Night and Day

Last night was rough for me. I went to bed early with a slight fever, and for the life of me I could NOT get warm. For those of you who live on the east coast, feel free to laugh as I complain about a bone chilling 40 degree New Years Eve. At around 7:45 I tucked myself in with the electric blanket as best as I could pull it over me, and fell asleep. At around 9, I was shivering and my feet were like ice. Roger was kind enough to tuck the electric blankie around my feet and I fell asleep until around 11 when I got up, checked my online VSG boards as I tend to do, and took my Ativan.

I woke up for good around 5:20 this morning. Happy 2011! And happy it was! I woke up knowing it was almost light out but I relished the peaceful quiet of the early morning that I never enjoy by choice. I also could tell I was slightly dehydrated so in about 2.5 hours I managed to drink about 18 oz!!!! I was THRILLED (still am!). That is major progress.

To give you an example of what it is like to have a newly sleeved stomach, imagine this: You eat a HUGE meal. You're stuffed. And then someone tells you you need to drink as much soda water as you can get down so that you don't die of dehydration. So every little sip you take a burp comes out. Our you can hear or feel a gas bubble come up through your throat. You wonder... is it a burp? Or a barf? And then there are the 40 pain meds and other vitamins you need to get in also! So think about a time when you took a big bite of food and didn't chew it long enough before swallowing and it felt like it was stuck in the middle of your back for 10 minutes and you had to walk, and drink water, and wiggle just so you felt comfy again. Yup... this is now my life! BUT... I am happy to say... IT IS GETTING BETTER!!!!!

It is amazing the difference a day makes. Since this morning my fluids have been up, and I am working on my protein. We made many retail trips today to my joy (it counts as "walking" right?) and I ended up playing the little CVS game where I went in with a return for $27 and got 15 other things ( which I actually needed btw) plus had $4 left over!!!! Oh the little joys in life : P We also hit up Wal Mart and got some clearance Christmas stuff for very cheap, a new extra fancy scale (a purchase that I would have scoffed at before because once you get above 200 lbs, do you really need to weight? IMO, no!), and odds and ends. Last stop was Target and again I hit the jackpot. We are now the proud owners of a Dyson DC -17 All Floors Vaccuum!!!!!! Got it for $224 - 5%. It said regularly $449, and I did ask on FB and my girls assured me it was a good deal. As I have mentioned in the past I am not a vacuuming queen by any stretch but our vacuums right now SUCK, so at least I will know that when I do take the time to vacuum the floors, they will be clean!

So going back to the sleevey part of the day, I finally got sugar free popsicles which I was told I could have in the hospital. But you see, in the hospital, I had no desire to eat ANYTHING, so being told I could have a popsicle was like telling me I could have more water or juice. Nimodo (isn't that the Spanish slang for "whatever"?.... Iliana, help me BABY SHOWER! lol). But I had 2 this afternoon and they are like nectar from the heavens! They went down so smooth. And I am working on my protein broth and so far, so good. I even managed to get down a tums ok today! Things are looking up!!!

Energy wise I am doing much better today also. I wiggled the laundry into the basket in my room by kicking it where it needed to go (I can't bend all the way over) and I was able to transfer the stuff from the dryer to the basket, the washer to the dryer, and the dirty laundry in the room into the washer.... AND set a cycle to go!!! SUPER WOMAN!!! I was so proud. I also loaded the dishwasher which was a big accomplishment because as I said, I can't bend over that well. My favorite phrase while in Target today was "I just had surgery, can you please reach that..... for me". Thankfully everyone was nice.

This blog post is getting long but something interesting happened today with the dynamic of the family in a mealtime setting that really stood out to me. Amidst our travels, Roger and Aidan needed to eat a quick bite. In n Out is right next to Wal Mart. Obviously I can't have it yet, but it doesn't bother me to be there or anything. BUT I did notice how our ritual of us eating there as a family stayed the same, even without my #2. I filled our drinks (water for me and Aidan) and got the ketchup (just 1 instead of 3-4... what can I say... I love ketchup!) and napkins, and I just talked to them as I ate. It was kind of weird not eating with them, but it was a good "food for thought" situation.

Other than all of the above, the homefront couldn't be better. I feel extremely supported by all involved. Roger is being amazing (heck the guy even agreed to a Dyson), my aunt still has Benji and has made it clear that I can take as much time as I need to recover before he comes back to us full time (we do get an all day visit tomorrow with them AND Benji so I am excited) and my mom and dad really stepped up to the plate, way more than I expected when I told them I was having surgery. So, all's well that ends well and I can't wait for tomorrow to get even better. I have a new protein plan on tap that I want to try out!