Saturday, August 04, 2007

Waiting Almost Over!

a few updates:

last weekend H and i went to hidden valley, pa to stay at a condo belonging to my mom & dad's best friends. gorgeous place. we just wanted to get away, and we really enjoyed ourselves.

while there, we took a trek to fallingwater. man...i lived near there for 3 yrs and never got to see it. i'm glad i finally went. beautiful, magical place.

we also took a tour of nemacolin woodlands, and where i used to live - the terribly gross town of uniontown, pa. i have to tell you - it was worse than i remembered, and worse than hank imagined. i showed him where i lived - the house still looked ok, same with the yard - well cared for, etc., but no sign of my ex or mojo. they must have been inside or away. let me tell you that we couldn't get out of uniontown quick enough. SUCH a depressing area. makes lackawanna, ny or coraopolis, pa look like resort towns.

it was a lovely getaway, though. i really needed it.

when we returned, this week was all about prepping for my surgery coming up next tuesday!

yes - it is finally time. got the clearance from my primary physician, the results from my EKG, blood & urine work, chest xray etc. everything is perfect. got the go ahead from my surgical team who i saw on tuesday this week. they answered all the questions i had, but i came up with some more that i have to ask before surgery tuesday.

some people having this surgery have been on circulation machines hooked up to their legs to help prevent blood clots. as well, some were sent home with injections to prevent clots as well. neither has been mentioned to me, and i'm a little concerned about it. however, they did tell me i will be wearing special hose on my legs to make sure circulation is good and to prevent clots. nothing about any machinery hooked up to these hose, though. so we'll see.

other than that i feel very prepared and ready. my mom will come on monday afternoon. she and H's mom will accompany him in the waiting room while i have my surgery tuesday morning. my mom will be staying with us for as long as i need help. which, could be anywhere from a week to 3. no way of knowing how quickly i'll be back on my feet. this is different surgery from the lap-band surgery - more invasive and intense, and there are more incisions, though it is all done laproscopically. my mom will be with me most of the day and evening, but she will be sleeping at H's mom's place as she has a guest room and we don't. i'm a bit relieved that this is working out so easily.

i plan on making a new blog - a photo journey of my success in weight loss surgery. so i'll keep you all posted as to that link if and when it happens.


anyway - i may or may not feel like blogging afterwards for a bit, but if you think of it around 7:30 AM EST on tuesday morning, august 7 - say a prayer or send some good vibes/thoughts my way. i will certainly appreciate it more than you know.

ttfn!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking about you. In fact, I sent an e-mail but it bounced back. Sending good vibes for your surgery.

My son-in-law is from Uniontown. Sounds like a great place to be FROM. His mother wanted Donna and Hank to live there after they were married. Donna stood her ground - they're very happy living here in Georgia.

Anyway, good luck with the surgery and post some more when you get the chance.

Hugs!

The CEO said...

I can't believe you were that close to my house and I never met you. I live three hours or so from Falling Water.

The hose on your legs is air running up and down and pushing on your skin so you don't form clots in your legs while you're lying in bed. I preferred to get up and walk and get the blood circulating that way. Ask Tiffany, she'll tell you to get out of bed as soon as you can and start walking. Best therapy there is!

See you soon! Best of luck!

Anonymous said...

I will be thinking of you! At my place everyone has the leg pump hose thingys put on the day of,during, and after surgery. They are awesome---like getting a massage, but you can't take them home with you (unless you want to pay for them, I guess). I had 6 incisions/holes with my lap band---how many will you have?

WanderingGirl said...

Okay, the "hose" are TED hose, and they don't prevent clots (nothing does) but they do reduce the risk. I actually prefer them over the "air flow" things that CEO mentioned (SCDs, or Sequential Compression Devices, or Plexi Puffs) because the TED hose don't have to be unhooked... read as, get your ass out of bed and walk asap! The air flow ones are a pain to unhook and people tend to walk less. Anyway, my advice is: pump your ankles up and down as often as you can as soon as you wake up. That's way more effective than any hose or pumps available. Walk. There's nothing better for you.

Now, what is this "it's more invasive than a lap-band" thing?

WanderingGirl said...

Oh, and the shot is a blood thinner to help decrease the risk of the blood clotting. Probably not going to need that with a laproscopic surgery and the pumping of ankles and getting up and walking asap and all. Just sayin'. Most people who need that aren't able to get out of bed and walk prior to their surgery, none-the-less afterward.

Good luck! And do let us know how you're doing.

ptooey said...

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Rebecca! I'm looking forward to hearing about your successes.

Michelle said...

Best of luck and good health, Rebecca!

I've gained a tremendous amount of weight in the last 18 months and will follow your progress to see if this should be an option for me, too.

*hug*

Mermaid Melanie said...

You have made your choices. and prepared well. I am glad you got a chance to have a mini get away with hubby before you take on your new phase in life.

I will be thinking of you. :goodvibes:

Anonymous said...

I hope you're doing well. Thinking about you every day.