and that's putting it nice) a vanilla-cinammon.  I had high hopes for that, but ewww.  Last note, I'm gonna have to call my PCP on Monday and try to figure out what to do about my bloodpressure medicine.  I ground some up 2 nights ago and put it in yogurt, it was too bitter for me.  Tried cutting the pill up yesterday, but not so easy.  Gonna try putting it in chicken broth tonight.  We'll see how that goes, maybe the doc will have a good suggestion 
I'm sure the receptionist will be surprised -- "I need to change medicine because the taste is horrible" "but sir, you're supposed to swallow the pills."  I like the office staff there so I may play it up a little too.

I had surgery yesterday (8/13/07) and am doing pretty good.  I was pretty nervous to go home, wondering if I was ready and capable of doing things there.  The folks at St. John's impressed me.  The nurses and staff were pretty quick and effecient with everything (except when they needed to move my IV, that took about 2 hours and didn't happen until 2 am).  I woke up Tuesday to hear Dr. S talking to my mother, I guess he had been in the room for about 15 mintues.  He then talked to both of us probably another 20 minutes.  I've got a check-up next week.  On the way home we stopped by the clinic to get some Unjury unflavored protein.  I've got flavored stuff that I know I like and a sample from Bariatric-eating, but realize it may be a while.  I'm going to try to mix the Unjury in with yougurt and other liquids to help start getting my protein intake going.
The pain is surprising, I knew it'd hurt but had no clue it would be so hard to move around.  Everybody said get walking in before surgery and after -- I thought it was for exerciese purposes, but now I thinking it's to make it easier to cope after the surgery.  Of the 5 incesions, only 1 hurts and man does it hurt.