I just discovered my cousin Lisa Young has her own blog!
http://lisa-youngc.blogspot.com/
It even looks like she updates quite often LOL.
Check her out! She's a poet.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Happy Last Few Hours of Easter Weekend!
I trust the Bunny found you all well?
Yup I'm mad, but not mad enough to stop blogging.
So here we are! On the playground! Me! Sliding down a slide! It was wonderful to play WITH my kids, instead of just watching from the sidelines like I have their whole lives. They thought it was hillarious. I must have gone down the slide 7-8 times with them.
And here, because we can, are two very funny poses by two very funny children:
I think Sage looks like a model here. He's got 3-D glasses with the lenses removed, and that far away look like all great models have.
Today was such great weather, we invited some friends over whose stuff we were storing (read: rotting) in our back yard, and we took several loads over to the dump. For $4 we got rid of A LOT of stuff, hers and ours. I also sold some of the kids' outgrown outside toys, so our yard is feeling a wee bit empty now. But that's okay, the kids have room to run!
After supper we went to Fielding Memorial park and fed some birds and played on the playground and went for a walk. I will now attempt to post pictures, and NOT get so mad I stop blogging for 3 months.
Yup I'm mad, but not mad enough to stop blogging.
So here we are! On the playground! Me! Sliding down a slide! It was wonderful to play WITH my kids, instead of just watching from the sidelines like I have their whole lives. They thought it was hillarious. I must have gone down the slide 7-8 times with them.
I held them up to the monkey bars and they got a feel what it was like to go from bar to bar. Pretty easy when Mommy's holding all your weight LOL. Don't worry, this didn't hurt my hernia.
Swinging was so. much. fun. I got that swinging stomach lurch feeling as I swung, but it didn't nauseate enough to stop LOL The kids laughed so hard at pushing me on the swing I thought their heads were going to pop off.
I haven't sat on a swing since I think grade 9. My butt was too big even then. It hurt. Today didn't hurt at all! I don't know if they make swings bigger now or what, or if my deflating bum just fits .. but either way WHEEEE!
Just after we took this next photo (there was a similar one taken last summer by my dad when we came to this same park in July or maybe August) I had a very interesting/odd geographical realization. We went to the little landing that we've been to a couple times in the past, which has a picnic table and a little water fall and the ducks and other birds gather for the bread crumbs. It had always in my mind been a Walk from the car. Not too far, but far enough. Just after Jake took this picture, we were all walking down the lane towards the landing, and I broke out into a jog with the kids. For about 10 seconds. And then we were there. Are we here? I asked. It seemed much shorter. Too short to be the same place. Nope. Yup. We were there. Major realization. As a slow moving invalid of COURSE it would seem much longer of a walk. I'm almost embarrassed at how short of a walk it really is. But I know no-one was judging me before, and most probably he (my dad and/or Jake) CHOSE that spot BECAUSE it was so close and wouldn't wear the invalid-me out to get to it. But it was a jolt to my brain's map of the world to suddenly cinch up the distance along that path.
And here, because we can, are two very funny poses by two very funny children:
I think Sage looks like a model here. He's got 3-D glasses with the lenses removed, and that far away look like all great models have.
Hayden.. well. He's a ham. LOL
I found the picture. From July 2010. crazy.
Friday, April 22, 2011
I'm Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
A song by Ke$ha. The tears in my eyes part is what brought it to mind.
January? The last post I posted was in January? That's not what's upsetting me, but it's adding guilt. I shrug you off, Guilt! GO AWAY.
You. Readers. You can surely stay, if you're still out there.
So to quickly catch you up on the last *gulp*4 months around here:
Jake quit smoking cold turkey and today marks a completely smokeless three weeks. He's doing awesome and reports his sense of smell is annoyingly acute now.
Hayden has lost five teeth.
Sage is developing rapidly into a basketball nut.
The boys and I joined the YMCA and the kids have taken swimming lessons and will soon also start their gymnastics and dance classes as well. Sage is in intro to dance and Hayden is in Contemporary/Jazz. I didn't feel that he should have had the social stigma held against him joining the ballet class, and I was thoroughly prepared to put both of them in ballet, but when Zumba ends Saturday morning, the little ballerinas are all lined up outside to use the same room and they're so pink and flowery and tutu-y that I crumbled and just couldn't sign the boys up for that much floof-foo.
I love to work out. Loving hour-long Zumba classes as well as the treadmill where I, Jennifer Huss, run. That's right, run. I started just walking, but about 2 weeks ago I took some expert runner friend's advice and mixed 1 minute of running in between 4 minutes of walking. I've been increasing the ratio and taking my time warming up, and now I usually start with 6 minutes of walking, 4 minutes running, then another 6:4, usually continuing that until about 40 minutes when I finish running and walk to cool down for 5-10 mins. A couple days ago I was in a total run-zone and didn't stop after the 4 minutes. I continued for 8 minutes and was comfortable, relaxed in my upper body, breathing hard but not belabouredly, no pain, brain numbed by the excellent music in my ears.. I felt like I could go and go and go. It was awesome! Unfortunatly the treadmill's computer suffered a system error which brought me to a screeching halt. By the time I got the attendant to come over to look, decide it needed service, and went on a different machine, my zen zone-out was gone and I just couldn't get it back. It's so true that running is mental. Now that I know it's out there, I'm gonna go get that zen zone-out again.
Weight-loss wise I'd plateaued (with a slight upward slant) ever since Christmas, but I've reversed it and am at my new all-time-low since 1996. I'm 295lbs, lost 146 total since Jan 2010. Health-wise my wound is frustratingly STILL AROUND and is preventing me from being scheduled for my hernia repair. I discovered it around Christmas (and was probably one of the factors contributing to the halt in weight-loss as I believed I couldn't start excercise) and in early January got it diagnosed by my family doctor. He sent me to a Sudbury surgeon whom I saw at the end of February. Dr Snider said he wouldn't do the repair until my wound was completely and well healed, as even in a perfect situation, hernias have about 20% chance of infection/complication/crapola because of the foreign mesh they have to stitch into you. With an existing wound in the same area, that would increase to a stupidly high percentage, which he wouldn't risk. The hernia is in the abdominal area between my ribs and belly button, and sticks out like 1/2 a volleyball. It's gross. And it's growing. It used to look like an elbow sticking out. Now it looks, like I said, like a volleyball. I wear a tight elastic binder every day all day to support it. It mostly doesn't hurt, except yesterday I sneezed and didn't hold it with my hands and that was painful. Also painful is when the cat jumps on me, or a kid elbow uses it as leverage to get off my lap. Whenever this stupid wound heals I can book my surgery and begin another HOPEFULLY MUCH SHORTER recovery. Whatever happens, the surgery will definitely be AFTER ->
-> We are renting a cottage at the end of June on Lake Mindemoya on Manitoulin island, and we can't wait! There's no way I'm NOT going in the water again this year, so my hernia repair will be AFTER this week-long paradise vacation. My sister and family are sharing the 4 bedroom cottage (camp) with us, and my dad too. The yard is huge, the lot is private, the beach is rocky but the water is sandy sandy sandy awesomesauce.
And on that super-high note, I will end this here. But I promise, it won't be 4 months before I post again.
Love
Jennifer
January? The last post I posted was in January? That's not what's upsetting me, but it's adding guilt. I shrug you off, Guilt! GO AWAY.
You. Readers. You can surely stay, if you're still out there.
So to quickly catch you up on the last *gulp*4 months around here:
Jake quit smoking cold turkey and today marks a completely smokeless three weeks. He's doing awesome and reports his sense of smell is annoyingly acute now.
Hayden has lost five teeth.
Sage is developing rapidly into a basketball nut.
The boys and I joined the YMCA and the kids have taken swimming lessons and will soon also start their gymnastics and dance classes as well. Sage is in intro to dance and Hayden is in Contemporary/Jazz. I didn't feel that he should have had the social stigma held against him joining the ballet class, and I was thoroughly prepared to put both of them in ballet, but when Zumba ends Saturday morning, the little ballerinas are all lined up outside to use the same room and they're so pink and flowery and tutu-y that I crumbled and just couldn't sign the boys up for that much floof-foo.
I love to work out. Loving hour-long Zumba classes as well as the treadmill where I, Jennifer Huss, run. That's right, run. I started just walking, but about 2 weeks ago I took some expert runner friend's advice and mixed 1 minute of running in between 4 minutes of walking. I've been increasing the ratio and taking my time warming up, and now I usually start with 6 minutes of walking, 4 minutes running, then another 6:4, usually continuing that until about 40 minutes when I finish running and walk to cool down for 5-10 mins. A couple days ago I was in a total run-zone and didn't stop after the 4 minutes. I continued for 8 minutes and was comfortable, relaxed in my upper body, breathing hard but not belabouredly, no pain, brain numbed by the excellent music in my ears.. I felt like I could go and go and go. It was awesome! Unfortunatly the treadmill's computer suffered a system error which brought me to a screeching halt. By the time I got the attendant to come over to look, decide it needed service, and went on a different machine, my zen zone-out was gone and I just couldn't get it back. It's so true that running is mental. Now that I know it's out there, I'm gonna go get that zen zone-out again.
Weight-loss wise I'd plateaued (with a slight upward slant) ever since Christmas, but I've reversed it and am at my new all-time-low since 1996. I'm 295lbs, lost 146 total since Jan 2010. Health-wise my wound is frustratingly STILL AROUND and is preventing me from being scheduled for my hernia repair. I discovered it around Christmas (and was probably one of the factors contributing to the halt in weight-loss as I believed I couldn't start excercise) and in early January got it diagnosed by my family doctor. He sent me to a Sudbury surgeon whom I saw at the end of February. Dr Snider said he wouldn't do the repair until my wound was completely and well healed, as even in a perfect situation, hernias have about 20% chance of infection/complication/crapola because of the foreign mesh they have to stitch into you. With an existing wound in the same area, that would increase to a stupidly high percentage, which he wouldn't risk. The hernia is in the abdominal area between my ribs and belly button, and sticks out like 1/2 a volleyball. It's gross. And it's growing. It used to look like an elbow sticking out. Now it looks, like I said, like a volleyball. I wear a tight elastic binder every day all day to support it. It mostly doesn't hurt, except yesterday I sneezed and didn't hold it with my hands and that was painful. Also painful is when the cat jumps on me, or a kid elbow uses it as leverage to get off my lap. Whenever this stupid wound heals I can book my surgery and begin another HOPEFULLY MUCH SHORTER recovery. Whatever happens, the surgery will definitely be AFTER ->
-> We are renting a cottage at the end of June on Lake Mindemoya on Manitoulin island, and we can't wait! There's no way I'm NOT going in the water again this year, so my hernia repair will be AFTER this week-long paradise vacation. My sister and family are sharing the 4 bedroom cottage (camp) with us, and my dad too. The yard is huge, the lot is private, the beach is rocky but the water is sandy sandy sandy awesomesauce.
And on that super-high note, I will end this here. But I promise, it won't be 4 months before I post again.
Love
Jennifer
Monday, January 03, 2011
Squirrel!
Happy New Year!
Today Tilly barked at the front door. I was getting ready to go out, so wondered if someone were here. The kids wondered too, but nope. No-one was knocking. Then Jake said "Jennifer! Come quick! Numbnuts is trapped between the screen and the door!" Numbnuts is his name for the squirrel who likes to hang around on our wall and eat our birdseed and chatter at Kitty and Tilly from a safe distance. And there he was, trapped between the screen door and the inside door. How would that happen? you might be asking. Well, our screen door latch is broken. We usually hook the little hook we attached to prevent the door from banging in the wind, but Jake had recently let Tilly out and hadn't re-hooked the hook. The door had banged open, and then banged shut with Numbnuts on the inside. At first we thought it was cute and I tried to take a picture, but then we realized we couldn't easily resolve the situation. I had to go meet a friend, but we couldn't open the inside door and risk Numbnuts running into our house. The wind had died down and the door seemed too heavy for Numbnuts to push himself free. I suggested to Jake he go out the back door and go around, but the snow back there had drifted deeply against that door and since we never use that entrance, we hadn't bothered to shovel it free. Yes I know it's a second escape in case of fire. We'll get to it. So what we decided to do (since I was then late to visit my friend) would be to guard the tiny crack in the door we were going to open, I would then snake my arm in and push on the screen door so Numbnuts could escape. We hoped he wouldn't try to bolt through the house. With Kitty and Tilly and the boys and us there, I can't see that he would've thought to try and get past us would be the safest option, but to a squirrel's brain, who knows? Do they even have logic?
Anyway that worked, and he chittered away quickly. Tilly went out to make sure he wasn't hanging around. And I met my friend for soup.
Today Tilly barked at the front door. I was getting ready to go out, so wondered if someone were here. The kids wondered too, but nope. No-one was knocking. Then Jake said "Jennifer! Come quick! Numbnuts is trapped between the screen and the door!" Numbnuts is his name for the squirrel who likes to hang around on our wall and eat our birdseed and chatter at Kitty and Tilly from a safe distance. And there he was, trapped between the screen door and the inside door. How would that happen? you might be asking. Well, our screen door latch is broken. We usually hook the little hook we attached to prevent the door from banging in the wind, but Jake had recently let Tilly out and hadn't re-hooked the hook. The door had banged open, and then banged shut with Numbnuts on the inside. At first we thought it was cute and I tried to take a picture, but then we realized we couldn't easily resolve the situation. I had to go meet a friend, but we couldn't open the inside door and risk Numbnuts running into our house. The wind had died down and the door seemed too heavy for Numbnuts to push himself free. I suggested to Jake he go out the back door and go around, but the snow back there had drifted deeply against that door and since we never use that entrance, we hadn't bothered to shovel it free. Yes I know it's a second escape in case of fire. We'll get to it. So what we decided to do (since I was then late to visit my friend) would be to guard the tiny crack in the door we were going to open, I would then snake my arm in and push on the screen door so Numbnuts could escape. We hoped he wouldn't try to bolt through the house. With Kitty and Tilly and the boys and us there, I can't see that he would've thought to try and get past us would be the safest option, but to a squirrel's brain, who knows? Do they even have logic?
Anyway that worked, and he chittered away quickly. Tilly went out to make sure he wasn't hanging around. And I met my friend for soup.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Cute Forward
I got this in a forward and while I don't like to forward things myself, if you felt like reading it here, go ahead. It's very cute.
KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese :
'Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little boy was overheard praying:
'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One particular four-year-old prayed,
'And forgive us our trash baskets
as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they
were on the way to church service,
'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'
One bright little girl replied,
'Because people are sleeping.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
'If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
' Ryan , you be Jesus !'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked.
'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
'Did God throw him back down?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife invited some people to dinner.
At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,
'Would you like to say the blessing?'
'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied.
'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said,
'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?'
KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese :
'Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little boy was overheard praying:
'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One particular four-year-old prayed,
'And forgive us our trash baskets
as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they
were on the way to church service,
'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'
One bright little girl replied,
'Because people are sleeping.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
'If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
' Ryan , you be Jesus !'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked.
'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
'Did God throw him back down?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife invited some people to dinner.
At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,
'Would you like to say the blessing?'
'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied.
'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said,
'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?'
Sunday, November 14, 2010
New Background
I should've had this background earlier. Oh well. I just couldn't put up a wintery one yet.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Missed the Parade
Tonight we'd had big plans to go to the Santa Claus Parade with Sabrina and Robbie (newly confirmed as my bestie and her 3 1/2 year old son) but Jake's back has been out since Wednesday when we got a new free dishwasher and we dragged it into our house by ourselves, and yesterday after school Sage was crazy whiney and then napped and we realized he is sick. He had a fever that broke on its own and has a cough.. and sitting in the cold for 2-3 hours was probably not the best course of action for his quick recovery. Anyway we didn't end up going. I heard it was great.
Incidentally the dishwasher doesn't attach to our tap, so it's basically just another counter top in the kitchen until we can order the specific nozzle from GE required to connect to the hoses. We tried 3 different nozzles from Home Depot and 2 different ones from Lowes. None of them worked. I am very close with their returns counter reps now though.
This morning Hayden wrote a letter to Santa for him and Sage. We mailed it. His writing is so cute! Then tonight he wrote another letter to a boy we're sending a christmas package to through our church. We don't know who it's going to, we just know it will be a poor deserving kid across the sea. They fundraise and lift spirits by giving out shoeboxes that people fill with toys and gifts, then bring back full and pay $7 for shipping to send it across the sea. You attach a label to say what age group and if you bought for a girl or a boy. We bought for a 5-9 year old boy. We put in a huge lolly pop (like 4" diameter) some reindeer socks, a cute whales notebook, some pencils with sports balls erasers, a super ball, lazers that attach to your fingers, a snowman stuffy, and some colourful markers. I think I'm forgetting something. Oh well. The boys had fun picking things - DINOSAUR FIGURINES that's what I forgot - for the poor boy across the sea.
Incidentally the dishwasher doesn't attach to our tap, so it's basically just another counter top in the kitchen until we can order the specific nozzle from GE required to connect to the hoses. We tried 3 different nozzles from Home Depot and 2 different ones from Lowes. None of them worked. I am very close with their returns counter reps now though.
This morning Hayden wrote a letter to Santa for him and Sage. We mailed it. His writing is so cute! Then tonight he wrote another letter to a boy we're sending a christmas package to through our church. We don't know who it's going to, we just know it will be a poor deserving kid across the sea. They fundraise and lift spirits by giving out shoeboxes that people fill with toys and gifts, then bring back full and pay $7 for shipping to send it across the sea. You attach a label to say what age group and if you bought for a girl or a boy. We bought for a 5-9 year old boy. We put in a huge lolly pop (like 4" diameter) some reindeer socks, a cute whales notebook, some pencils with sports balls erasers, a super ball, lazers that attach to your fingers, a snowman stuffy, and some colourful markers. I think I'm forgetting something. Oh well. The boys had fun picking things - DINOSAUR FIGURINES that's what I forgot - for the poor boy across the sea.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Who let November in?
Well! I'm doing lots better now, thanks. I had a minor surgery on Oct 22nd where he removed a large plastic stitch that was being rejected by my body, and slowly making its way to the surface. It felt like needles in my belly after the nurse saw the tip of it coming through my flesh and told me what was happening. It felt like needles in my belly before that too, but who thinks there'll be needles in their belly? After I knew what it was, that's exactly what it felt like. The doctor said I might "need to have this done again" which to me means there's another stitch like it down there, but we're going to cross our fingers and hope it stays PUT and doesn't get rejected. He also cut between the two holes and made one nice large hole which is showing progress towards healing.
And also now I am a twit. I tweet. I have joined Twitter. (I copied my sister.) See the feed on the side there?
I'm off work healing until November 22nd, so if anyone wants to stop by for a visit, feel free! I'll be home. I'm talking to YOU Americanos!
Monday, October 04, 2010
Been a while, eh?
Well folks, I've had another complication/setback.
To recap my story in a nutshell, I had the original RNY surgery on May 17th 2010. Then I had open surgery on May 20th to correct an obstructed bowel. Third surgery that week was May 24th to clean out absess and other pockets of infection. The open incision got infected around my belly button before I left the hospital in June, and after I got home another infection opened up another hole about 2" above the original hole. Both holes were 4-5 cms deep, and about an inch across at the surface. I go for daily care at a nursing office where they irrigate, clean, and pack me. I love those ladies. I haven't been sorry that this has been going on so long because most of them are so lovely and funny and caring. But it really has been going on a long long long long long long time.
To try and a-speed things hup (anyone watch Princess Bride?) this past week they changed the way they changed my dressing. No more irrigation because they figured it was not all coming back out since the openings are so small and keeping it that wet impedes healing. After three days of dry dressings and no irrigation I was hopeful that I would show some improvement. The wounds were 2.5 cms and 3 cms a week ago. Then Friday I felt a change. My wounds which had been quite nicely numb were not numb no more. Lots of pain and suddenly copious amounts of drainage. I was leaking through the sponges left right and centre. When I saw the nurse the next morning she said I must have had a pocket of infected fluid inside that burst. Both wounds deepened considerably. The 2.5 cm one became 4 cms and the 3 cm one became 5.5cms. I've had to take tylenol 3 to cope with the pain, which I haven't had to take since the first week or so I was home, back in June.
I went to work today, but there's lots of jumping up and down out of my chair which was painful. I can't take the T3 at work, but extra strength took some of the edge off at least.
My nurse today said she was faxing my surgeon and that the most likely course of action is going to be another surgery where he goes in, cleans out any and all pockets of infection, and the two wounds cut into one. With the larger opening at the surface of the skin it will be more conducive to healing. Bigger wounds heal faster. Sounds weird, but that's what they assure me. She said sometimes wounds like mine that don't heal are due to a reaction to internal sutchers.
I have otherwise been doing very well. I am finally happy I got the surgery. I weigh low enough to get on a Wii Fit. My plumbing is good, and I've never thrown up any food. My hair has almost all fallen out and I'm seriously thinking I will be cutting it super short (or shaving) but I have lots of pretty scarves and bandanas that I AM allowed to wear at work and I think I rock the look pretty good.
And of course I'm surrounded by wonderfully supportive friends and family and I will be around to do a lot more with them for a lot longer now. I'm only 9 pounds away from halfway done my weight loss journey! 111 lost so far.
Okay I ended on a positive note. I feel better. Thanks.
To recap my story in a nutshell, I had the original RNY surgery on May 17th 2010. Then I had open surgery on May 20th to correct an obstructed bowel. Third surgery that week was May 24th to clean out absess and other pockets of infection. The open incision got infected around my belly button before I left the hospital in June, and after I got home another infection opened up another hole about 2" above the original hole. Both holes were 4-5 cms deep, and about an inch across at the surface. I go for daily care at a nursing office where they irrigate, clean, and pack me. I love those ladies. I haven't been sorry that this has been going on so long because most of them are so lovely and funny and caring. But it really has been going on a long long long long long long time.
To try and a-speed things hup (anyone watch Princess Bride?) this past week they changed the way they changed my dressing. No more irrigation because they figured it was not all coming back out since the openings are so small and keeping it that wet impedes healing. After three days of dry dressings and no irrigation I was hopeful that I would show some improvement. The wounds were 2.5 cms and 3 cms a week ago. Then Friday I felt a change. My wounds which had been quite nicely numb were not numb no more. Lots of pain and suddenly copious amounts of drainage. I was leaking through the sponges left right and centre. When I saw the nurse the next morning she said I must have had a pocket of infected fluid inside that burst. Both wounds deepened considerably. The 2.5 cm one became 4 cms and the 3 cm one became 5.5cms. I've had to take tylenol 3 to cope with the pain, which I haven't had to take since the first week or so I was home, back in June.
I went to work today, but there's lots of jumping up and down out of my chair which was painful. I can't take the T3 at work, but extra strength took some of the edge off at least.
My nurse today said she was faxing my surgeon and that the most likely course of action is going to be another surgery where he goes in, cleans out any and all pockets of infection, and the two wounds cut into one. With the larger opening at the surface of the skin it will be more conducive to healing. Bigger wounds heal faster. Sounds weird, but that's what they assure me. She said sometimes wounds like mine that don't heal are due to a reaction to internal sutchers.
I have otherwise been doing very well. I am finally happy I got the surgery. I weigh low enough to get on a Wii Fit. My plumbing is good, and I've never thrown up any food. My hair has almost all fallen out and I'm seriously thinking I will be cutting it super short (or shaving) but I have lots of pretty scarves and bandanas that I AM allowed to wear at work and I think I rock the look pretty good.
And of course I'm surrounded by wonderfully supportive friends and family and I will be around to do a lot more with them for a lot longer now. I'm only 9 pounds away from halfway done my weight loss journey! 111 lost so far.
Okay I ended on a positive note. I feel better. Thanks.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
ONE HUNDRED POUNDS LOST
Yup you read it right. Since January of this year I have shed 100 pounds. 40 pre-op and 60 post-op.
CELEBRATION!
CELEBRATION!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
My Story, Part III
On Tuesday morning I awoke from my anaesthetically induced slumber before they pulled the tube out of my throat. I could feel them pulling what felt like EKG stickers off my legs and arms, maybe they were straps. I was still quite drugged. I thought I could tell what they wanted to do next, and that was going to be pulling out the tube from my throat. For some reason that seemed like a bad idea, so I sat up (weird cuz I was so weak) and grabbed the wires that one of the male nurses was holding. There was a nurse on each side of my bed, doing stuff like pulling off batches of wires or whatever, and I held onto the bundle of wires and didn't let go. I can clearly remember the expression of confusion and possibly anger on his face as he tug-o-warred with me over the wire bundle. Then I realized I DIDN'T know what he wanted to do next, but I couldn't talk because there was something in my mouth. Oh yah. The tube still in my throat. That. I tried to indicate that he should take the bundle of wires out of my hand, but I don't think I had much brain-to-muscles-in-hand co-ordination. And then it all went dark again.
I woke up again as the tube exited my throat. I forgot to mention that because I was vomiting so much when they did the second surgery, when they put me out they had to push on my Eve's Apple to suppress the vomit if I did so while they intibated me. When I woke up that time, it was at the moment they were pulling out the tube and I did throw up, into my ears. Back to the third (fourth) wake-up. The bed I was in was inflating and deflating in a very relaxing rhythmic motion, under one leg, under a shoulder, the other leg, the other shoulder, the bum; a very high-tech bed for bariatric patients who can't prevent their own bed sores. I felt I didn't need this bed. Even though I was as weak as a kitten.
The rest of the week was full of pain, drains, more IVs, and looking forward to visits from Carol. At least I was moved to a room that had a free tv and a phone.
I'm having a very hard time relating this story to you. Going through all the negatives is making me feel awful. I am so sorry, my family and loved ones, that I put you through the worry and anxiety of this whole mess. I am going to synopsize the rest of it.
I moved out of the ICU into HDU (High Dependancy Unit) on that Friday. That was the day Jake came from Sudbury to take over from Carol who had to return to North Bay. I was able by then to get out of bed to the toilet, or for small walks in the hall, or to sit for brief periods of time. On Sunday night my roommate went into code blue and died. I moved into a regular room on Tuesday. The surgeon said I could possibly be discharged on Friday. False hope. I was still there over the weekend. Monday was awful and I will relate that story in more detail, but not right now.
To end on a much happier note, I've lost 93 lbs since January. I feel good except for the wounds still in my belly. One of the most wonderous perks is that formerly painful waiting room chairs with arms are no longer painful. That part doesn't seem real. My bum fitting in chairs. In a couple weeks Sage will be going into JK all day every day, and Hayden will be going into Grade One. I can't believe my boys are so old! I will probably cry, sending them off to school together on the 7th. And the plan is that I return to work on September 8th.
Ta for now.
I woke up again as the tube exited my throat. I forgot to mention that because I was vomiting so much when they did the second surgery, when they put me out they had to push on my Eve's Apple to suppress the vomit if I did so while they intibated me. When I woke up that time, it was at the moment they were pulling out the tube and I did throw up, into my ears. Back to the third (fourth) wake-up. The bed I was in was inflating and deflating in a very relaxing rhythmic motion, under one leg, under a shoulder, the other leg, the other shoulder, the bum; a very high-tech bed for bariatric patients who can't prevent their own bed sores. I felt I didn't need this bed. Even though I was as weak as a kitten.
The rest of the week was full of pain, drains, more IVs, and looking forward to visits from Carol. At least I was moved to a room that had a free tv and a phone.
I'm having a very hard time relating this story to you. Going through all the negatives is making me feel awful. I am so sorry, my family and loved ones, that I put you through the worry and anxiety of this whole mess. I am going to synopsize the rest of it.
I moved out of the ICU into HDU (High Dependancy Unit) on that Friday. That was the day Jake came from Sudbury to take over from Carol who had to return to North Bay. I was able by then to get out of bed to the toilet, or for small walks in the hall, or to sit for brief periods of time. On Sunday night my roommate went into code blue and died. I moved into a regular room on Tuesday. The surgeon said I could possibly be discharged on Friday. False hope. I was still there over the weekend. Monday was awful and I will relate that story in more detail, but not right now.
To end on a much happier note, I've lost 93 lbs since January. I feel good except for the wounds still in my belly. One of the most wonderous perks is that formerly painful waiting room chairs with arms are no longer painful. That part doesn't seem real. My bum fitting in chairs. In a couple weeks Sage will be going into JK all day every day, and Hayden will be going into Grade One. I can't believe my boys are so old! I will probably cry, sending them off to school together on the 7th. And the plan is that I return to work on September 8th.
Ta for now.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
More of my Hospital Story
So last we spoke about this, I was merrily eating yummy tasting ice chips after my bowl obstruction surgery was over, with a side of excruciating shoulder pains.
Over the next few days I was able to eat more than just a few bites of my clear liquids diet, and everything stayed down. Yay! When I ate though, it stimulated my intestines and that meant sudden and urgent flying trips to the toilet. What a nice surprise. Okay that was sarcasm. What ISN'T sarcasm was the great surprise that BK and Jake planned on that Saturday to drive down to Toronto to let my family visit me, and to pick up Dhara and take her back with them. It was so great to see my family, but Sage was shy and made strange with me because I had an oxygen tube in my nose and the IVs in my arm. I let him have a drink from my pitcher of water and ice (which looked like a giant paper cup) and that eased his apprehension. Hayden asked a bunch of questions and Jake sat quietly holding my hand. It was great to see them but I got tired quickly and they didn't end up staying very long.
That night around 10pm I had heart palpatations which lasted (by the clock) 3 minutes. I called the nurse and let her know. She said if it happens again she would call the heart specialist to come take a look. At 11:30pm they started again and I rang for the nurse. They didn't stop this time. At first I thought "I hope this lasts until the heart people get here", so they'd be able to see the problem and know how to fix it. But half an hour later my room was full of people and equipment and it was still going on and they were loading me with drugs, I took back that thought and just wanted it to end. The doctor said "Okay this drug will feel like a kick in the chest. Ready?" She administered it. I asked when the kick in the chest would happen, having felt nothing but the heart palpatations. She said "hmm" and then decided to move me to the respiratory/heart floor. So off we went. I said goodbye to my private room and was wheeled up a floor and into a very hot room with someone snoring in it. We were there about 10 minutes when the doc said she wanted me in the ICU. The nurse who'd moved all my stuff had just arrived with it when we were out the door and on our way downstairs to ICU. I'm actually surprised I didn't lose anything.
In the ICU the team who'd been trying to put IV's in me succeeded in getting additional ports in so I had a total of 6, and one was arterial. My flesh on my arms was almost completely bruises and swollen as a result. Later when Carol was there, she counted seven bags of stuff dripping into me at once. The doctor told me that my heart was beating over 200 beats per minute and I had v-fib. For my own sake just now I looked up the wikipedia definition:
Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is a condition in which there is uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles in the heart, making them quiver rather than contract properly. While there is activity, perhaps best described as "writhing like a can filled with worms" it is undetectable by palpation (feeling) at major pulse points of the carotid and femoral arteries especially by the lay person. Such an arrhythmia is only confirmed by ECG/EKG. Ventricular fibrillation is a medical emergency that requires prompt BLS/ACLS interventions because should the arrhythmia continue for more than a few seconds, it will likely degenerate further into asystole (a flat ECG with no rhythm- which is usually not responsive to therapy unless there is still some residual fine VF rhythm left or the patient is otherwise lucky and is treated very quickly); after this, within minutes blood circulation will cease, and sudden cardiac death (SCD) may occur in a matter of minutes and/or the patient could sustain irreversible brain damage and possibly be left brain dead (death often occurs if normal sinus rhythm is not restored within 90 seconds of the onset of VF, especially if it has degenerated further into asystole).
There was a lot of activity around me, obviously, with doctors telling me different options they were going to try to get my heart rate down and back to normal. One doctor told me she wanted to tilt the bed to a radical angle with my head down and then something else but I don't remember what, and the main doctor who was with me from the beginning said if the drugs she was giving me didn't start to work she was going to have to shock me. Defibrulate me. At this point I thought I was going to die. I was so scared and I cried, thinking of Jake and the boys and how sorry I was to have chosen to do this to myself and to them.
By the morning my heart rate had slowed down to 140 beats per minute and the v-fib was way less. No shocking had had to happen, no tilting the bed, yay the drugs worked.
Sunday I wasn't able to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes scary and gross visualizations came to my eyes immediately. I couldn't help imagining horrible things happening to my kids and to me and the lack of sleep was making me halucinate sounds. I thought I heard a song (that now I can't remember) being played over and over again, and I even asked a nurse about it. He thought I was crazy, of course. A day or so later I heard the humming noise of the machines that were making me think they were music. But back to Sunday. That night I didn't sleep either, except for maybe 1-2 hours. It was such a long night. By the next day I had banished the negative halucinations and replaced them with peaceful relaxing japanese gardens, pink blossoms, silken king-sized bed with dark wood headboard and flowing pink fabric blowing gently in the breeze. I could even hear beautiful music. All when I closed my eyes. I wasn't sleeping, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't drugs, although maybe it was the sleep deprivation and the drugs together, but when my eyes were open I wasn't halucinating. Even during blinks it was there. I could go on about my lucid fantastical waking dreams, but it would be a book.
On Monday Dr Smith sent me for a CT scan. He thought a blood clot had possibly caused all these problems. Unfortunately all the fluids they'd pumped me with caused me to be too heavy for the CT machine. The bed I was in weighed me at having gained 45 pounds of fluid since surgery. Dr Smith came and told me that since they couldn't look with the CT, he wanted to look with his laproscopic scopes. Open me up again. Of course I agreed to this third surgery. He also said he possibly wanted to keep me out for the rest of the night and wake me up on Tuesday, giving my body rest. At the time it sounded great. The surgery was scheduled for early that evening. I was told later it lasted 45 minutes or so. They found infection and abscess and icky stuff galore. They put in 2 drains.
I have to take a break. More later.
Over the next few days I was able to eat more than just a few bites of my clear liquids diet, and everything stayed down. Yay! When I ate though, it stimulated my intestines and that meant sudden and urgent flying trips to the toilet. What a nice surprise. Okay that was sarcasm. What ISN'T sarcasm was the great surprise that BK and Jake planned on that Saturday to drive down to Toronto to let my family visit me, and to pick up Dhara and take her back with them. It was so great to see my family, but Sage was shy and made strange with me because I had an oxygen tube in my nose and the IVs in my arm. I let him have a drink from my pitcher of water and ice (which looked like a giant paper cup) and that eased his apprehension. Hayden asked a bunch of questions and Jake sat quietly holding my hand. It was great to see them but I got tired quickly and they didn't end up staying very long.
That night around 10pm I had heart palpatations which lasted (by the clock) 3 minutes. I called the nurse and let her know. She said if it happens again she would call the heart specialist to come take a look. At 11:30pm they started again and I rang for the nurse. They didn't stop this time. At first I thought "I hope this lasts until the heart people get here", so they'd be able to see the problem and know how to fix it. But half an hour later my room was full of people and equipment and it was still going on and they were loading me with drugs, I took back that thought and just wanted it to end. The doctor said "Okay this drug will feel like a kick in the chest. Ready?" She administered it. I asked when the kick in the chest would happen, having felt nothing but the heart palpatations. She said "hmm" and then decided to move me to the respiratory/heart floor. So off we went. I said goodbye to my private room and was wheeled up a floor and into a very hot room with someone snoring in it. We were there about 10 minutes when the doc said she wanted me in the ICU. The nurse who'd moved all my stuff had just arrived with it when we were out the door and on our way downstairs to ICU. I'm actually surprised I didn't lose anything.
In the ICU the team who'd been trying to put IV's in me succeeded in getting additional ports in so I had a total of 6, and one was arterial. My flesh on my arms was almost completely bruises and swollen as a result. Later when Carol was there, she counted seven bags of stuff dripping into me at once. The doctor told me that my heart was beating over 200 beats per minute and I had v-fib. For my own sake just now I looked up the wikipedia definition:
Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is a condition in which there is uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles in the heart, making them quiver rather than contract properly. While there is activity, perhaps best described as "writhing like a can filled with worms" it is undetectable by palpation (feeling) at major pulse points of the carotid and femoral arteries especially by the lay person. Such an arrhythmia is only confirmed by ECG/EKG. Ventricular fibrillation is a medical emergency that requires prompt BLS/ACLS interventions because should the arrhythmia continue for more than a few seconds, it will likely degenerate further into asystole (a flat ECG with no rhythm- which is usually not responsive to therapy unless there is still some residual fine VF rhythm left or the patient is otherwise lucky and is treated very quickly); after this, within minutes blood circulation will cease, and sudden cardiac death (SCD) may occur in a matter of minutes and/or the patient could sustain irreversible brain damage and possibly be left brain dead (death often occurs if normal sinus rhythm is not restored within 90 seconds of the onset of VF, especially if it has degenerated further into asystole).
There was a lot of activity around me, obviously, with doctors telling me different options they were going to try to get my heart rate down and back to normal. One doctor told me she wanted to tilt the bed to a radical angle with my head down and then something else but I don't remember what, and the main doctor who was with me from the beginning said if the drugs she was giving me didn't start to work she was going to have to shock me. Defibrulate me. At this point I thought I was going to die. I was so scared and I cried, thinking of Jake and the boys and how sorry I was to have chosen to do this to myself and to them.
By the morning my heart rate had slowed down to 140 beats per minute and the v-fib was way less. No shocking had had to happen, no tilting the bed, yay the drugs worked.
Sunday I wasn't able to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes scary and gross visualizations came to my eyes immediately. I couldn't help imagining horrible things happening to my kids and to me and the lack of sleep was making me halucinate sounds. I thought I heard a song (that now I can't remember) being played over and over again, and I even asked a nurse about it. He thought I was crazy, of course. A day or so later I heard the humming noise of the machines that were making me think they were music. But back to Sunday. That night I didn't sleep either, except for maybe 1-2 hours. It was such a long night. By the next day I had banished the negative halucinations and replaced them with peaceful relaxing japanese gardens, pink blossoms, silken king-sized bed with dark wood headboard and flowing pink fabric blowing gently in the breeze. I could even hear beautiful music. All when I closed my eyes. I wasn't sleeping, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't drugs, although maybe it was the sleep deprivation and the drugs together, but when my eyes were open I wasn't halucinating. Even during blinks it was there. I could go on about my lucid fantastical waking dreams, but it would be a book.
On Monday Dr Smith sent me for a CT scan. He thought a blood clot had possibly caused all these problems. Unfortunately all the fluids they'd pumped me with caused me to be too heavy for the CT machine. The bed I was in weighed me at having gained 45 pounds of fluid since surgery. Dr Smith came and told me that since they couldn't look with the CT, he wanted to look with his laproscopic scopes. Open me up again. Of course I agreed to this third surgery. He also said he possibly wanted to keep me out for the rest of the night and wake me up on Tuesday, giving my body rest. At the time it sounded great. The surgery was scheduled for early that evening. I was told later it lasted 45 minutes or so. They found infection and abscess and icky stuff galore. They put in 2 drains.
I have to take a break. More later.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Maybe it was worth it. Maybe.
I had a very big "WOW" moment today. But first the bad news. Today when I was at my daily nursing appointment to cleanse my two remaining wounds and rebandage them, she told me that the one was still infected and actually deeper than it had been two weeks ago. Also the infection has spread to my other wound which has also gotten deeper. She didn't tell me how deep they were, but they had both been 4.5 cms about 2 weeks ago. This news made me depressed, but the nurse assured me that daily cleansing would get rid of the infections and THEN we would be able to see the healing begin. Still that wasn't very nice news.
So what did I do? I went shopping with a girlfriend! We stopped in at Pennington's and were overjoyed to see the 70% off sale sign in the window! I really wanted to see what size I am. I was a 5X if I stretched it, buying 6X when I could find 'em. It felt really wrong to take the 4X's off the racks, which was my guess. Then I saw a beautiful dress that was super duper on sale, and I thought immediately of my cousin's wedding coming up in October, and I was encouraged to try on the largest size they still had, just to see, so I put on the 3X and
IT FREAKIN FIT!!!!
I bought the 2X for the wedding, and the saleswoman showed me where and how I should take it in if it's too big by then. Very easily, I might add. AND it was only $24!!
The other 4X shirts were roomy, which I couldn't believe. My brain is still a 5-6X but my bod is a 3-4X! I wonder how long till I convince my brain of that?
So what did I do? I went shopping with a girlfriend! We stopped in at Pennington's and were overjoyed to see the 70% off sale sign in the window! I really wanted to see what size I am. I was a 5X if I stretched it, buying 6X when I could find 'em. It felt really wrong to take the 4X's off the racks, which was my guess. Then I saw a beautiful dress that was super duper on sale, and I thought immediately of my cousin's wedding coming up in October, and I was encouraged to try on the largest size they still had, just to see, so I put on the 3X and
IT FREAKIN FIT!!!!
I bought the 2X for the wedding, and the saleswoman showed me where and how I should take it in if it's too big by then. Very easily, I might add. AND it was only $24!!
The other 4X shirts were roomy, which I couldn't believe. My brain is still a 5-6X but my bod is a 3-4X! I wonder how long till I convince my brain of that?
Monday, July 05, 2010
Physical Update
So here I am, 83 lbs less of me than at Christmas. Some "Before/During" pictures for your viewing .. um.. curiosity.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Details
This might be a long one.
On Sunday May 16th Carol and I with Dhara drove to Toronto and slept overnight at her mother in law's place (Sheena) in Mississauga. I had to be at the hospital for 10am the next morning for my surgery which was scheduled for noon. We were on time, and I wore a gown that fit nicely but the robe to cover the back end was a little short. LOL. Not TOO short, just not comfortably long. At about 11am after my blood pressure was taken many times to get a good reading (and left a lovely bruise on my left arm) I was led to a reclining chair in order for my IV to be put in. I wasn't nervous or scared of the surgery and I wasn't having any second thoughts. Carol was gracious enough not to ask me if I was still "sure" this was the right thing to do.
At 12:45 the anesthesiologist came and got me and I walked down the hall to the operating room. The room was cold but the blankets were warm and some people with masks introduced themselves to me and I recognized Dr Smith's eyes. They arranged me with arms out and pillows under my head and then told me to breath deeply in an oxygen mask and I did and then I woke up in pain in recovery. They gave me morphine and had already started the gravol so I wouldn't be nauseaus. Carol came in for a minute and I felt like I should try to be more awake for her, but I was just so groggy and painy still that I just wanted to sleep until the pain was gone. After a while I was wheeled to my PRIVATE room (yay!) and Carol was allowed to stay with me.
The rest of the day and into the next I had to use a bed pan when I wanted to pee. That was difficult to overcome psychologically. I had to actually say out loud to myself "It's okay to pee now. It's okay to pee now." before I could relax enough to pee lying down in bed.
I would say the puking started Tuesday afternoon. I had been given my clear soup and diet chemical flavoured jello but not able to eat more than a bite or two. I was drinking sips of water and ice chips, and the first time I puked it was clear and watery. And then it turned brownish blackish and there was so much of it. I was filling two of the buckets they provided at a time. I found the morphine took the nausea away, but no one listened to me about that. They said the morphine caused more nausea. Later I retrospected that the morphine merely calmed my intestines down or sedated them so they didn't have the energy to heave their loads back up my mouth. The doctors did a CT scan on Thursday morning because the throwing up was not stopping, and it showed that where the intestines had been surgically attached, they had healed in a kink and were obstructed. I was scheduled for another surgery to correct the problem that same day. They were not able to accomplish their goal through laproscopic methods and so I ended up with 27 staples from my belly button up about 5". At least there were 27 of them.
That night was horrible. I woke up in the early wee hours of the morning with a stabbing terrible pain in the front of my shoulder. I was hooked up to a morphine clicky thing that I could click every 5 minutes for one little shot of the drug, but morphine wasn't helping this pain. I knew from my research that it was most likely gas from the laproscopic procedure (they fill your abdomen up with air so they can see what they're doing and some can get trapped and is quite painful). I read that gas x strips help. I had brought some but they were ever so far away in my duffle bag and the pain was so debilatating I could not move. I couldn't even move to find my nurses call bell. So I had to yell. I yelled feebly for help several times before Bev the Nurse From Hell came into the room. She argued with me that my shoulder didn't hurt that much because I was using so much of the morphine, and that it wasn't gas in my SHOULDER it must be muscle pain from how I lay during surgery. She sternly told me I was to have nothing by mouth including those strips and then implied that I probably got my bowels obstructed in the first place because I didn't follow the rules. She was mean, rude, and even though I was begging with her for something else because the pain was not going away, she didn't care. She told me to be quiet so the other patients could sleep. And maybe I passed out from pain. No, I wish I had. The next day an anesthesiologist came to see me and she said yes it was most likely gas pain and gave me some IV anti-inflamatory which took the edge off.
The good news was that I felt much better. No more nausea! I was only allowed ice chips, but they were the best friggin tasting things ever. I even had to get Carol to taste them to make sure they were plain, and not sweetened.
To Be Continued.
On Sunday May 16th Carol and I with Dhara drove to Toronto and slept overnight at her mother in law's place (Sheena) in Mississauga. I had to be at the hospital for 10am the next morning for my surgery which was scheduled for noon. We were on time, and I wore a gown that fit nicely but the robe to cover the back end was a little short. LOL. Not TOO short, just not comfortably long. At about 11am after my blood pressure was taken many times to get a good reading (and left a lovely bruise on my left arm) I was led to a reclining chair in order for my IV to be put in. I wasn't nervous or scared of the surgery and I wasn't having any second thoughts. Carol was gracious enough not to ask me if I was still "sure" this was the right thing to do.
At 12:45 the anesthesiologist came and got me and I walked down the hall to the operating room. The room was cold but the blankets were warm and some people with masks introduced themselves to me and I recognized Dr Smith's eyes. They arranged me with arms out and pillows under my head and then told me to breath deeply in an oxygen mask and I did and then I woke up in pain in recovery. They gave me morphine and had already started the gravol so I wouldn't be nauseaus. Carol came in for a minute and I felt like I should try to be more awake for her, but I was just so groggy and painy still that I just wanted to sleep until the pain was gone. After a while I was wheeled to my PRIVATE room (yay!) and Carol was allowed to stay with me.
The rest of the day and into the next I had to use a bed pan when I wanted to pee. That was difficult to overcome psychologically. I had to actually say out loud to myself "It's okay to pee now. It's okay to pee now." before I could relax enough to pee lying down in bed.
I would say the puking started Tuesday afternoon. I had been given my clear soup and diet chemical flavoured jello but not able to eat more than a bite or two. I was drinking sips of water and ice chips, and the first time I puked it was clear and watery. And then it turned brownish blackish and there was so much of it. I was filling two of the buckets they provided at a time. I found the morphine took the nausea away, but no one listened to me about that. They said the morphine caused more nausea. Later I retrospected that the morphine merely calmed my intestines down or sedated them so they didn't have the energy to heave their loads back up my mouth. The doctors did a CT scan on Thursday morning because the throwing up was not stopping, and it showed that where the intestines had been surgically attached, they had healed in a kink and were obstructed. I was scheduled for another surgery to correct the problem that same day. They were not able to accomplish their goal through laproscopic methods and so I ended up with 27 staples from my belly button up about 5". At least there were 27 of them.
That night was horrible. I woke up in the early wee hours of the morning with a stabbing terrible pain in the front of my shoulder. I was hooked up to a morphine clicky thing that I could click every 5 minutes for one little shot of the drug, but morphine wasn't helping this pain. I knew from my research that it was most likely gas from the laproscopic procedure (they fill your abdomen up with air so they can see what they're doing and some can get trapped and is quite painful). I read that gas x strips help. I had brought some but they were ever so far away in my duffle bag and the pain was so debilatating I could not move. I couldn't even move to find my nurses call bell. So I had to yell. I yelled feebly for help several times before Bev the Nurse From Hell came into the room. She argued with me that my shoulder didn't hurt that much because I was using so much of the morphine, and that it wasn't gas in my SHOULDER it must be muscle pain from how I lay during surgery. She sternly told me I was to have nothing by mouth including those strips and then implied that I probably got my bowels obstructed in the first place because I didn't follow the rules. She was mean, rude, and even though I was begging with her for something else because the pain was not going away, she didn't care. She told me to be quiet so the other patients could sleep. And maybe I passed out from pain. No, I wish I had. The next day an anesthesiologist came to see me and she said yes it was most likely gas pain and gave me some IV anti-inflamatory which took the edge off.
The good news was that I felt much better. No more nausea! I was only allowed ice chips, but they were the best friggin tasting things ever. I even had to get Carol to taste them to make sure they were plain, and not sweetened.
To Be Continued.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAHS!!!
Sarah V and Sarah M Happy Birthday you gorgeous girls!!!
Have a great day both of you and the best of wishes and fortune for the coming year.
Love
Jennifer
Have a great day both of you and the best of wishes and fortune for the coming year.
Love
Jennifer
Back By Popular Demand
I'm back to blogging! Lookit!
I have been laid up and unable to blog for quite some time, the story I hope to relate to you soon or in parts.
I would first like to begin by saying that I had fresh blueberries and yogurt last night and it was delicious! Jake and the boys went blueberry picking on Canada day and got some really nice tasty berries. The boys picked and ate, Jake picked and brought home. Nothing like fresh blueberries.
So here's why I couldn't blog. I went for surgery on May 17th to have an RNY gastric bypass. There were complications and I didn't get out of the hospital for 3 weeks and 2 days. I'm recouperating now at home, but it takes a lot out of me to sit up straight, so I don't like "wasting" my limited time at the computer. I'm getting better and better though, so hopefully blogging will be part of my regime again on a regular basis.
We're off to the grocery store now though, and I'm excited to try out one of those scooter thingies for the first time. LOL Watch out other customers!
I'll write more soon I promise.
I have been laid up and unable to blog for quite some time, the story I hope to relate to you soon or in parts.
I would first like to begin by saying that I had fresh blueberries and yogurt last night and it was delicious! Jake and the boys went blueberry picking on Canada day and got some really nice tasty berries. The boys picked and ate, Jake picked and brought home. Nothing like fresh blueberries.
So here's why I couldn't blog. I went for surgery on May 17th to have an RNY gastric bypass. There were complications and I didn't get out of the hospital for 3 weeks and 2 days. I'm recouperating now at home, but it takes a lot out of me to sit up straight, so I don't like "wasting" my limited time at the computer. I'm getting better and better though, so hopefully blogging will be part of my regime again on a regular basis.
We're off to the grocery store now though, and I'm excited to try out one of those scooter thingies for the first time. LOL Watch out other customers!
I'll write more soon I promise.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
This Week
We've been having a good week mostly this week. Mother's day was a toughie for me, but the Pastor at church was Skyped in and projected onto the wall so that was cool, and then later at my dad's place Carol and her family were in town so we played in the yard then took a short walk over to the park and kids got to climb and play before birthday supper for my dad at my place. We ended up keeping Elora with us for the week or whenever she couldn't stand being away from her family any more, which actually was today. We each drove halfway and met just before Verner to hand the little girl back to her daddy. She had a good time, only tearful at bedtime a little each night, but I guess Dhara wasn't having a good time either, and also Dhara will have her turn away next week as she's accompanying me and Carol to Toronto for the week, so it's good they have a few days together again as buffer between absences.
Last night Jake set up the bouncy castle and the kids jumped and jumped and jumped and Hayden and Elora got very staticy hair. Sage's is too short to stand on end, but holy crow did Elora ever make up for it! Then we got the bubble gun and mega-bubble-wand out and they ran and ran and ran with Tilly, chasing bubbles on the grass.
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And when we got back from driving Elora to Verner, this is what our lovely grassy lawn was doing:
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No more lawn. They're putting in a parking lot. I feel very crappy about this. When I talked to the landlord to ask what the heck was happening he said "oh I guess I should've warned you. Sorry." You THINK??? They "needed the space" and "that grass was damaged anyway" by the trucks they'd parked there over the winter (5 half ton trucks along that white wall) and the pontoon boat that sat there all summer long for the past 5 years, unused.
I am thinking I would like a small fence erected, or at least reflective markers, telling the people who are going to be parking there how close they are allowed to get to our house.
And guess who was driving the bulldozer. Mr Crabby Gardener Himself. Laughing like a maniac the whole time. TAKE THAT!! AND THAT!! I heard him yelling as he destroyed and killed the lawn we use. Okay no I didn't hear that, but last year I was upset he mowed down my daffodils and lilacs. This year he's mowing down the whole freaking lawn. I suspect our house will be next.
But I can't let this get to me. I have positive thinking about my surgery to do.
The plan is as follows: Sunday we were going to go to church, but I think I'm being talked into skipping it and heading to North Bay with the family a little earlier. Tilly will be watched by friends in town. After reaching North Bay, Carol, Dhara, and I will head south to Toronto and stay at Carol's mother-in-law's house. Sheena has very graciously let me stay there while I recover, before they let me leave town. Monday morning at 10am I will arrive, unpanicked, at St Joseph Health Centre in downtown Toronto. Surgery is scheduled for noon. It will take about 3-3.5 hours. Once recovered enough, Carol will be allowed to come in and see me. She's promised to doink chin hairs while I'm still out of it. Her suggestion. Three nights I will be in the hospital. On Thursday at some point I will be allowed to leave, but like I said, they've asked me to stay in the area for another three nights JUST IN CASE something happens, I'd be very close to immediate help. Sunday morning we will head back to North Bay. Depending how that car ride goes pain-wise, we might stay over the night and come the rest of the way home on Monday.
If you pray, please pray for me. If you don't, please wish for a perfect performance by Dr Smith. If you don't do wishing either, pretend you do and do it anyway. THANK YOU.
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