This Lap Band Thing

Here is the deal. I have joined a forum called. lapbandtalk.com it is neat and really informative. I have found a few people on there who's blogs I am following and I know one is following mine, and I hope she continues her journey since she is so close to the end of it!!!

As I have stated in previous blogs, my surgery is being done at UT Southwestern Medical Center here in Dallas, TX. I am pretty confident on them, especially since I have know several people who have gone there, and had great results, and nothing but POSITIVE things to say about the doctors and the after care. One lady told me a downside for her was since it is a teaching hospital she had lots of interns/students seeing her. But you know they have to learn somewhere too. But back to my point...Knowing what my insurance requires and how strict my doctor is about the Do's & Don't's I am really flabbergasted reading some of the posting. It seems like everyone knows they have the best doctor....but here is my question - How good is the followup care your doctor is providing you? Are you just a number to him? Does your success mean anything to him?

This is done so often as out-patience. If you are having a foreign object placed in your body around a major organ why would you want to hurry up and get out???? I am looking forward to spending the night at the hospital so I have the nurses at my disposal when I have a question or concern, and for what we are paying, I am going to make sure all my questions are answered. I have started a list of who I need to ask what questions too..I am just hoping I remember to take it with me and ask all the right people.

My doctor makes sure I understand the band is a TOOL, and I have to use the tool right...How many people are doing this. Maybe I am being too critical. The pre-op diet, you know you are going to have to do it...so why are you in shock at it? I don't start mine until March 13th, but I have already started to replace breakfast with a shake. I will be in less shock and have an easier time cutting out 2 meals since I have already gotten rid of one. It is working out good. I mix it up the protein shake thick so it last until about lunch time, and I am trying to not splurge. In my work on doing this...I am down 13 pounds since the first time I was at my doctor's office. So I am below 300, not a lot below, but I am below it. I have also found out that in the last 6 months, my cholesterol has drooped about 15 points. I know I am on the right track. I miss some foods already, but I know that in moderation or a bite, I may be able to taste them again.

Logan is probably 85% of the reason I am doing this. He is such an inspiration to me. He is already talking about all the things he wants to do this summer when I loose my 'fat weight' it does make him a little sad that i do not eat breakfast with him, but I think in some little 6 year old world he understands more that I think he does. Knowing that I am increasing my chances of being here for Logan longer makes this all worth it. I have been lucky because I don't have any of the co-morbidity's associated with obesity, but that does not mean I am immune.

What a Week!

Sorry I have not been on here lately! But WE have not stopped since last weekend and I am beat. It is now 5:17am on Saturday Morning, and believe it or not I can't fricking sleep!

Monday was Monday. Logan had 1/2 a counseling session and a private lesson at TKD, see I may have mentioned this but since he is the youngest one in the class taking the Belt Test in March, he needs some extra help. Now don't get me wrong. He is doing great, but the extra time is good for him. Tuesday counseling only, but it was still late by the time we got home, and getting things done...augh!!! Wednesday, Private Lesson..and Knight Rider was not on TV So I was sad...LOVE THAT SHOW! Thursday....I got a call from a lady at UTSWMC who is doing a study on the the effects of lapband. So I joined a case study, it is nice since I can use some of the test they are running for FREE to go for my bloodwork for my surgery! Thursday night TKD, a full class tonight. On the way there got a call from my MIL, that my SIL had been in a car wreck. So after class we went to the hospital. She got out after about 4 hrs, but is in lots of pain. No other vehicles were involved so that is good, and I think her car is fixable...

FRIDAY!!! (cheers & claps) Did not think this day was EVER going to get here. Ray had a delivery in Kilgore first thing. I did not talk to him till close to lunchtime, so needless to say when I did talk to him and he told me he had a blow out. I was a little concerned. Thankfully it was a drive tire, not s steer! But still he had to sit on the side of the road, 1 mile from his exit for almost and hour & half! So he was really behind. Logan & I met him for dinner at the DC, it worked out good they had just gone to lunch so we had time. Logan got to see dad's tire that went ""BANG"" (insert explosion noise here - and don't forget the arms going in the air like a smoke cloud). We came home & I cleaned my fool hear off, Ray got home about 8:45pm. He had a long Friday. But today he is off, and we are going to the TKD school to watch James break a board, he will also earn his White Belt. I am not sure who is more excited, James or Logan.

4 Weeks Out

Here we go!! 4 weeks out. I am going to start taking pictures and documentating my weight, I just need to find out the best way to do it here. Or I will wait until 1 month post-op, then post all 3 of the pictures. Maybe surgery pics to if not to gross. I will have to see.

Tell me what you think!

Crazy Week & Great Dinner!

Back to work on Tuesday..all the same, and the TKD that night, I received a call on the way there, Logan is going to take private lessons to get him ready for the Belt Test in March. He is the youngest on the class. This means TKD Tues, Wed, & Thurs. No rest if you want them to succeed, Right!

Thursday was Buddy Night at TKD, so Grant, Lisa's nephew and James, Logan's cousin came out. The boys all had a great time. The got to break paper with a punch, and then at the end the students showed off their skills by breaking a board. The buddies were given an invitation to come back on the 28th and learn to break a board themselves. We are picking James up Friday for the weekend so he can do that with Logan.

WHEW...Friday an off night...we went to dinner at Edelweiss..this is a GREAT German Restaurant in Fort Worth. They have live music and an dance floor, so Logan got to do the chicken dance and learn to Polka (Polkie) & Waltz. This is one of my places I wanted to go before I was not able to eat anymore. The food is DEVINE..Logan ate some of the Knackwurst (sp) and liked it so hopefully he will eat it when we go to the fair so I can share with him.

Off to another busy day!! I cant wait.

Mardi Gras Must Come to an END?!?!?

I have never been, but if this weekend is anything like Mardi Gras then I am not sure I can handle the multi days of partying!

So Sunday....One more get together for ME :-) I should turn 35 more often!!!

We went to Babe's in Carrollton. Have you ever been there? All sides are served dinner style and you order your meat entree only. Your choices are Chicken several ways, pot roast and chicken fried steak. This is something I will miss...It is great. We met there with 17 of us, here goes the lists. Mis, Ray, Logs, Hol, Lis, Nik, B, Tina, Mandy, James, Katie, James, Mom, Dad, Mom, Dad, & Tanya. It was great having both of the parents there. Logs gave the grandmothers roses for Valentines Day. We ate dinner, then had some good conversation. It was time to bust out the homemade C-A-K-E....(you know who you are)!!

Ray & Logan made me a cake it was great...even though I bought it, and had to clean up the kitchen. I got some cards, and was surrounded by my family. I could not have asked for more.

For my 35th birthday we partied all weekend. It was so great....not sure I am deserving of it. Bit it is done and over so they can not take it back!!! Love ya bunches!!

Anti-Valentines Day!!!

Today as planned we went roller skating late this afternoon! It was great. Ray, Logan & I met with Holly, Lisa, and her 2 nephews at a location close to all of us. We had a blast. I did learn that Logan does better with blades that old school skates.

We are not as young as we use to be, and it did take some time to get use to being on the wheels again, but it was great. Logan, Holly & I were even able to do the Hokey Pokey before we left.

Off to Chik-Fil-A to have some dinner with everyone. We got there ordered, and got seated. Holly for got something in her car...forgetful little thing! Out she went...when so came back in she had a bouquet of flowers, some balloons, (They said Birthday Princess), and some bags of stuff. A Princess hat for me and a matching Pin, and necklaces for the boys, and she lei-ed Lisa, and herself...That was a sight! Well Lisa walked away as well, and she came back with my favorite...Great American Cookie Company Cookie Cack (lol)...it had a princess crown on it and said Happy Birthday Missie on it. I was so fricking shocked! I had not idea, they pulled on off on me. It was great. I wore the pin and the hat, after i found the string thing. Ray knew about it as well so that made it good too!

I was told I could not cry, because I was happy, but I can express my feelings now. Times like this make me feel how blessed I am. I have friend who care so much. Am I as good as a friend to them as they are to me??? I can only hope. I love them two, they are too good to me. I don't know some time if i deserve the friendship they give me. I just pray I am able to show then what they have shown me in all the years we have been friends, and I am sure we will be old ladies still getting in trouble...Although after tonight I am sure if we ever get in trouble it will be ALL MY FAULT!!!

Thanks guys for the memories you have given me, and the last GACC Cookie Cake I will ever be able to enjoy!!!

Girlfriends!

So any one who has email has seen the cute little emails for 'National Girlfriends Day' and stuff like that...I don't want those forwarded to me...it did not come your heart. It is something that was manufactured and from somebody mind but not yours, you are not sending this to me because this is how YOU feel you are sending it because you have associated those feelings some one else felt with the way you feel about your friends....and even if i don't return it to you, or send it to 12 other people it does not make me a bad friend...This is what I feel I am need to do...

I am at a major turning point in my life, having the Lap-Band surgery is just a small part of that, I turned 35 today. I am happily married to my soul mate, best friend, and the best husband and daddy a girl could ask for. I have a wonderful son who makes me happy beyond belief!!!

And as I have gone through my life, I have lots of 'Girlfriends' who have helped along the way..I will not point anyone out but if you are reading this you know who you are!!!

One of my friends I have had for about 24 yrs we met in jr high, and we have taken different paths, our lives have changed, but we have managed to keep in touch. She is a mommy of 4 kids..and I don't know how she does it!

Someone else....we discovered today it has been 21 years!!!! We thought we were on the path of being sisters..but i think we still are!! We have gone years with out seeing each other and it does not seem that way! I love her and miss her so much. We keep in touch now, and hopefully we will not loose touch again. I would love to sometime in the future we can have a girls weekend retreat and meet somewhere in the middle!

My girls at work...keep me grounded, and in touch. They are an awesome support system for me through good and bad....They make me smile.

Then at the same time i met my Ray, i met another friend, and we have not walked away from each other in all these years. We compliment each other nicely! She was there for me in one of my hardest times, and through my happiest times. I know I can always count on her!

My SAHM friend. Our kids are about a year apart...and my son will marry her daughter...against her daddy's wishes...ha ha ... She is such a great friend. we talk about anything and go through the same things at times and it helps having that person who you know walks the same path you do. I have a lot of respect for her choosing to be at home with her kids, and I do envy that as well.

My Internet buddy, we communicate through email and blogs mostly, but we have met in person and she is an awesome person. Married to someone I have know for 20 years, and she is perfect for him. I am glad we have made friends and even when her house FINALLY sales so we all stop asking and she moves across the country to embark on another adventure, and make new friends. I hope she knows I will always be here a computer click away

One more...her mother has said 'You knew each other in another life'. It is weird. We can finish each other sentences, we could have been twins...except she is YOUNGER and taller...almost amazon tall!!!

To all the other 'girlfriends' in my life who have left a mark good or bad, happy or sad. There are footprints all over me. I have lived and learned from all of you, and appreciate all of the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences I have taken from each and every one of you!

All the Details!

So on Wednesday about 3:30 the Surgical Coordinator called me to set up all my dates!

March 12 - Meet with Nutritionist to start the FAST!!! 2 protein shakes and a sensible meal until the day prior to surgery
March 19 - Meet with Dr Scott, hospital registration, pre-op blood work and an EKG
March 22 - Day before surgery LIQUIDS ALL DAY!!!!
March 23 - Be at the Hospital at 5:00am for 7:00am surgery
March 24 - Get out of Hospital
April 7 - First post-op appointment with Dr Scott
April 23 - 'Graduate' Day to solids

So here are all of the stuff leading up to and getting back to some kind of normalcy. The one thing that is bothering me is, on March 22, Logan has to stay at nana's house so Aunt Tina can take him to school since we have to be at the hospital so early. But Ray has promised he will pick Logan up from school that day and bring up to see me. It is going to be worth it.

Once again Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support!!

Confirmation & Date

Alright! I did it...March 23. The day of my surgery. I am so excited. I faxed the info in at 8:30, and by 3:30 had the date set. The only thing we are waiting on....and I should know by tomorrow is the OR at the hospital.



I will go the week before either the 17 or 19 for all the Pre-Op stuff. I will have blood work, and a chest x-ray. I had so many things that I was thinking about typing today while I was at work, and now I have nothing...More to come later!

Just keep up the prayers, and good thoughts.

Thanks to all!!!

Birthday Present!!!!

So I got my best birthday present today!!!!

THE APPROVAL LETTER FOR THE SURGERY!!!!

I will not lie I was feeling a little skeptical about it. Only because it does not seem like luck is on my side. So tomorrow I will send it to the doctors office so we can start setting appointments. This is the table of appointments - 2 weeks before the surgery Pre-Op nutrition class, then Pre-Op FAST!!! That is like the slim fast diet, 2 protein shakes then one meal a day. Then 2 days before surgery labs drawn, clinic & hospital visit. The day before surgery LIQUIDS ONLY. Then surgery.

It has been approved, and now hurry up and wait some more!!!! I am so ready for the change this is going to be. The change in my life, I will be able to do more with Logan, and maybe even ice skate more than I did Saturday. We all had a blast. I could not have asked for a better birthday party for Logan!

I will post more tomorrow after TKD, and I have talked to the people at the doctors office!

It has been a year....

Where was I one year ago???

I was on my way to pick up my nephew in Mesquite, have dinner with my sister, and get the finishing touches for Logan's 5th birthday party....oh yeah...I was also 11 weeks pregnant...We ate at Bakers Ribs in Mesquite, and headed back to Arlington. I was not feeling well, maybe it was the food or just the stress of it being the 1st of the month...If you are close to me you have heard this story, if you don't want to read on I understand. It really hit me last week, and I just have to do this for what ever therapy or remembrance I need. Below is the blog I posted on Myspace last year.

VERY IMPORTANT NEWS!!!!!
This blog comes from me with a heavy heart!!! I want to say thanks to all of you for your thought and prayers.
On Friday night about midnight I woke up and was hemorrhaging pretty bad. I called my doctor office, but Dr Neil was on call, not my doctor so we made an executive decision. Ray and I went to the hospital about 1:00am. We were whisk away to an ER Room with in minutes of arriving. The ER Dr was great, once we got in the room, I continued to bleed, and the dr did a sonogram...He found a machine in the hall and brought it in and just did it. He said he was not a Sono Tech, but he had to do it. Once he was done, he stated he saw an empty sack. Then he turned to the nurse and told her to get ready for an exam.
He did an regular gyno exam to measure the amount of blood loss, at this point I realized that no matter how much preparing we had done over the week and a half it was completely different when the doctor started talking D & C.
So I guess I need to back up. Shortly after my initial appointment on Jan 23, I started spotting, I saw the doctor the following Wednesday on Jan 30, we could not hear the heartbeat. We did not worry, he felt about 90% sure everything was fine, due to my 'extra padding' and not hearing Logan's until 16 weeks I was not worried either. Fast forward to Friday Feb 1, 2008.
Ray got a phone call at 10:30am he did not have to work that night, I was so glad. We went to Garland and picked up my nephew James and had dinner with him and Pete. I had some discomfort, but just passed it off as sitting for so long, and wearing my jeans. We got home messed around with the boys and started getting ready for bed.
So back to the hospital, after the gyno exam a paramedic came in and started an IV...that is never good, ( Do you know the difference between a nurse and a paramedic??? The medic can do almost everything the dr can. See you do learn something new everyday!!) I asked for a drink and was told 'NO' that is not good either!!! So Lisa came up to the hospital she took the first shift at the hospital with Ray. A full Sonogram was ordered, and about 3:30am I was taken to an Ultrasound Room, and the tech started doing the sono....and 'I CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING SO DON'T ASK'...Those people really upset me!!!! So then she started doing an internal one....never had one...am not really looking forward to another one any time soon! Where Ray was sitting he could see the screen and did mention that he was not able to see anything on the internal one. By this time the bleeding had slowed down alot.
We got taken back to the ER and was put in a very nice room....ROOM 1...for once I was 1....the nurse and registration lady came in, it was about 4:30am and the doctor came back in. He said they had called in Dr Neil and that he had ordered a D & C. Now keep in mind Logan's 5th birthday party is 12 hours away!!! Dr Neil come in and he was super nice and supportive, he explained to me what was going to happened and I explained to him that I had to be at that party. We had a good understanding. I would be home by breakfast, and could go to the party as long as I got some rest, and did not do anything!
About 4:45am Ray and Lisa went outside to make phone calls, Ray called family, and Lisa called Holly, she was coming for the 2nd shift and to help get things going and settled in once we got home. About 5:15am, I was wheeled upstairs for surgery. It was about 5:30am, with Ray, Holly and Lisa saying their 'see ya in a bits'. The drug doctor came in explained to me what they were going to do as far as the medication. Other than on TV I had never seen the inside of an OR, it was kinda cool. I asked if I was going to have my eyes taped shut and he said 'Yes' he started to explain why, I looked back, and the next thing I knew Katrine the OR nurse was telling them not to put oven blankets on me...you know those HOT ones...the are warm...but i am too hot natured for that.
About 7:00am, Ray, Lisa & Holly were allowed to come into recovery. It was like the Twilight Zone....I was the only one there!!!! AUGH!!!! Dr Neil told Ray everything went great, and he gave Ray all the discharge directions. I was told as soon as I peed I could go home...so I had to go all of the sudden! I went to the bathroom, and was allowed to go. SO now the fun part getting dressed. I brought clean bottoms, but we had to catch Lisa on her way to the hospital to get me a shirt, my other one had blood all over it. So Ray is in the bathroom helping me get dressed, it took all had to not pass out. Anyone who know me knows I hate being down. So back in the wheel chair to my recovery area, to get some air and color back in my face!
Ray and Holly went to get the cars by the door, and Lisa went home to get some rest. As Dr Neil promised I was home before breakfast, Ray and Holly went and got Mickey D's. We talked to Logan and James when we got home. Thankfully Ray's sister Tina stayed at the house with the boys. We ate, and talked....it is very therapeutic for me. Holly left with her instructions of what to do for the party, Tina was a Saint and took the boys, and about 10:00am, I upheld my end of the bargain and went to bed. We slept until about 1:00pm, and got up to get ready for the party. (See He is 5!!!! Blog)
So in a nutshell, God made the decision for us on this pregnancy! And we are fine with it, it does hurt and we are grieving and handling this as a family as we should. Like I said talking is therapeutic for me!!! I don't want you to be sad for us. I want you to celebrate the blessings we have, each other, our son, our health, and our faith in God.
Thanks to everyone who lended a hand, and prayer and a heart in this time of need for us!

The craziest part of today we had to take Logan to the clinic...He has strep again..and Tarzan was on the TV!!! I have not been sleeping good the past few nights, the weather...the sick kid...and I have a gut feeling that tonight will not be any better. I am going to stay positive and know that God has an awesome plan for us!

On to Logan..at clinic today for a monthly diagnosis of strep throat. I have to take him to Dr Davidson in 2 weeks, and if he still test positive then he is carrying the strep virus, and we may have to talk about taking out his tonsils. The fun stuff we deal with...But I love him. He got a shot in his butt today, and he is feeling better. so on the 16th, we will see what Dr Davidson says.

He spent part of his actual birthday sick. But he is s trooper, and has pulled thru it.