3 October 2006

Twelve weeks from today I get my band.

The journaling tool has been out of service for awhile, so I have a little catching up to do here.

I've discovered that I'm not the first person on the Island to get a Lap Band, and I won't be the first person at the Theatre to have done it. Shortly after I opened this journal I discovered that I already know someone with a Band, who was banded in late July and has already lost 30 pounds. Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about!

Through her I've learned that there are at least two others, and one more person who is exploring the possibility. As far as I know I may be the only one who is a "medical tourist," getting my Band in Mexico.

I've been cruising this chat room regularly, and I've picked up on one thing that's beginning to make me a little nervous about the impact the Band may have on my singing life. I searched for posts about singers and came across one thread that talked about the port stitches interfering with deep breathing. Now I'm concerned that I won't be able to perform in the Song & Dance show in January (which I had agreed to do before I scheduled my surgery). The show is three weeks post-op, and I "should" be able to sing, but my breath control may not be what it used to.

I asked my friend Ruthann about her recent lap-hysterectomy recovery. She said she was ablt to sing in three weeks, but her breath support was a LOT better after four. I'll have to ask Ellen about that, as she's a singer, too.

Initially, I didn't want to tell anybody about my surgery until after people started noticing the results. I just cannot deal with everybody and his brother checking up on me, monitoring what I'm eating or not eating, but I have begun to tell a few ... with interesting results.

The first person I told was my friend Alice, who seemed to know something about the Band already and wasn't shocked, and is, of course, very supportive.

The next person I tried to tell was Merritt (my boss), and for reasons passing understanding I ended up in tears in the process -- must have been PMS, because I don't have any reservations about having the surgery or living the new life, in fact I'm quite looking forward to it, but I started out with trying to explain that I needed to be on a liquid diet restriction for two weeks before and four weeks after surgery, and that this will make the traditional office celebrations of birthdays and Christmas awkward for me. He seemed very understanding, and I know I can trust him to keep this confidential. However, with the need to tell a few people involved in Song & Dance (and others) about the possibility that I will have to be a happy surprise on the program rather than a deadliner, I'm finding a little more courage about telling people.

I also would like to have at least a few key people in my musical life know, who can influence the people who do the gift buying that maybe NOT chocolate this year is a better idea.

Down the raod, I think I actually would like to do a story in the Journal about being a medical tourist, but I'd prefer to have that hit the press six months post-op when I can be a poster child and not a warning to others. I am quite happy to have my success inspire others to make positive choices for their health.

My next hesitation is whether or not to audition for the Theatre's winter plays. I wonder if it might be wiser to give myself three months to figure out how to eat and eat on the go before I schedule myself into a big production that may get me off track. I'm fairly certain Merritt wouldn't cast me anyway (February show), but it might be fun to do "Cemetery Club" in March, especially with Gretchen Gubelman as the director.

And, of course, the Benefit Players will want to know what I want to do next. Maybe what I should do through the winter is simply concentrate on my April concert for San Juan Singers -- probably my last concert as their director. I want to devote the time necessary to pull off a really great program, and if theater has to wait a few months, so be it. It's far more important to me to wrap my Singers experience well than it is to be on the stage. "Guarding Erica" will be enough for me for a little while.

OK, time to figure out how to post on this chat room. I need to know if being back on stage to sing three weeks post-op is a reasonable expectation.