Sept. Surgery @ Blossom

[CapeFearNC 6]

I have my official surgery date, all is now a go to travel from Coastal NC to Las Vegas!
Has anyone else made the cross country trip as part of Blossoms Fast track program? How did your trip go, procedure, and return flight/trip home? Any suggestions, ideas, after thoughts that would be worth sharing to help those of us (and loved ones) making this life changing cross country trip?
Any one else scheduled for surgery at Blossom during week of Sept. 7th? would love to connect with others that are in same stage of the journey and process to a "healthier me"

[Zoomzoom 45]

I only had an hour flight home. But they will give you compression stockings to wear and will tell you to get up and walk some during the flight. I asked them bc I was nervous about 1 hour- they said I didn't have to walk on that a short of a flight, but that they tell their patients with longer flights to walk. I would recommend that you try to get a bulkhead seat or emergency row - extra leg room which I found helpful.

Good luck, I loved my experience there!

Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

[CapeFearNC 6]

Thanks my husband and I booked on Delta in Comfort plus 1st row of seats for this section. My husband also requested wheelchair assistance for our return trip (just as a precaution) since we have to return through Atlanta a huge airport with a very small window to change planes as we were limited on our return flights. We’re also going to try & upgrade Only our return flight longer leg of the trip with either skymiles points/paying upgrade fee or getting there extra early and asking if anything available giving the circumstances. I’m not feeling nervous really more excited about heading to Vegas and having the procedure!
Thanks for your advice if you think of anything else let me know. Best of luck to you

[Zoomzoom 45]

They take SUCH good care of you while you are there. Sounds like you have the flight thing worked out! Good luck to you too!

[BSNJ 18]

On 7/4/2020 at 7:45 PM, CapeFearNC said:

I have my official surgery date, all is now a go to travel from Coastal NC to Las Vegas!
Has anyone else made the cross country trip as part of Blossoms Fast track program? How did your trip go, procedure, and return flight/trip home? Any suggestions, ideas, after thoughts that would be worth sharing to help those of us (and loved ones) making this life changing cross country trip?
Any one else scheduled for surgery at Blossom during week of Sept. 7th? would love to connect with others that are in same stage of the journey and process to a "healthier me"

I am going to Blossom mid August. Similar to you, I am traveling cross country from NJ. My biggest concern is the 5 hr flight and then a 2 hr car ride home. I have 6 weeks until I leave. I will let you know how things go.

[CapeFearNC 6]

keep us posted i would love to hear about your time at Blossom! how you do on the two week preop meals plan (i refuse to use the word diet) going & meeting everyone, pretesting, surgery day, Your return flight and traveling home. Of course when you feel up to updating!

We have about the same travel times on the way back, we leave Vegas at 9:30am arrive back to NC at 7:15pm then also have little over 2 hour ride home. I am buying a special seat belt pillow to use on the plane along in the car then also buying the after surgery pal for gastric bypass, its technically a "plush toy" but would be the perfect size to travel with on the way home. keep in touch hope your procedure goes well, look forward to hearing all about it!

[BSNJ 18]

I will update all once I get home. I am grateful for all who post helpful ideas.

[anewme84 1]

I am traveling to Vegas next week, I have to do the seven day stay bc my surgery is scheduled for 7/28, a Tuesday, I am flying across country as well. I have been so nervous about the journey but can update you with my experience after if you’d like. So far they’ve been great. The pre op “meal plan” hasn’t been bad- I just remember every time I feel hungry or irritable it’s for me and for my kids!

[BSNJ 18]

Thanks Your personal take on the process will be helpful. Others have said to pack Protein Shakes and Protein Water. The hotel is not near any shopping area you can walk to. Also, who wants to walk in the Vegas heat. I wasn't going to check my bag for the flight. Once I heard about taking an Uber to Target or Walmart for supplies, I figured it is easier to just pack them and check my bag. My fear would be that the stores may not have the flavors I like. There is enough to worry about for this trip. I also decided not to take a friend with me. With Covid, they are not allowed at Blossom or the surgery ctr. They would be stuck in the hotel room the entire time. That is also a lot time to ask someone to take off of work. Blossom will provide a companion for me for the night of the surgery. They will make sure I walk during the night. Two things I constantly hear - walk as much as possible to remove the gas and sip, sip, sip so you stay hydrated. I am sure the rest of the time I will want to sleep. I will be thinking of you next week and hope all goes well for you.

[Zoomzoom 45]

The hotels are very near both a Walmart and Target. Easy, quick Uber trip if you need anything. I agree, way too hot for walking! The companion care is great! I had to hire one too bc I went at Christmas time and no one could come. My gal was so sweet and made sure I walked. Plus, I liked that she worked for Blossom and was experienced in taking care of post op bariatric patients. Good luck!

Edited July 17, 2020 by Zoomzoom
typo

[shrinkingviolette 2]

Just got home from my trip/surgery @ Blossom. Short flight for me. On the way home, I recommend taking your anti nausea pill 1 hour before you board and a pain pill 30 minutes before you board. That worked perfectly for me, I was quite comfortable on the way home.

There is a Target a short Uber ride from the hotel. They have tons of varieties and flavors of Protein Drinks. Also a whole aisle of travel toiletries if you’d rather not pack those.

If you feel a little rough directly after surgery when you get back to your hotel room, don’t despair...5-6 hours after your surgery a nurse comes to the hotel to give you an IV of fluids, anti nausea medication, and pain medication. It works wonders on your comfort level within an hour.

Nice hotel with great staff but they only clean the room every 4 days....the trash cans are small and so people pile trash in the hall. Really a shame for such a nice place, but there’s no where to dump it yourself. Just request that they clean your room daily, and they will.

[BSNJ 18]

Thank you so much for writing about your experience with Blossom. I have 4 weeks to go for my surgery. I am nervous and excited.

[CapeFearNC 6]

I would absolutely love to hear from everyone how their trip and surgery goes even if you just want to post how your doing feeling during your stay I welcome everyone’s feelings
Best wishes & speedy recovery

[Luv2cruz 20]

Ah! I just found this message board!

Hey fellow North Carolinaian! I made the journey from North Carolina to Blossom back in May. We flew out on a Saturday and rented an SUV. We drove up to Utah and visited some national parks for a few days and then back down to Nevada. I had my first day with appointments at Blossom on that Tuesday, EGD on Wednesday, surgery on Thursday, IV fluids on Friday morning. We were on a plane Saturday morning coming home.

We rented an SUV, mostly because we do not like to be tied down to one place, a.k.a. the hotel. We like to be able to go anywhere we want to and I did not want my husband being stuck in the hotel the entire time while I was at Blossom. We made several trips to Walmart, including my wonderful hubby going the day of surgery to get me some sugarfree Popsicles.

Be sure to take walking shoes and clothes because you will be walking on a treadmill.

They will give you all of the medications that you will need on your first day visit. They will tell you exactly when you will need to take them. To be completely honest, the only day I had any type of pain was the day of surgery. I took the pain pills as prescribed. On Friday, we were out shopping at the Tanger outlets.

The nurse will go over a lot of things with you on the day of surgery. The main thing will be having your husband “pound” on your back to help with the gas. My husband did it to me about every 15 minutes. The other main thing is you will have to get up and walk every 2 hours for 15 minutes. For me, I got over that pretty quickly and it had really subsided by Friday.

They will provide you electric compression socks for the flight home. You will not need to get up and walk on the plane nor did they advise me to. Just be sure to pack those in your carry-on. I put them on as soon as I got on the plane and let those go until we landed. I had no pain on that Saturday on our way home. I did not feel like I needed anything extra to sit on.

Make sure you buy some Water or something to drink inside the airport and take on the plane. I am not sure if they are still not providing beverage service or not, but many people were getting on our planes not knowing that they were not providing beverage service.

I really liked everyone that I dealt with Blossom. I think Alex is a fantastic nutritionist and he will go over lots of things with you. Be sure to write down any questions you may have for him. You will have an opportunity to talk to him the first day you are there. They also do an outstanding job of following up with you after the surgery. They gave you ample opportunities to discuss any concerns you have with them.

One week into my pre-op diet, I completely lost my appetite. It has only gotten worse since the surgery. Nothing smells good, nothing tastes good, nothing looks good. I even flipped to drinking plain water, because the flavored water just isn’t cutting it for me anymore. I can tell my taste buds have definitely changed along with losing the hunger hormone.

On the flipside, I am down 39 pounds since the start of my pre-op diet.

[BSNJ 18]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Tomorrow is 4 weeks from when I leave NJ to Vegas. Glad to hear you don't have to walk during the flight home. My flight home leaves at 11 pm. Only non stop I could get. I didn't want to bother people walking up and down the aisle during the flight. I will remember to buy Water before I get on the plane.