2-15-11 - Two Days and Counting

Feb 15, 2011

It is Tuesday, February 15, 2011.  My surgery will take place on Thursday the 17th.  Today will be my last day of work - my doctor has excused me until March 14, 2011, so I will be out just a little under a month.  Although I enjoy my job, it has been a long time since I have had this much time off at once.  Other than the pain of surgery, I am really looking forward to getting away from the stress and pressures of the job for a while.  I work as a video editor for the County of San Bernardino, and like I said I enjoy my job, but our department is closely associated with the higher workings of politics in the county and that, at times, can be rather stressful.   

Tomorrow will be my cleansing day - fun!! - so today is my last day of solid foods for a while.  I am feeling a little nervous, but not a lot nervous as I would have expected.  I'm looking forward to getting to the weekend, as I know the worst of the pain and discomfort will be starting to subside by then.  I will post with my surgery experience after I return from my stay in the hospital. 

Doctor Fedorka indicated that I would be his first (and only) surgery for the day, so I should be able to get started early.  I will not know, however, until the hospital calls on Wednesday night.  I'm hoping it's early - Dr. Fedorka said I would probably need to arrive by 5:30 am, which is good for me.  Less time to worry, and less time to have to go without food or drink.  Do you think brushing my teeth counts as drinking?  I'm pretty sure I'll want to clean up before heading out the door.

It has been nearly a year since I started this journey.  It feels a bit surreal to actually be at the precipice of the culmination of the journey.  It has been a positive and productive process though.  I have enjoyed my Options classes.  They really helped me to get started on loosing a good amount of weight prior to my surgery.  I have already lost 57 pounds since starting my Options classes.  I feel really great about that, and have questioned myself if I really want to proceed with the surgery.  My hesitation is short-lived, however, when I think about all the other attempts I have made at weight loss - I have lost about the same amount in the past, but tend to level out at this weight and cannot seem to move the scales any lower.  I still have about 105 lbs. to still loose, and I don't think I can do that without surgical intervention.

I am nervous about the pain of the surgery.  I had my appendix removed about three years ago and it was very painful.  The difference, however, was that the appendix was very infected - gangrene and perforated - if I had waited much longer to get to the hospital I would have possibly died.  In addition, I had a large umbilical hernia which the surgeon repaired while he was poking around inside of me.  I ran a high fever from the infection and was in the hospital for about a week.  I was very sick and weak going in to that surgery and I feel that had something to do with my slow recovery.  This time, however, I am physically stronger and have been actively preparing for the surgery.  I ride my stationary bike religiously every day for a half hour.  I think this has made me stronger and less likely to have an embolism.  And, like I said, I have lost 57 lbs., which the doctor and the Options classes said will make a big difference in my recovery.  Realistically, I really have no idea how difficult the recovery will be, but I am certainly hoping it will not be quite as bad as my last experience with surgery.

Well, that seems to be enough rambling for the time being.  I will probably post again tomorrow night - getting the words out seems to be good therapy for me.  I appreciate this site and have learned a great deal about the procedure.  

0 Comments