It's Friday, and my surgery is three days away. I'm SO excited! The 10-day liquid diet is not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. After the first 5 days I got used to the reduced food intake and the lack of junk food.
Tuesday was a really tough day at work, after being off for three days for the Memorial Day weekend, and I was late getting home to boot. Alex needed to be driven over to York Little Theater for a rehearsal at 6:30. I didn't have time to make my shake, and I was starving since the last thing I had was a shake at 11:30am. We are driving to the theater and Alex says: "But Dad! I haven't had any dinner yet!" My response of "You and me both, kiddo! Suck it up!" didn't sit well with the grumpy 13-year-old sitting next to me in the minivan.
So, I did what came naturally and pulled into the McDonalds on the way, but when I got in line at the drivethrough I realized I couldn't order anything for myself. Again, it was easier to resist than I thought it would be, given my love of McDonalds burgers. Anyway, I ordered Alex's dinner, and was about to finish my order when I realized they had Decaf Diet Coke on the menu. I had given up Diet Coke when I started my liquid diet because I won't be able to have caffiene or carbonated drinks, so it was one of those great moments when I realized I could still drink a soda (without cafeine) before Monday.
I was giddy with the thought of drinking an ice cold soda! After we got our order and drove off, Alex put the straw in my drink and I pulled it out of the cup holder, and took a huge swig of that wonderful..... EWWW!! YUCK!! It's HORRIBLE! I almost had to pull over and hang my head out the window and puke. It tasted so sickenly sweet I thought I had gulped straight pancake syrup instead of a Diet Coke. I was tempted to throw it out, but I brought it home and asked Holly to try it, to make sure it was my tastebuds, not the Diet Coke. She took a sip (as I silently cringed) and then said it was fine. I said: "I got it just for you, sweetie!" <shhhh... that's our little secret!>
Got a busy day tomorrow, then Sunday it's Colon Blow time. Then off to surgery on Monday morning. They do two of these surgerys a day, so I will go in eather at 5:15am (UGG!) or 9:45am (meh). I hope to get a call later today to confirm my arrival time.
I have to get some sleep. My last day of work, until I return after surgery and recovery, starts in just 4 1/2 hours.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Holy Crap! I weigh how much?
A phrase I often found spinning through my head whenever I went to the doctors and the nurse read aloud the number from the scale. If you know me, you have seen me struggle with my weight my whole life. Food is a comfort to me. Life is tough. I eat and life isn't as tough. Pretty simple formula to a very large Steve.
I decided I'd had enough.
10 months ago I entered a program that will culminate in me getting surgery to permanently change how I eat. It's been exciting and scary, but mostly exciting. The goal of the program is to educate surgery candidates on what the surgery is, what you will be able to eat and what you won't be able to eat, how much, and when. Mixed in were some great lessons around why we eat what we do, exercise ideas, and some good old-fashioned group therapy to keep us motivated and focused on our goals.
My surgery is scheduled for June 4th, 2012. If you're reading this AFTER that date, you can skip ahead; I'm certain the post-surgery posts will be much more interesting.
I didn't want to write any blog entries before now, because for so many months it wasn't clear when I would get a surgery date. I'll go back and cover all of that at some point, but for now suffice it to say, it's been a real roller-coaster ride getting here.
To wrap up this post I'll give you a status update:
I'm on DAY 5 of the 10-DAY pre-surgery liquid diet designed to build my protein reserves and shrink my liver*. At times it has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do. At others it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
That's it for today. My dinner awaits: 8oz shake and two celery sticks.
(*)Interesting Factoid: Your liver sits on top of your stomach. It's in the way if surgeons are trying to mess with your stomach. Eliminating Dairy, Meat, and Breads from your diet dramatically shrinks it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)