Well on June 21st I began 3 weeks of liquid protein shakes with one small meal per day. I could have chicken and fish with a salad or some vegetables. But I mostly ate the salad everyday. The shakes were not as bad as many people seem to make them. I had order a lot of samples and bought the Body Fortress Super Protein Whey from Walmart and that was pretty good. I got 3 flavors in 2lb. containers for 40.00. That was a great deal. I bought them online. I could also have yogurt, preferably greek, strawberries and oatmeal. So it wasn't really too bad. I must admit that I did cheat on the 4th of July and had a hotdog and a hamburger. I was so nervous about that, but I just wanted one they smelled so good. Other than that, I was able to survive.

Now when it came to my nerves that was a different story. I was getting nervous. Reading the different posts here on lapbandtalk.com some of them are negative and some people's experiences were not good. I began to question myself. My mind was saying "well you have lost 49 pounds maybe you can do this yourself." I would go back and forth with these thoughts. But then I would read a post that would say "you have yo-yo dieted before, you can lose the weight but you can't keep it off." So that would reinforce to me that I needed the help to do it and I would be committed again to do it.

I had a countdown widget on my Android Tablet telling me how many days until the surgery. I would make comments on facebook about my big day but I didn't say what it was. If someone wanted to know what it was I would tell them to inbox me. It wasn't until they mentioned the guy from Pawn Stars on facebook that I finally alluded to the fact that I was having this done and even with that, I don't think many people picked up on what I was talking about. So I guess that's a good thing.

The last 3 days were the hardest for me mentally. I began to worry about the surgery and my surgery got moved by one day. This then created a problem with my support person who had to attend court that morning. But my daughter would be off that day, however she is only 23 years old and I was fearing for the worst and I thought if something went wrong and they had to come out and tell her about it, she would probably faint or something. I kept telling her "remember I want to be recusitated". But God is good and as it turned out, i didn't have to be to the hospital until 9:30 and my surgery was to start about 11:30. So my daughter went with me and by the time I was getting wheeled into the OR, my other support person had arrived. So I was able to go in without event.

As for taking anything to the hospital, you really don't need to take anything. I took slippers and a housecoat, but you have that IV in your arm so you can't put anything on anyway and they give you slippersocks and I kept them on. They also provide you with all your necessary toiletries. I would only suggest bringing your cellphone and maybe a computer or Tablet in case you can't sleep at night. Most hospitals have WiFi. Do not wear any jewelry or fingernail polish on your nails. Toenails are OK to be polished.

So Wednesday morning July 13, I went in to begin this new life of mine. They took me back to the preparatory section. My daughter was allowed with me during this time and that made it nice. They had me undress and put on this old ugly "gown" and then the nurse put an needle in my hand to which she attached IV drip. Then a series of nurses, techs and the anesthesia people came in asking question after question and each one of them had to start with asking me what procedure I was having done as well as my name and birthdate. I got so tired of providing that information that one time I said "I'm here for gastric bypass", and the nurse looked at the chart twice and then to me and I laughed. She said "boy I was wondering how they got that one wrong." I was asked if I wore dentures, if my teeth were loose or tight, stuff like that. They took some blood from me.

At one point, my surgeon came in and asked how I was doing and I told him "fine". I asked him a couple of questions about the pre-op diet as I was just wondering why he does his for 3 weeks and some docs don't do them at all or only a few days. He said to shrink the liver, which I already knew but I was just wondering if there was some other reason and he said "no". I also asked him if he was going to be able to do the surgery laperscopically since I have had previous surgery to my abdomen. His associate had said that there was a chance that they might have to cut me open again. I sure didn't want that. He told me that he felt they would be able to do it without cutting me like that again, he just said my surgery would be a little longer--1.5 hours instead of 30-45 minutes. This helped me feel a little better too.

Finally, they said they were ready to take me to the OR and I had to say goodbye to my daughter. I began to tear up and she told me "if you cry Mommy, I'm going to kill you." I tried not to let the tears drop out of my eyes but they did. I have had several surgeries and I guess I always get this way but this was one of the first times she was ever the one to go back with me. I gave her a big hug and told her I loved her.

They then rolled me into the OR which was freezing as usual. They had a nice warm blanket ready for me though so it was alright. They again asked me my name and what I was having done. Next, they had me breath in some oxygen a few times while they did what they had to do and that is the last thing I remember happening.

So, I went in an unbanded person and woke up banded. What did it feel like? Well I was very, very sore. Felt like I had been beaten up in my abdomen area. I didn't have any negative response to the anesthesia as I never have in the past. It doesn't make me nauseous or sick, just sleepy. I'm hard to wake up, I hear. They were so nice in the recovery room, I had a nurse stay at my side the whole time until I was awake enough to go to my room. That was the first time I had experienced that. They usually walk around the room, but he sat next to me and had a computer by his side to take notes, etc. He asked if I needed something for pain and I said I was OK for now. Finally, they told me I was going to my room. I asked for some ice chips as my throat was hurting from that breathing tube they put down your throat. I got the ice chips and off we went.

My surgery was done at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC. This is a teaching hospital.

My room was a private room and very nicely appointed. The nurses scan everything they do to you just like at the grocery store. They scan your wristband and it goes into the computer that is in your room. It was pretty high tech. Everyone was very nice to me. The next thing that had to be done was an x-ray of my stomach to make sure my port was in the right place. I had the nicest transport person take me down to x-ray. He tried to make the ride as "bump free" as possible, as he knew my stomach was hurting. The x-ray went fast and I was on my way back to my room where my family was waiting for me. They told me that the doctor had come out and spoke to them and told them that everything had went well but that I did have some scar tissue that caused my time to be a little longer than someone who had no scar tissue. My surgeon's name is Adolpho "Fuzz" Fernandez, that's how he introduces himself--as Fuzz. He has a great bedside manner, kind of young and handsome, not too young, but younger than my 53 years.

So the family didn't stay too long as they knew I was tired and wanted to rest and sleep. The nurses came into check my blood sugar and it was OK. I was also worried about that being too high but it was alright. I didn't want to end up staying an extra day due to that problem. The rest of the evening was uneventful. I was able to take some of my meds by mouth and some were given to me through the IV.

Finally, I was feeling hungry as I hadn't eaten since midnight on Tuesday. The nurse found me some chicken broth and jello and juice. That broth tasted like a Rib Eye Steak. I ate it all surprisingly and most of the jello. That IV had me running to the bathroom every 2 hours or so, and I had to drag that IV stand with me, that's a real pain in the butt. Then they didn't have me down for sleep meds and I had a terrible time going back to sleep that night. I tried to play with my Tablet but the wifi signal wasn't strong in my room. Finally about 3:30 a.m., they gave me a different pain medicine and that put me to sleep, but at 6:30 a.m. the doctors came in to see me. They said that as soon as Fuzz came in and looked at the x-ray that I could go home. They told me I could take my time, it was no rush. So I just went back to sleep after they left until about 9:30-10:00.

I got out of there about 1:30 p.m. and stopped to get my prescriptions filled, and wouldn't you know that neither Walmart or CVS had this liquid narcotic that I had been prescribed. So I had to wait until the next day to get that medicine. Fortunately, I take pain meds for my knees and they helped out during this time period.

My first day home was great. I was sore, but I felt so good mentally. I was able to eat soup with no problem and I had some sherbert later on. I even had a couple of soggy crackers with my soup. My doctor said I could have protein shakes if I wanted them and any type of liquids. He said after that, if I wanted to try a soft egg in a few days that I could. I'm going to take it slow and allow my port to heal. I'm not in a rush to eat anything yet and so far I haven't been really hungry. I eat because I know I need to stay hydrated. But I have no appetite. I don't know if that's due to the band or just because I just had surgery.

I do know that I feel happy for the first time in a long long time. I really don't know what to attribute this newfound happiness to. Someone called me brave to undertake something like this--to have a port inside of me that the doctors can access from outside, something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I never thought of myself as brave but I guess I am. I guess when you look at it and the chances and you hear some horror stories, one has to have faith and courage to undertake something like this. But my goals were so defined. To get off of so many medications, to be diabetes and hypertension free, to look better and feel better. To walk without a cane. Not to have my knees hurting all the time. This was my motivation, my goals. That the rest of my life could be better than the first half. So that's my story up to this point. I'm a happy camper today, this Saturday, July 16th. I'm a new woman on the road to becoming another woman and I'm so excited about that!!!