Well, it has been awhile since I have posted anything, so let me sum up...

The last few days of the liquid diet were hell. It was so hard. I wanted to cheat so bad. I finally had decided that I was going to cheat and eat a big lunch at McDonalds on Saturday. Then I'd have the rest of Sat to digest and Sunday was all clear liquids and Monday am was the surgery. Well I told my mom, who then told my dad, who then called me and raised hell. He used to be an EMT and all and proceeded to tell me all the dirty details of why it was important there was NO food in my stomach or intestines and what could happen and blah blah and made me promise him not to cheat. So I did promise and I did not cheat - but man, it was hard!!!

So I muddled through and then it seemed like time sped up because next thing I knew it was Sunday night and my surgery was the next morning. I spent Sunday gardening and all, because I knew I wouldn't be able to do it for awhile after the surgery and wanted as done as possible. When I weighed myself that night, I had lost a total of 18 lbs!!!

I barely slept at all Sunday night and eventually Monday morning 5:30am came around. I took a shower, got dressed in comfie clothes and we left for the hospital. Patrick and the kids dropped me off and I checked in. So I did the paperwork, got my bracelet and was directed to the surgical ward. There I got some blood drawn and then went to a little curtained area and stripped down. I put on the little hospital sockies with grips on the bottoms, a johnny with opening in the back, a "robe" opening in the front, and a blue hair net thing. Then I laid down on the gurney and waited. I talked to nurse after nurse after doctor as they asked questions (allergies? meds? family history? etc.) introduced themselves, explained what was going on, etc. I had someone come in and prick my finger for blood sugar, which was normal. Then the lady came in and put in the IV, which I was pretty stressed about. One nurse had come by earlier and wrapped my left hand (non-dominant hand) in a warm blanket and left it there for awhile, which was apparently to help with the IV. Then the IV tech came by and unwrapped the hand, then gave me a local shot of lidocaine, to help the IV placement hurt less. The lidocaine burned, BUT it was over pretty quickly and then the IV didn't hurt much at all, which made the whole experience MUCH better than normal - I HATE getting IVs done.

Then I had to wait some more and I nodded off (did I already mention I hadn't slept at all the night before??) and then I got woken up to meet the anesthesiologist. The two guys who were doing that job looked like my younger brother!! And I am only 31, so that was weird - they were so young!! Anyway, they were very nice and described what would happen, etc. Next thing I know, it is time to go to surgery. The Hardy boys wheel me down to the OR room and I am definitely starting to feel panicked. The nurse in the OR introduces herself and she is named Molly, which is my daughter's name. They put the gurney right next to the surgery gurney and have me scootch over. The surgery gurney feels way to small and narrow. Then they unfold these arm tray things for my arms to rest on, so it now looks like I am doing the M part of YMCA, but lying down. Then they strap down my legs with a velcro strap and the same with my arms. While it didn't hurt at all and the straps were pretty loose, that is about when I began to panic more and I could tell my eyes were rolling around in my head like a terrified horse!! They had given me some anti-anxiety meds in the IV right after I got to the OR but I wasn't feeling them yet and beginning to worry that they wouldn't work on me or something. The first Hardy boy had explained that the meds would not only relieve the anxiety, they make you forget what is happening, so later you have no memory of this. I had a oxygen thing on my face and he was telling me to take deep breaths and I was getting more and more nervous. He asked me if I was all right and I felt tears building up in my eyes and then suddenly, like a light switch, I relaxed. And then thirty seconds later, I was out.

I woke up in the recovery area where the nurse kept telling me to wake up. I woke up pretty quickly and the nurse was great. She told me that she was so excited for me - that this surgery has great results, that recovery was normally pretty quick and I was so young that I had a lot of time to enjoy the results.

Then I was moved to my room. I was lucky enough to have a private room, which was great. I started out with ice chips, which were great, but didn't ease the terrible dry mouth and sore throat I had. (I didn't remember the tube being taken out, so that is good.) Pretty quickly I was able to move to water, which was better. I was sore, but the pain meds worked wonders.

Eventually that day I was switched to oral, liquid pain meds. They had me on Percocet first, but I really didn't like that at all. It made me feel drugged but didn't help the pain at all. Then they switched me to vicodin, which worked much better. After awhile they wanted me to sit in the chair, and helped me out of bed. That hurt, but I felt all right when I stood up, and then I almost passed out. I sat down and relaxed and felt better pretty quickly. They wanted me to get up and walk eventually, so after a little bit of relaxing and phone calls to family, I called the nurse to tell her I was ready to walk.

We walked down the hall and she asked what I wanted to do then, and I wanted to walk some more. With the pain of the surgery controlled, the walking actually helped relieve some of the tightness I felt in the belly, which is the air they pump into your stomach for the surgery. I ended up walking all around the floor and through the children's ward and back to my room. The nurse was very happy and said that many people they have to beg just to get them to walk three rooms down and if they get to the end of the hall, it is great. So they were very happy with my stroll and so was I. I made it back to the room and sat down in the chair. I was allowed to have apple juice and it was heaven. I just sipped it until it was gone. Then I chewed the ice and then I asked for more. As long as I wasn't guzzling it, they were fine with it and kept giving it to me.

Eventually I was pretty tired and sore and went to bed. They woke me up every fifteen minutes it seemed like!! I was so tired and I felt like they were always waking me up. Plus the night nurse was a talker, so she kept trying to chat with me!

Eventually it was early morning and they took me to xray. I had to stand on this thing that looked like a dolly (like to help pick up boxes) and then it leans back and puts you in the lying down position. They took some pictures, etc. Then they leaned me up back to standing. I had to take a few sips of this clear and horrible tasting stuff while they took pictures. Then I had to take a few sips of this thick, white, yogurt like stuff that faintly tasted like strawberry - I didn't like it but it wasn't as bad as the first stuff. They took more pictures. Then I had to stand there and wait for ten minutes and then they took a few more pictures and I was done - everything looked great.

Back in my room I relaxed a little and then they began the process of checking me out. They took the IV out, took the dressings on the wounds off, and brought me the paperwork to sign, etc. I got changed back into the clothes I wore to the hospital and next thing you know, my husband and kids were there to pick me up. I left the hospital at about 11am on Tuesday.

So that was the entire surgery. It really wasn't bad at all. Since then I have been pretty sore, but the worst is the gas. I have really bad gas that I just can't get out! Which is gross in itself, but the pain is much worse! The actual pain and soreness of the surgery isn't bad and is managed well with the vicodin they sent home, but the gas pain is the thing I am struggling with right now.

I have no problems with the clear liquids. While there are a few times that food sounds good or smells good, the idea of actually eating does NOT seem enticing. So sticking to the diet right now is really easy. If I can just get rid of this gas, I'll feel so much better.

I have taken a walk yesterday, which took a lot out of me but was good for me and not as bad as I thought it might be. Getting up and down on the the couch is difficult, but I have a really strong husband to help with that. I took a shower today which was fine and felt very good. I am sleeping a lot more than usual, which is to be expected after surgery.

So, everyday I feel a little better and have had no major problems. The only real problem is the gas pains. So if I can get through that - I'll be fine!!:smile:

As more happens, I'll write more. But for now, I am going to hide out in the bathroom and try to get rid of the gas!:sad: