Pre and Post surgery pictures

Here are a few pictures; Keep in mind it was insanely early when I took these. :)
I know I look so happy but it was 5:50am and I was about to have surgery! :(





My little man came to visit me. It was nice having him come see me. :)
I was very tired. I had a morphine pump that I was pushing about every 6 minutes.
He was so scared when he first arrived that it took about 30 minutes before he would climb in my lap.
That's me and my best friend for the first 24hours. The morphine button not the computer. :)
I will work on posting some updated photos soon. I feel the difference but I think it might be to subtle to see in photos just yet.
:) 26lbs down!

Funny Stories

Ok so I shared these stories with my mom and even though they are pretty embarrassing I thought they were to funny to pass on telling.

Like I said in the update my stomach and intestine were filled with gas in order to check for leaks. Also like I said the only way to get it out is well passing it.
The other night we were laying on the couch and Nick was rubbing my back as that is where the gas sits and dear lord it hurts. So he was rubbing my back to help me feel better. All of a sudden I felt my stomach and everything moving. I told Nick "move move!" well he didn't. Welcome to marriage; Where you can pass gas on your mans lap and he doesn't care. :)
We went to the grocery store too. It's good for me to walk around as I heal. I was so worried the entire time that something would slip. :)

Well I know it's a bit candid but I thought it was funny. It's been a week and I am down 16lbs.
Talk to you later
W

Week 1

As I said in my morphine state the surgery went well. It was all very routine and I woke up in recovery feeling as though my guts had been kicked in by a mule. I had a drain tube coming out of the left side of my stomach just below my breast. The tube was connected to a bulb that collects all the leakage from the surgery area. Gross I know. It really sucked having it; made it very difficult to get comfortable. Along with the drain I had a catheter; ugg! Anyone who has ever had one can tell you how much they suck. So needless to say the first 24 hours after the surgery were uncomfortable; in fact they had to increase my morphine pump because it was not controlling the pain. I had tubes everywhere and I wasn't allowed to drink anything until after the swallow test the next day.
Tuesday- I woke up early as a crowd of Doctors came into my room of course this was after nurses came in all night long checking vitals, taking blood, giving me blood thinners, and generally being annoying while I tried desperately to sleep. They checked my incisions and asked how I was feeling. Eventually I dragged Nick out of bed and sent him on some errands. Just in time for the PA to come in and remove my catheter- WOO HOO! I then got to shower off the lower half of my body. As I still had IV's and the drain I couldn't wash my hair or up body.
I was supposed to be taken for my swallow test early but that didn't happen, Nick arrived around 11am and sometime after that they took me for the swallow test. Now this sucked royally! I had to swallow this dye mixture and then barium. Both were disgusting. The dye more so than the barium. But to make maters worse I had to go to the bathroom for the first time since they pulled the catheter. I had to hold it though because they were measuring my output. They finished the test; all looked good; then they had to call transport. Transport takes a while and when she finally arrived, I informed her that I needed to go and bad. Thankfully she kicked into high gear and got me to my room. Now that I got the all clear from the test I was able to have 1ounce of water every hour. That's right folks an entire shot glass! Now I had planned on going home that day but I was still in pain, tired, and hadn't even graduated to ensure yet. So I agreed with the Doctor to stay another night. Nick however had to go get the baby and run errands. While he was gone they came and pulled the drain, removed the iv tubes but left the iv in just in case and I was able to shower!!! Man that felt wonderful!
Around 5pm Nick came back with Noah. It took about 30 minutes before Noah felt comfortable laying in bed with me. I am sure it was an odd sight seeing mommy laying in a strange room looking pitiful with tubes taped to her arms. But eventually he curled up with my in bed. He even turned around and wanted me to cuddle him to sleep. Eventually Nick and Noah had to head home. They needed to eat and Noah needed to go to bed. I went for a walk in the hall before my bedtime.
That night was rough! I ended up with a low grade fever and I was in a lot of pain. It felt like it went on forever. Around 4am I decided to get out of bed and I fell asleep in the chair; sadly it was more comfortable. I woke again around 6am and just got up. I put some normal clothes on and walked the halls. I saw the gaggle of doctors, nurses and my surgeon. Around 10 am I got to "eat" for the first time in 3days. I got 2 ounces of ensure. MMMM... ;) Once that went down smoothly I was able to go home. So I gave it two hours and right around noon I was checking out.
It is great to be home. I am sore and tired still but it's a lot more comfortable. I keep getting low grade fevers but I am not worried. It's pretty normal after a surgery to have low grade; as long as they don't get to high I am not going to worry about infection. The weight is just falling off. I mean how can it not? I am allowed to "eat" 2 ounces of Boost, slim fast, ensure, or carnation instant breakfast 3 times a day. Half the time I can't finish what I am alloted. I have already dropped 7lbs in 4 days. Once I get back to the gym it will start coming off real fast! I am excited but scared. I know what happens to a persons body when they loose weight quickly and saggy skin sometimes seems worse than fat. I know the insurance will cover abdomanol reconstructive surgery; but that is a way scarier surgery than the bypass.
I will start posting some pictures as soon as I find the cable for my camera.

Oh- Huge thank you goes out to my new friend Jessika who kept Noah for us while I was having surgery and overnight so Nick could stay with me.
I know Sara wishes she were here and that means a lot! She is here in her own way. :) I have been getting a lot of support. I am glad people don't look down on me; thinking this is the easy way out. I promise, nothing about what I am going through is easy and I am glad because I think people know that. I have delt with my weight my entire life and it feels good to know that my hormones and genetics won't beat this surgery. It feels good to know that I can look forward to being a size I haven't been since Jr. High. It feels AMAZING to know that I am making my life longer and better. It feels great to know that Noah won't remember a fat mommy. He will remember a healthy mommy. :)
Well I better go. I need to rest while Noah is resting. He takes a lot out of me right now. It's hard to keep up when I am not allowed to lift anything heavier than 10lbs.

I'll update next week!

Checking in

So this will be short and sweet as I am on morphine and can hardly keep my eyes open.
The surgery went well. No curve balls or craziness. I am very sore. I will not be allowed to drink anything until tomorrow; which sucks. In the morning they should take the drain out after I have a test making sure there are no leaks in the new stomach.
I guess I better go, I am falling asleep as I type.
I will check in later.
W

Happy Mothers Day and Stuff

Today is Mothers Day and I have to say it's been a really nice day. Some friends of ours were hosting a brunch at their home so we went to that. It's always a lot of fun hanging out with other Moms and having Dads serve you breakfast foods. The kids had a blast running around outside in this BEAUTIFUL weather we are having today.
I hope all the Moms out there are having a great Mothers Day!

Now for the "stuff"- My surgery is tomorrow. God that freaks me out. I have been trying not to think about it, but everyone I see keeps telling me good luck tomorrow and then I can't help but think about it.
On a different note I got my hair cut. I lopped off about 6+ inches. It was getting so long and nasty. It looks really cute now. Don't think it's really short, it still sits at my shoulders. I just had a lot of hair.

Well I better go. I don't want to waist this beautiful day typing.

W

The time has almost arrived

It's set. I got the all clear from my Internist on Monday and saw the surgeon on Thursday. He went over the procedure, we discussed my new diet,and the dos and don'ts.
I got the call today that I have to be at the hospital at 6:30am on Monday.

I am scared. I have had surgery before. I was scared then too, but I didn't have a child or husband to think about then. My c-section I didn't have time to think about so I was just excited to see Noah. Now I worry what will happen if something goes wrong. I am sure it will all be fine. Dr. Bell has OUTSTANDING credentials and ranks very high among Gastric Surgeons. I just worry. I'm a Mom I guess that comes with the job.

Part of me wishes we were at home. Nick would have such a stronger support system if we were. But I wouldn't be having this surgery if we were still in Austin. Insurance didn't cover it there, thank goodness for the semi-socialized medicine of Yale(I will talk more about our awesome health benefits later). You know I guess I wish I had the stronger support system too. I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10lbs for two weeks. How does someone with a two year old do that? I can't tell you how many times a day I pick Noah up. In fact I just came back from picking him up and rocking him back to sleep. He is active and wants his Mommy to play and isn't going to understand when I have to tell him no.
Sadly though most of my friends don't even know my surgery is coming up. 1800 miles really has a way of slowing communication. Anyway...

I plan on keeping this updated as I loose weight. I need to post pictures too, so I can document the loss. I don't think I will post what my weight is now, but I'll post lbs lost. The Dr. seems to think I can loose as much as 50lbs in the first 2 months if I follow the plan right.
Well here's hoping all goes well.
I love you all!

Let the count down begin

In just one week I will be having Gastric Bypass Surgery. I got the all clear today from my Internist. My blood sugar was a little elevated but they did not have me fast so it was likely high due to the fruit loops I had for breakfast. No Diabetes. So that's good news. I go see Dr. Bell, my surgeon, on Thursday. He is supposed to go over the details of my surgery and answering any of my questions. Most of my concerns fall into the after the surgery category. I am most curious about how quickly the weight will come off, if I do the plan properly. I have to purchase a bridesmaids dress soon and am going to have to guess the size. Once I finish up with Dr. Bell I go have some blood drawn and meet with the anesthesiologist. This is a first for me. I have never met the anesthesiologist prior to a surgery. Honestly it makes me feel better to meet them. The anesthesia is the most dangerous part of the surgery. I mean Dr. Bell is going in Laparoscopically and the risks are generally the same as having your gallbladder removed. Anesthesia done wrong or if you have an allergy to can be fatal. So it's a nice feeling knowing they are checking my blood and talking with me first.
Due to all the Swine Flu craziness, Noah is going to stay with one of our friends while I have the surgery. I am kind of bummed he won't be there when I go in and come out, but it's better for his safety. But Nick will be there :)

Oh also today we went in for Noah's check up. He was a little below the 5oth % for weight, he was in the 75th % for his height and he was in the 90th % for his head. :) My little brainiac. He has a big head like his daddy. He had three shots and oh my god did I feel awful. Getting shots actually gets worse with age. He has started to pull away more and he screams and gets all sweaty. I was prepared though I not only brough his nuk (pacifier) but I brought a lolli pop. Why Doctors stopped giving those I will never know. It worked like a charm. A few minutes cuddeling and a lolli; you would never have known he was just screaming his head off.
Well I better run. I have to figure out what to make for dinner.