Week One Recap

Ok, so I’ve been REALLY slack blogging about the actual surgery and immediate aftermath, so here is a full recap of what’s been happening over the last 6 days:

Sunday

Sunday morning dawned early for us, as I had to be up early to head to Sydney and I had a TONNE of things left to do before we left. We madly tried to pack up everything, Max threw up three times (including twice BEHIND the couch) and finally we got on the road. It was a pretty uneventful trip, which ended in us parking a mile away from where we should have been – but we finally found where we were meant to go, got the key for our accommodation and got settled in. Poor Brad was a little horrified to learn that the unit we have is a shared unit, so there was other people living there, but I still say we were lucky to get the place we got – it’s really nice and fully self contained which means we can do our washing etc.

Sunday night also meant that I was finally going to treat myself to some real food – Brad cooked chicken tenders which tasted AMAZZZINNNGGGG and then later that night I had salmon and veggies. It was so great to finally eat protein again! Going to sleep was a bit hard on Sunday night but I eventually got there.

Monday

My alarm went off on Monday at 5am and I got up. I thought I would have an optifast, but I didn’t really feel like it so instead I got stuck into some water which I was allowed to have up til about 8:30am. I parked myself in one of the living rooms in our flat with a book, the TV and a heater and that’s where I stayed all morning, just relaxing and trying not to think about what was about to happen to me! I had my last sip of water at around 8:20am and then we headed over to the hospital at around 10am. I was admitted and taken up to the day surgery area and told to wait there, but we didn’t have to wait too long before my name was called and I was taken into a small room where I was asked a bunch of questions. I was told there was another girl to go in for surgery ahead of me, and that I might be waiting a little while. Brad was allowed to be with me the whole time which was REALLY helpful to me, and I didn’t once panic or get really nervous about it despite the circumstances.

When they came for me to go into surgery Brad said goodbye and for the first time I got a little teary. They wheeled me into the anaesthetic bay and had some difficulties getting a line into me (surprise surprise) but did get one to take eventually after a few goes. By that stage I was beginning to panic a bit, so they gave me something to settle my nerves and I was wheeled into the operating room. They had this amazing blow up mattress thing underneath me that hovered me over to the operating table, and despite being told I probably wouldn’t remember it I do remember being angled up towards my feet and told to slide down to the bottom of the bed so my feet were flat on the foot of the bed. I don’t remember a thing after that.

Waking up in recovery really hurt – my shoulder was KILLING me, the gas pain was so bad. I also had a mask over my face which I found claustrophobic, and I kept trying to take it off but they said I couldn’t just yet. Because everything had been so well explained before hand I knew what was I in for, so there was no real surprises to me except the pain. I was soon taken to my room and introduced to the nursing staff, then realised that my husband was there too J I was so pleased to see him!!!

That evening the nursing staff offered for me to get changed into my own clothes and I told them I’d like to go for a walk. I think they were surprised I’d be up and about so soon, but I’d had it drilled into me to get up and walk as soon as possible, so I began lapping the ward and continued to do so every time I was awake and alert. It gave me something to focus on, some measure of control, and something practical I could do to decrease the pain. I think the nurses were very impressed J

The next day or so is a bit of a blur – lots of ice (everytime a nurse turned up I’d ask for more ice because it kept melting on me!) and everytime I pressed my little button off I’d go for a snooze…I felt bad because Brad would sit with me most of the day and every time the machine would beep he and I would both know I’d be out for the count, but he stayed anyways. Having him as a constant prescence through this whole experience has been the most incredible thing I feel like I’ve been able to share this journey with him, and that’s made me feel even closer to him than I ever have before. We’ve done it together, and he’s been such an amazing pillar of strength.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a bit of a blur, but I do remember Dr Taylor coming to visit finally sporting some VERY graphic photographs proving that INDEED the surgery was done, and indeed I had been sleeved. His proof was a particularly disturbing image showing the part of the stomach he cut away laying on a stainless steel slab with his fist next to it for sizing purposes - lovely! LOL I was relieved that it really did happen and that my liver was small and soft enough for it to happen safely, and even though I'd tested myself every couple of days and I had not cheated on my pre op diet I was still a little nervous about making sure that it really DID happen. 

Wednesday-Thursday

As the days wore on I realised I was pretty keen to get out of the hospital. There was a big question mark hanging over us as to whether I’d leave Wednesday evening (an early mark) or whether I’d wait til Thursday. The push button machine was taken away Wednesday lunch time, but I’d stopped using it the day before and had only pushed it a couple of times even then. I struggled to drink the fluids given to me Wednesday lunch time, and then Wednesday evening my cannula (faithful though it had been up til then) finally gave way. Thankfully I was able to drink a whole cup of apple juice in time for the nurses to agree to not put in another one (PHEW) which meant that I had a whole night of sleep without being tethered to anything J J Because I didn’t have the machines anymore I was left alone for 5 hours and got a serious stretch of sleep, and when I woke up I went for a walk straight away and had a shower and got packing – I was dying to get out of the hospital!!! Brad came for me at 9am and I was practically ready to go, I’d been given my instructions and medications and was ready to head off. I found out I’d have to give myself shots every day to prevent blood clots (owch!) and was taught how to do it (I’m so brave!!!) to which surprisingly I DIDN’T freak out but rather just calmly accepted (God is so good!).

The only time I got upset was when I was brought my liquid breakfast – I looked at all the liquid and I freaked out because I knew how difficult it was for me and I felt completely overwhelmed – amazing what a bit of juice tea and broth can do for a body when you’ve had this surgery! The nurses calmed me down, assuring me that while it does seem like a lot all at once, the most important thing to do was to just keep sipping on something, and not look at the big picture. I was assured that it WOULD get better, despite how things were feeling right now, and that in time I’d be able to tolerate more and more.

After I calmed down we dropped into the pharmacy for the rest of my meds and came straight to the unit, it felt SO good to be out of the hospital J it was my first step towards getting back to my life and it felt SO good J Brad immediately became my fluid nazi (in the nicest possible way) encouraging me to continue sipping on the sustagen popper I’d been given at breakfast as well as later on juice, optifast and even going to the supermarket down the road and getting me frosty fruits (OMG so good!). Swallowing was still hard, with pain coming up in my chest after most sips of drink. It was a big learning curve figuring out how much was too much and how little was too little. It also dawned on me just how long I had to go, and how tough the smallest amounts of liquids had become for me.

Friday

Friday dawned with me really not knowing what to do with myself – apart from wandering down to the hospital to pay for my accommodation I really didn’t have anything to do, so we spent the day lazing around, having a nap watching tv and the odd movie. We’ll be very ready for some action by the time next week rolls around and we’re closer to the beach that’s for sure! I was able to have some more liquids actually making it over the 1ltre mark which was encouraging! I also for the first time experienced what I think was hunger pains! Incredible! I could definitely feel an improvement in the way I was able to consume liquids, and I snuck a peak at my booklet given to me by the clinic to have a look at the next stage (which would start next Thursday) and began thinking about things I could puree! J Hooray!

So, that’s the recap of the week. It’s been the toughest thing I’ve ever done, but so far I’m just concentrating on healing and resting at this point. The real work begins when I am able to consume real food again but I’m confident that because I’ve come this far I wont quit and I’ll keep the next 9-12 months always in the forefront of my mind – this is the time I have to make a concerted effort, there’s no going back now. I have to keep my stomach as small as possible for as long as possible, and I must make good choices NOW to set myself up for the rest of my life. I’m going to get every single lost kilo I can out of this, because this is a one time deal – I’ll never be doing this again!!! I have to keep the end goal in mind – it’s about health and wellbeing and losing the damn weight!

It’s now Saturday morning, another perfect day in Sydney all wrapped up in our comfortable little unit like a cocoon. Brad will be heading down to the shops later to pick up some more food for himself, but other than that there’s no much we have in the way of plans. I will likely go for a short walk today just to stretch my legs and get things moving, and I’ll be trying to bump up the liquids as much as I can. Here’s to week two!