Well, I don't remember the exact weight the day I took this picture, but as of this morning, I am down 122 lbs. I'll take it. :)
It's been a bumpy road, with highs and lows.
High - first plane trip after surgery - no seatbelt extender - and I had room to spare! I almost cried. Okay, I may have shed a few tears. Luckily the guy next to me didn't speak English, which only made it more interesting when I accidentally dumped my cup of coffee down his leg mid-flight. Hopefully "Sorry" is understood in all languages?
Low - after a weekend in Orlando, I could no longer keep solid foods down. I threw up and thought maybe I had somehow eaten too much at lunch or the food just wasn't moist enough. Unfortunately, I didn't get better when I got home. I thought maybe it was just my hectic pace as work has been insane, life is crazy, and what are you going to do? I resigned myself to restarting my post-op diet of all liquids, then move to mushies, then soft protein, then back to a full diet. That's the pattern anytime I'm sick for the rest of my life. I complained about being back on liquids in my online support forum, and my bariatric nurse and fellow wls patients pushed me to call my doctor, even though I didn't think it was anything serious. Apparently, at least this once in my life, I was wrong. When I called the surgeon's office, I expected a call back to say I was doing the right thing and call back if I wasn't better. Instead, the call back was a scheduling call for an endoscopy. My surgeon did the procedure, and while he was exploring my little sleeve, he saw that the bottom part of what's left of my stomach was smaller than my pinkey finger. They call it a stricture, and he had to insert a balloon catheter into my stomach then dilate it (blow it up) to carefully stretch my stomach open. I woke up with a very sore throat (expected with any endoscopy) but the nausea I had felt 24/7 was gone. I should also mention that I have a hard time recovering from anesthesia. While I can now eat solid food again (working towards it at least!), I am still exhausted. This time they were able to wake me up a lot easier, but almost a week later I still feel tired. Have to follow up with the doctor in another week and see how I am doing. It can take a few times before the stricture stays gone, but I am hoping I am a lucky one that only needed the procedure once.
If this is the worst complication I've had to deal with, I think I'm doing pretty good.
Thanks to all my family and friends that have helped me get to this point and who continue to propel me forward. Friends who tell me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear; friends who spend their morning in the hospital after they were in a minor car accident just so they could drive me home after my procedure. Friends who send me funny texts when I'm down. Friends who join me on my liquid diet. Friends who notice and celebrate each milestone. I love you all, and I am so thankful to call you friends.
Merry Christmas to all!
Amy
