First Shopping Jaunt....

I had a great time at the mall today, though it was a bit odd riding around in a wheelchair ROFLMAO

I tried on some really pretty dresses, and got a good deal on two -- one I'm wearing tomorrow so I think I'll have someone take a pic of me and Caroline and her mom to post here for you -- I really love it and think it's trendy but looks good on me. So, thanks big sis Amy, for the gift card ;-) It got some great use today!

I enjoyed my first trip out, though I'm finding I get uber car sick since surgery. Good to know for longer trips.

Also, I can't wait to see my extended family tomorrow! Mom's reaction this morning was pretty cool, so I can't wait to see what the other fam things -- mom was VERY impressed with the incision/results. It's so rewarding to have a nurse be happy with that part of it because they usually know their stuff!

Oh, and it's starting to itch like crazy which is great! It means it's healing, and with the binder on there's no hope of scratching so that's great too ROFL!

Three days after pics

Okay -- here you go.... afters. They're steri stripped up and still red obviously, but I feel pretty decent. Most of the red identations are from my new favorite garment -- the binding garment!

Pre Op Markup Pics

Here's some pre-op markup pics. I just got to see the "what they cut off" pics that my gyn was kind enough to take, and that was interesting! ;) Not posting those, don't want anyone to lose their lunch, but if you want, email me (sssmck@yahoo.com) and I'll send you the nastiness ROFLMAO

Yay!

I'm going home today! And with lots of Norco and REFILLS. Man, I love Dr. Sweeney!

Post Op and All is Well

Surgery took a little bit longer than we had anticipated so I wasn't conscious and in my room until nearly 7ish, but I don't really care because I had little to no pain and surgery went well according to the docs. The anesthesiologist was kind enough to give me a spinal as well as the general, but the spinal lasted for a good 14 hours, it was GREAT. Dr. Sweeney whispered in my ear as I was getting my spinal that I got lucky and had one of the best anesthesiologists that serve this hospital.

Had just a little sleep that night, but that's okay, because there wasn't too much pain. Got my first dose of pain meds orally at 4am. Dr. Smith came around 7:30am to remove my drain which was GREAT. Felt kinda icky, but so nice NOT to have the drain in anymore even though I hardly noticed it. Probably more a mental than physical thing ;)

After that I got to see the tummy, and almost cried. I couldn't quite grasp how I got so lucky, or blessed, or have such good karma or whatever you want to attribute it too. It's such a huge difference, to me at least. I'll take pics to post when I get home soon!

Yesterday afternoon I had a little issue with coughing -- really annoying because a simple little "gotta clear the phlem out of my throat" cough caused me pain for HOURS, but pain meds are great! LOL

I have some of the sweetest nurses, on all three shifts and they're so caring -- just what you'd want. They remind me that it's okay to take my meds and stay ahead of the pain. They also come up with great ideas like that magic sleeping pill last night that was on my med order from Dr. Sweeney should I need it. It helped a ton. I woke up this morning feeling like a new person almost. Still have a big incision that's healing but it wasn't nearly as scary a proposition after some good sleep.

Last night the kids came to visit and I loved seeing them so much. I really hope I can go home today. The only part of that that's confusing me is the idea that Dr. Sweeney hasn't come by yet. I can't leave until she says it's okay, so she has to come by, check me out and give me the green light to proceed to go and collect $200 ;) Hoping against hope she gets here soon because I feel great right now, and think that if she sees me this way I'll get released today no problem.

Ready to roll

I hit the hospital today for my blood tests, hit the gym one last time for a month or two, am doing homework for my Pharmacy Tech class and am ready to roll. I'm so thankful for the benzo the plastic surgeon gave me too, it means I WILL sleep tonight. Also very thankful for the Pharmacy Tech class project to keep my mind and my hands busy.

Gonna pack in the morning, and do more homework. I'm wondering today if I'll have my own room to recover in, if I can use my MP3 player (and if so when), if I'll be feeling up to doing school/computer work as I recover, etc. etc. etc. Lots of questions but I'm not stressing about not having answers. I'm actually kinda proud of myself for not being more "AAACCCKKKKK!" right now. I did yell at the fam this am about helping me clean up, but that had a lot to do with lazy attitudes and people not doing what they had promised to do yesterday.

Thanks so much to everyone who has shown me so amazingly strongly that they care and are hopeful that I will have an optimal outcome and recovery. Your words have all meant so much to me, and I'm so blessed to have so many people rooting for me during something that is so massive a hurdle for me. I am truly thankful and blessed to know all of you. I will check in again as soon as I can!

The infamous calorie count post-surgery....

Well, at least it was infamous to me. I was so curious, so I explained to my gyn the basics of my current WW plan -- 22 points per day plus "exercise points" -- I always earn the max amount of exercise points which is 4 (you can earn more, but can't USE more in any given day). So I explained to her that my theory was to just eat the exercise points for the two weeks post surgery and not exercise, in effect taking in roughly 200 more calories than normal. Initially she thought this was too much if I wanted to continue losing during that time frame. When I then explained that my 22 points a day adds up to roughly 1200-1400 calories per day she backed up and said that I should instead eat those activity points that I won't be earning for a couple weeks. She didn't want me below 1600 cals a day during the post op time frame, and I'm FINE with that! Totally doable, so I'm going to go with my generalized plan of 26ish points/1600 calories a day. I'm glad to have that set, and on my mind because I was afraid of giving myself too much leeway post op and not losing at ALL. I'm hoping there will be some skin associated weight loss, but I'm not sure.

I also confirmed my post op treatment for the hyster, and I'm happy with how that's all working out. Really, just seeing Dr. Sweeney helped me immensely -- she and I are just on the same wavelength I think -- she puts up with my neuroses and helps me so much. I told her that at least I try to be entertaining at the same time :)

One thing that did hit home when I saw her yesterday was the fact that Dr. Smith, the plastic surgeon, really is doing my surgery essentially for free. She said that she was surprised the lower fee he offered would even cover his expenses because this is a rather extensive tummy tuck. That makes me feel so amazingly blessed. I feel like I should be a bit guilty too, but I'm just trying to be thankful and keep the emotions surrounding this experience positive.

Today was the field trip to the hospital and CJ was cracking me up -- when we first got there he kept exclaiming "Wow, this place looks JUST like a hotel!!!" He's such a sweet kid. I love them both so much, and I'm sooo lucky to have them. But we saw some brand new babies today and I'm proud to report that I had no yearning what-so-ever for any more of them! Yay!

I'm happy that I've been eating well this week. I haven't gotten on the scale in four days and won't until Saturday AM for the official WI, but I'm thinking I'll be down at least a little. I love the feeling when I know I'm eating clean, and counting EVERYTHING.

If anyone wants contact info on either of my great docs, let me know and I'll give it to you, or you can just Google Dr. Denise Sweeney (ob/gyn) and Dr. Gary Smith (plastic surgeon) in Roseville, California.

To Gym, or Not To Gym; that is the question....

I'm fresh from the gym this morning, and during my workout I was wondering how long I have to wait to work out. Another question for my list for the doc. I love the gym -- I love my time there. I love the sweat dripping off my short hair at the nape of my neck and making dots on my t-shirt. I love the ring of sweat around my neck. Such a great sense of accomplishment. I don't want to let go of that too long so that I don't risk losing it all together.

One week and counting and I need to make a list of everything I need to get done. The week is busy to begin with so I'm getting worried I won't get it all done. At least I was smart and did the carpet/couch cleaning a week or two ago. I'm also working within the kitchen on a daily basis.

The scale is really pissing me off this morning. I'm sore from my "WAVE" workout, but it's really frustrating that the scale isn't cooperating. I just wanted to be down to my lowest weight at surgery, but right now I'm six pounds over it. It's really pissing me off. But I guess the only thing I can really do is keep doing what I'm doing: exercising, trying to eat okay and journal. I'm really not overeating that much -- I'm journaling everything which is key and I'm not eating horribly. Oh well, just keep on keeping on as my buddies say.

Nerves are starting to show

So, my excitement is toning down, and the nerves are starting to show through. It's tough, but I'm really glad I'm still mainly excited. I realized that the recovery is going to be pretty tough, and I have an insane week or two afterwards to navigate. I realized this after getting REALLY sore from my new workout tapes/equipment LOL It hurt so bad, but then I had the epiphany that DUH surgery will hurt way worse.

I have pre-op with the GYN side of things on Wednesday and I have to write down all of my questions so I don't forget any. Ed is out of town this week, so I have to fly solo on this pre-op too, so I'm nervous about forgetting stuff ;) The main thing is the bloodwork I think I need to have drawn before surgery.

Also, this week CJ and I get to go on a field trip with his class to the very hospital where I'm having surgery. Kinda neat!

Anyway, just starting to feel the nerves, but still way stoked. I'm sure I'll check in again pre-surgery.

Oh my goodness.... befores

Okay, so here's the clothed before. I'm wearing Old Navy crops (size 12) and Old Navy cami and top. I wear a lot of these kinds of tops because they're loose around my belly, but this picture is a great example of why they are sometimes not flattering. Six months pregnant anyone??? Yea, not so much, I'm having those parts REMOVED actually ;)




Here is the beloved "over belly" Not much to say other than that..... It's so beloved. And yes, I got a nice sunburn yesterday. CJ called it a "collar" this morning.... ROFLMAO




Also, note the snugness of the lower belly area in the crop pants. I will make sure to wear these for later "afters" to show a true comparison.







Here I SWEAR I'm wearing underwear. They're nude colored, and you can hardly see them due to the beautimous apron I'm sporting. Yes, the apron of fat and skin. Note, my legs are pretty decent, only a tiny bit of fat left to come off of them, and if it stays I'm not gonna be upset. I actually kinda dig my legs.

















Evidence I'm actually wearing underwear LOL. I actually like the side shot because I feel like it's most effective to show what the doctor is going to do. My c-section scar is below my apron at the top of the pubic area (where most c-section scars are). They're going to cut there, and cut at my belly button (the crease between what I refer to as my upper and lower bellies) and just remove that entire "loaf" of skin..... Yes I have some odd terminology. I'm trying to entertain myself and not gross myself out too much. So, that loaf is being removed, then the top bit is going to be pulled down and connected. At that point he's going to move my belly button so it's in the right place. I asked about the bit of substance that's still there in my upper belly and the doc said he's going to "thin out the bit of fat that's still there" -- I was concerned I might have this annoying thing sticking out there, and he said that's NOT going to happen if there's anything he can do about it.

If you have any questions about the pics or the surgery plan, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it.

Hope I haven't grossed you all out that much....

You can't say I didn't Warn you!

Here's your fair warning.... before pics are on my to do list today. They may not be up till tomorrow or the following day, but this is your official warning because I'm sure they won't be pretty.

I call this thing an apron for a reason....

When I post the befores I will also explain what the doc said he's planning to do.

See you soon!

The countdown begins!

15 days and counting. And it's a BUSY 15 days!

Almost every day on the calendar has something between now and the surgery, and the week after we have a houseguest for a week, and I'm usually the one who does the house cleaning. Thankfully DH took the week of the surgery off of work so he can wrangle the kids and hopefully clean the house before our beloved Maria comes to visit.

We're prepping for Caroline's party on the 31st, and have most of the 'paper goods' set, but are thinking we need some outdoor seating too. We're going to serve hotdogs and hamburgers and chips and sodas -- cheap and easy hopefully. We've already stocked up on soda, but Safeway's having an AMAZING sale, so it's tough to not buy more while it's this cheap LOL

Tomorrow I go to Dr. Smith's office and have my "before" pictures taken. I think I'm going to take my own before pics tomorrow too, and may post them here, or may create a separate blog to post them in because I'm guessing they really won't be pretty. I'm excited to go see Dr. Smith and thank him profusely, and ask a few little questions I have. I'm wondering about "drains" and also about the weight that is in my apron, I'm pretty sure it's just fat deposits, but am curious to confirm that and confirm they'll just be cut off and discarded too. Also curious if there are other adjacent fat deposits he'll be excising.

His nurse was kind enough to let me know that he loves cookies so I'm going to stop off and pick some up before my appointment for him and his staff. I think I'm going to call and ask about it now and see if I need to pre-order.