DeLarla

Here here, let it be healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be doing lots less booze in 2006, so water is fine!

I am so, so, soooooooo looking forward to a new year. I think 2006 is gonna rock! Happy New Year back at you!

A Pet's Loss: In your heart, you probably realize that in time the sadness you're feeling will fade. For now, just know that it's all right to hurt... it's all right to cry... it's only throught cring you learn what it's like to laugh... only after feeling sadness can you really experience joy. So allow yourself to feel what is natural... but know that someday life will be better... It will be easier to smile.

Hi. These are the hardest threads for me. They render me speechless. He was lucky to have such a funny and loving mom in return.

I'm here for you with my big ol' heart, but since I left my zentner conversion chart at the spacelink craft center, I don't even know what you're talking about. Hey, someone's getting their spunk back

I carry a product that many women buy several tubes that contains Benzocaine (the stuff dentists swab on before giving injections.) It's good for plucking eyebrows, teething, bug bites. You might not like the name, so you could rub it off with nail polish remover or Sharpie. Or just go buy some Ambesol (mine has a higher concentration.) That's the stuff for toothaches, but it's got benzocaine in it, which will bring you great, great relief. Lazer hair removal is on my list of things that I want. Lucky you! I'm sure the pain will be worth it.

Vera, it was two whole days without a word out of me other than a couple grunts. Chris should have enjoyed it while it lasted because I'm already getting "lippy" with him so I must be getting better Yep, he was there for me the entire time, but I kept sending the poor guy away. He fretted and stewed and chewed his nails off but I just needed to be quarantined and left alone. He went shopping and brought me back 3 new gold charms for my bracelet. Now you see why I keep the - what did you call him? Knucklehead! I'll be great pretty soon and maybe even better than before. It's so nice coming home to my very own Tin Man, Scare Crow and Auntie Em :mad:

Jack, you crack me up! Chris shoved the bib back at the waitress though. He likes to marinate in his meal. I asked for the Band, but Dr. Billy had no choice but to give it to Inamed. I don't know if there was any infection left - sure feels like there's infection even now. I feel really gross, but that's typical of me since my first band surgery. Those pics really did turn out amazing. Chris warned me to stay off boats, but that's like telling my dog to stay away from the garbage. Fact is I had an entire day to burn with nothing but anxiety in my belly, so my goal was to stay occupied.

My friend just came to visit. She asked to see my erosion pics cause she wanted to compare them to her Dad's recent horror story. He's a typical skinny guy who eats too fast. He was woofing down an apple that got stuck low in his esophagus. He freaked out and guzzled Water to push it through, but later almost bled to death. The ER surgeon, who had to repair his torn esophagus, said he would have been dead in one more hour if he didn't come in since he was literally bleeding to death. Now I have one more thing to nag at my husband for. He's 2 chews and a gulp, so either he slows down or I start blending his pizza. The stomach can be a very scary place.

He'd kill me if he knew I posted that! Here's a pic of Anacapa Island (view from our boat ride.)

One of my favorite dishes is Cioppino, which is really hard to find and takes too long to make. Here was Chris finishing off my "last meal." He couldn't even finish it!

I wasn't going to say it, but nothing's really sacred around here anyway. I could really do without the diarrhea. Geeeeezzzz, enough already! Prolly TMI, but I know you're all dying for details, right? I made a bad move by going on a 3 hour boat ride prior to surgery. Seasick, blah, crying on the boat, big baby. But we had 12 hours to waste, so we went on a whale watching cruise. The whales were nothing compared to the "country" of dolphin. My dad lives in Florida and has taken me dolphin watching many times, but I never saw them flying through the air in thousands, literally. Friggen amazing, even though I was quite green. You guys didn't think DeLarla wouldn't find a way to sqeeze in at least some adventure, did you?

Shelly, you're too funny! And I probably will take an extra nip of the liquid Lortab because staying home on New Year's Eve bites! I'm still running the fever and feeling quite poopy, but so thankful the creepy thing is out of my belly. Thanks everyone for your friendship. Happy New Year, and have a cocktail for me or a Jello shot, but don't tell anyone cause it's not like I ever did that!

Celeste, I know how hard this is and just said goodbye to my firstborn Kitty. It was hard, but you did an amazing job raising a little fur person, and for that you should be proud.

Oh, by the way, the local radiologist who discovered the erosion during my endo told me to, "Make a follow up appointment with your doctor in 4 weeks." I was lost and didn't know what to do, so I just called Billy kinda like a courtesy call. He called me back really quick and said, "Four weeks? Is he kidding?" So maybe it's not a "Get here this very minute" thing, but it certainly isn't anything to play around with.

Alex, I asked Penni to keep my surgery private because I was petrified of any jinx. I tend to have Black Cloud Syndrome and just wanted the thing out of me. Like always, I did much worse than anyone else who had their band removed. However, Michelle said the worst part was getting the drain removed, and that didn't bug me a bit. Even my doc called me a weirdo. I was heavily medicated and can't remember much, but it is so good to be home. I guess this is Mother Nature's way of keeping me in the house on the biggest TWO parties of the year. New Year's Eve in Vegas is the best party on Earth. Plus we spend every New Year's Day at our best friends' house, who purchase $1000 worth of Alaskan King Crab Legs, only my all-time favorite. And they insist on fixing up a bedroom so I can join them in a lovely cup of crab Water. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Chris is all dressed waiting for CJ to pick him up because it's tradition for the men to make a huge production over picking out perfect crab. I think it makes them feel manly. SO GOOD TO BE HOME & BANDLESS!

We got a couple Harleys in the garage

HI BETTY! It feels so good seeing friends! Being in the hospital sucks, blah! The very mean nurses took my blankies away (out of love) because I was fevered and they wanted me to shiver the fever off. I'm forcing myself to stay in my office cause it's freezing in here and I want the fever gone already. Boy, it sure is nice being home seeing my friends on line

Sorry, but I have to disagree that port complications "may" lead to erosion. I have a feeling they most definitely DO lead to eroson. I don't agree with port removals or revisions after what I've been through. If the port goes bad, take the whole band out and wait 6 months to start over. Just my opinion, but I've seen and heard about way too many erosions after port complications. Way too many. Then again, I'm a grouchy bear right now because I have a fever from my band removal surgery, so maybe I'm just being a bitch.

And NO, I will not ever consider another weight loss surgery. It wasn't meant to be (for me.)

Dr. Fischer told me he won't see me due to insurance reasons, but I've heard other people (including 2 surgeons) say that Fischer is just being a baby since Lopez is stealing all the Vegas clients. Fisher wouldn't even take my calls even though Lopez gave me a written referral for Fisher to do my aftercare. Wouldn't even take my calls!

Diagnosis: Erosion with bonus stomach inflammation and esophogeal erosions. Symptoms: Yes, it just feels different, squishy, gurgly, odd, off. I sure hope the truth doesn't scare Johnny.

The number one Vegas attraction is ME But I'm rushing out the door & will have to write more later. Kids love Circus Circus because there's a carnival midway & free circus acts in the casino, but you gotta keep your eyes on them cause the place is packed. One very important thing is that there's no casino that's "kid safe." Parents used to drop their kids at the arcade, but a few years back a little girl was taken by a criminal who sent her to the angels. Vegas used to be an adult playground, but now it's totally kid friendly! Every casino has something for kids. However, yours is pretty young for most of the roller coasters and rides. There's the whole Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, the Nascar playground at the Sahara, Circus Circus (see above.) New York, New York has a great arcade & roller coaster. There's the awesome aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the list goes on and on. In my opinion, if your child were a little older, it might be okay to bring him. If you do bring him, there's plenty to see, but you really gotta keep an eye on him. I'll tell Penni to respond to this thread for me since I'm leaving for a few days on a road trip. Or, call my cell later today. I'll PM you.

The number one Vegas attraction is ME But I'm rushing out the door & will have to write more later. Kids love Circus Circus because there's a carnival midway & free circus acts in the casino, but you gotta keep your eyes on them cause the place is packed. One very important thing is that there's no casino that's "kid safe." Parents used to drop their kids at the arcade, but a few years back a little girl was taken by a criminal who sent her to the angels. Vegas used to be an adult playground, but now it's totally kid friendly! Every casino has something for kids. However, yours is pretty young for most of the roller coasters and rides. There's the whole Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, the Nascar playground at the Sahara, Circus Circus (see above.) New York, New York has a great arcade & roller coaster. There's the awesome aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the list goes on and on. In my opinion, if your child were a little older, it might be okay to bring him. If you do bring him, there's plenty to see, but you really gotta keep an eye on him. I'll tell Penni to respond to this thread for me since I'm leaving for a few days on a road trip. Or, call my cell later today. I'll PM you.

Call doc. Go see doc. Call doc. Go see doc! Remember, you've got stitches in you giblets. Maybe you pulled one? And port infections can lead to erosion, and even though you probably don't have an infection, your body is talking to you. It's telling you to advise doc that something isn't right.