Picture time!

23 pounds down!

It's been a little while....

It's been a while since I've posted. My bad.

First of all, tomorrow will be officially two weeks since surgery. Doing great. I start on soft foods tomorrow. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. I'll actually have energy! No more beef broth! Tomorrow morning I'm having scrambled eggs. Yea....it really is that good.

The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I was really.....sad sometimes. I would watch all those food shows and I would think, "Why the hell did I do this?" I would be in pain and I would regret everything. Today was the first day I actually felt....myself. I felt good today.

So far, I've lost 21 pounds. I can tell. My clothes are getting loose. The most telling thing is my face.

I'm excited for things to come.

Oh! And tomorrow I'll start posting pics from surgery day!

Got back from Muskogee Community Hospital around 2 p.m. Everything went very well. Dr. G said he wishes more of his patients were like me. I'm still quite sore...my abdominal area feels like I've done way too many crunches. However, I can get in and out of bed on my own now as well as go to the bathroom. Things are looking up!

Almost there.....

Wednesday was my pre-op with the hospital. I had blood drawn (I'm O positive!), I had yet another EKG, and a chest x-ray. Everything went swimmingly. Yesterday was my appointment with the gastroentrologist. They put me out so they could stick a camera down my throat to look at my tummy. Afterwards, to say the least, I was a little loopy. I rode the elevator down like a rollercoaster. Also, I slept about 14 hours yesterday. Dad drove me home. Then Mom drove me to Muskogee to meet with the pulmonologist. Today I met with Dr. G for my pre-op appoinment. It's always great to talk to him.

So after twelve doctors appointment, multiple needles and EKGs, and making people laugh on an elevator, it's only five days til surgery day. Tomorrow I start my clear liquid diet and on Wednesday around 6 a.m., I'll be in Muskogee Community Hospital, ready to go.

I've never been more ready for anything in my life.

UPDATE

My wrist is now a dark brown/purple and my whole arm hurts. This week is going to be a busy one. Plus I have to start my liquid diet on Saturday. The fam is taking me to Olive Garden. So excited!

Why is my wrist blue?

So today was by far the busiest day of my journey so far. First I had to get up around 6:30 this morning to drive to Muskogee again for my stress test with the cardiologist. All I did was walk on a treadmill for about ten minutes. They checked my blood pressure about every two minutes and I reached the heart rate I was expected to. Everything went well. The nurse told me I was one of the best patients they had seen in a long time; that made me feel great. Then I drove to Tulsa to see the pulmonologist. I had a bunch of extra time so I went home to see my kitties and take a short nap. I went over to Hillcrest and did a bunch of weird breathing test in the pulmonary lab. Then they took me downstairs to get my '"arterial blood gases" tested. Apparently that means they draw blood from an artery to test the oxygen levels. I assumed that I was just going to get blood drawn like at Dr. Wooster's (my family doc) so I wasn't worried. Then the nurse pulled out a huge needle and told me that it was really going to hurt. Then she pushed the needle into an artery on my wrist. It hurt sooooooo bad! I had to grit my teeth and clench my fists to keep from crying.....and I never cry at the doctor's (at least not since I was a kid)! Now my wrist is really sore and a sort of bluish purple color and it's getting worse. But it's all gonna be worth it!

The heart is an amazing thing.

Had my appointment with the cardiologist today. Went very well. Had an ultrasound of my heart....it sounds so WEIRD! Also had an EKG. Met with the doc. He said everything looked good and I need to schedule a stress test. So on Thursday morning, I'll have to walk on a treadmill for a while to see how my heart reacts. Getting closer and closer!

Still have to see the pulmonologist, and the gastro guy, then it's a pre-op at the hospital, and a pre-op with Dr. G. Then on the 26th, it's TIME!