Journey to Health, Volume II

Surgery Day

I’ve had many surgeries over the years and it’s always the same routine, check in early in the morning, wait. Get called back, wait.  Get your gown on and an IV started, wait.  Talk to the doctor, wait. Answer the same 15 questions eight different times, wait. Finally go to the OR…1…2…3…OUT.  Wake up in recovery extremely exhausted and annoyed that they won’t just let you sleep and then an hour or so later you are in the car and headed home.  95% of my surgeries have gone exactly this way. There is only one time I remember spending the night in the hospital, after a surgery, and that was when I had my hysterectomy.

As mentioned in volume I, I had my surgery on Thursday, December 29^th; the day after Kiarra had her four wisdom teeth removed.  I was so concerned about her that I didn’t even want to leave her the day after her surgery for my own surgery. Surgery was scheduled for late morning so I was at least able to care for her prior to heading to the hospital that morning.  I had made a very detailed list of exactly what Jayden and Taryn needed to do to care for her until I got home later that day. I knew the surgery would take 3 hours and then I’d be in recovery for an hour or two and would be home by 6-7 pm.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 am and I was immediately called back.  In the round of questions and conversations with the nurse, she told me to put my clothes in my overnight bag… Ummmmm say what??  I said “oh, I’m not staying the night” and she looked at me like I had lost my mind and said “oh yes you are.”  Ummmm Houston, we have a problem. My child is home, being taken care of by a 10 year old and a 15 year old and you are telling me that I am not going home today???  I immediately started crying. Jayden was at basketball practice, so really Kiarra was home with a 10 year old at this point.  I was already nervous just to have the surgery, thinking another dose of anesthesia might just send me to meet Jesus, but I was also emotional and tired (from caring for Kiarra every two hours through the night).  The doctor came by and was questioning the nurse about why I wasn’t ready to go back and asked me why I was crying.  I was trying NOT to be a big baby but was just overwhelmed with emotion.  He assured me that he told me during my pre-op appointment that I would be spending the night (and I’m sure he did). As a matter of fact, thinking back to my pre-surgery appointment at the hospital, they told me too.

I was soon rolled back to the OR and 1…2…3…OUT. And I was pretty much out the remainder of the day. I vaguely remember my friend Jocelin coming by to see me.  I remember hearing her and Jeff talking but my lips were tied shut and my brain wouldn’t work so I couldn’t respond to them.  I also remember my friend Lynette coming by. My brain still wouldn’t work and I don’t think I acknowledged her being there but I remember waking up once and seeing her sitting in the chair.  Actually, I think Lynette came before Jocelin… but I don’t know and Jeff can’t remember either… maybe they gave him propofol too.  I also remember the terrible nurse I had that night.  I was hooked up to IVs and had those legs pump things on my legs to keep from getting blood clots and was still extremely drugged so I couldn’t exactly do things on my own. I recall (or maybe I just remember from my friends telling me the stories) calling for my nurse to come help me go to the restroom and she was taking forever so  I just unhooked myself and took myself to the toilet.  They were pumping me with so much fluid that I had to pee every hour and each time I had to unhook myself, get my IV stand unplugged and make my way to the restroom.  Typically this would be fine but I remember being so dizzy and irritated. I remember trying to wash my hands and practically falling asleep standing at the sink. Jeff was with me the majority of the day but went home that night to care for Kiarra and get some rest so he could take care of both of us.  Around midnight, they made me walk the halls. I thought I was going to die.  Y’all, I am a big wuss!!  I admit it. I don’t like pain and I hate the feeling of being drugged. I don’t understand why people do drugs and don’t understand why people like the feeling of not having control.  At this point they were still giving me a lot of pain medication as well so it was a long journey around the floor. I’m sure I saw butterflies and roses! They wanted me to go twice but I was not having it.  This nurse was extremely sweet and so awesome. She had to come into my room every hour to check my vitals and she was so kind and caring each time.  I only slept for 30 minutes each hour because of having to get up and walk for 10 minutes each time she took my vitals…and of course use the restroom. I think I was getting a bag of fluid every two hours.

Road to Recovery

Friday, Jeff arrived at the hospital super early in the morning thinking the doctor would make his rounds early… WRONG!  The nurse told us that he likely wouldn’t come until later in the afternoon.  He stayed around for an hour or so and then I sent him home to care for Kiarra.  I slept off and on, getting up each hour to do my 10 minutes of walking. I could tell they had started to wean me off the pain meds because the pain in my abdomen was no joke. I was also sooo thirsty but they wouldn’t allow me to have anything to drink, not even ice chips. At some point that morning, I was wheeled to X-Ray to do a barium swallow so they could ensure everything was good with my new stomach and that I could begin drinking fluids.

My friend Hayley came by and we were able to catch up and have a nice chat. I do remember her being there and I remember talking but I don’t have any memory of what we talked about. Narcotics are no joke. They really mess with your brain. Don’t do drugs!!.. Ok, ok, moving on.  Jeff and the kids came and it was so good to see all of them, especially Kiarra. I was so worried about her. She was looking pretty tired and so swollen. Taryn was most excited to see me. She is the worrier of the family and was really worried about me. They didn’t stay long, my mother and father in law picked them up and took them home so Jeff could stay with me until the doctor came.

We waited and waited and then finally the nurse came in and said I could have some Gatorade. YAY!!  I think Gatorade is absolutely disgusting but at this point, I could drink anything so I was not going to complain… well, I wasn’t going to complain until they brought me grape.  GROSS!!!  Seriously though, it wasn’t all that bad. I was only allowed to drink 1 oz. every 15 minutes and it felt great to drink something, even it was nasty grape Gatorade, so I was happy.

My doctor came by around 6 pm and said everything looked good and said I could go home if I wanted to.  Ummm, heck YEA!!  Who would opt to stay another night?? Not me!

Within minutes the nurses had my discharge papers and we were outta there.

The drive was brutal on my abdomen that was in so much pain. We got home and I was exhausted. Thankfully, we have furniture that reclines. Kiarra wasn’t able to sleep lying down and I was in too much pain to lie down so we crashed together and made the family room our room for the next week (or 3 weeks… more about that another time).

The first few days were tough, mostly because of pain. Sitting down was the worst but getting up was quite painful as well. Prior to surgery, when I was on liquids only, if I got hungry I would drink a protein shake or a ton of water. Now, I’m not able to do that. 1 oz. every 15 minutes was all I could have. I wasn’t necessarily hungry, but I was thirsty. I would get up and make laps around the house every hour (unless I was sleeping) and each time I would check on my sweet Kiarra and apply oils to her cheeks and give her pain medication. I was so happy to be able to take care of her (even though I could barely care for myself).

• Day three was the absolute worst day of recovery. This was also New Years Eve and the day those pesky gas pains set in. I’ve kept a journal throughout this journey and day three says “seriously I want to die”.  This is also the day I started using Essential Oils to help with the recovery.  Let me clarify, I didn’t really want to die but I did want those pains to go away.  Jeff and the kids went and hung out with some friends and my friend Jocelin came over and hung out with me.

• Day four I woke up and feeling pretty good, even though I only had 3 hours of sleep from all the fireworks.  We had my in-laws over to do Christmas gift exchange. It wasn’t long and I was in pain and feeling tired again.  I rested off and on throughout the day.

• Day five - this is the day I realized I had an amazing essential oil in my collection. Digest Zen! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!  This essential oil is amazing. They are all amazing but you need different ones at different times and this day, Digest Zen, a doTERRA blend, was like heaven to me.  I was tired but feeling great. We even had some friends over that night for a game night.

• Day six – My first day out of the house since surgery. The girls and I went and got pedicures and had a trip to Target. We barely got to Target when I realized I needed to get home and get home fast.  While I was at home, I was really good about drinking 1 oz. of fluid every 15 minutes however, when I was out that day, I was not good about it and was quickly weak and extremely tired.  This day I added 5 Essential Oils to my regime (Frankincense, Deep Blue, Melaleuca, On Guard, and Aroma Touch). This was in addition to the ones I was using on a daily basis (Breathe, Peppermint, Cheer, On Guard, Digest Zen, Clary Calm, Immortelle, Wild Orange and Past Tense).  I was also diffusing oils each day to help in our recovery.

• Day seven – the kids went back to school and I worked half a day (from home). I was feeling great but didn’t want to overdo it and set myself back so did what I could and rested when I needed to rest.

• Day eight – I woke up feeling great and worked a full day (from home). I cooked the family dinner and had somewhat of a normal day. I didn’t nap at all but started to feel exhausted by 7 pm.

• Day nine and ten – these days were about the same. We received our new dishes in the mail (I love Amazon) so I washed and put all those up.  All day long, I just felt great and felt like I was getting back to my normal self… a new normal.

Each day I applied oils 3-4 times and day by day I felt better and better.  I was truly on the road to recovery.

Stay with me here… I didn’t journal every single day for the past 117 days. I’m almost done with the daily updates…

• Day 12  - I went back to the office for the first time and the walk from my car to my desk was enough to exhaust me. I survived all day but it was difficult and  I was in bed sleeping by 7 pm.

• Day 13 and 14 – these two days were rough. I had a minor setback and was winded, dizzy and weak. I worked from home again both of these days.

• Day 15 – I realized I hadn’t taken my thyroid & hormone medication in a week which explained the dizziness and overall lethargic feeling I was having.

• Day 16 – My 2 week checkup!!  Met with the doctor and he said I was doing great. I was down 24 pounds since my pre-op appointment a week before surgery. He told me that I can begin working out in one more week.  Yesssss!!  This day quickly turned into nightmare soon after my check up, but it didn’t have anything to do with me, it had everything to do with Kiarra and my brother… stay tuned for a blog dedicated to that day.

• Day 17 – 33 – these days were all fairly uneventful in terms of my recovery. Each day got a little easier as I adapted to my new way of life. I graduated from liquids to soft foods - yogurt, applesauce, jello, etc.  And then after a few weeks of that I moved onto pureed foods, scrambled egg, and anything the consistency of a scrambled egg.

Currently, most days my food intake consists of: 

• Breakfast - 1 scrambled egg with 2 slices of mushrooms -OR- 1/2 packet of oatmeal
• Snack - 1/2 Greek Yogurt with 2 drops of doTERRA Wild Orange EO
• Snack - Cheese stick
• Lunch - 2 oz grilled Chicken, 1/4 cup spaghetti squash, Fruit (1 strawberry, 3-5 blackberries, 6 blueberries)
• Snack - 2 oz avocado with 6 rice crackers -OR- 1/2 boiled egg
• Dinner - 2 oz grilled Chicken, 3-4 steamed broccoli

After 12 weeks, I was pretty much able to eat anything I want. I’m not really eating bread, rice or pasta but I can have a couple of bites if I really want to, however I’m making better choices and trying my best to stay away from bad carbs. I’m eating lean meat, protein and veggies mostly. I try to have a little fruit each day and am trying to drink 60 oz of water. Prior to surgery I was drinking 130 oz. of water each day so only drinking 60 now has been a difficult transition.

MAJOR GOAL

Day 93…March 31 - I officially met my first goal. This was huge for me. It brought me to my knees and I was thanking God for this incredible journey. He is always so faithful. I was less than 200 pounds for the first time in 5 years...

Working out

Around day 35, I began working out. I was going to start immediately when my doctor released me to workout but I was busy caring for Kiarra and it was something we wanted to do together so I waited until she was cleared and we began together.

If you follow me on snapchat, you know we’ve been running, using hand weights to do upper and lower body training as well as doing T-25.  Six day a week we are busting our tail either doing cardio or sweating it out with squats or dumbbell presses. On days it’s raining, we do the T-25 indoors.

I was so afraid of injuring myself again while running; I took the first few times very slow and was very careful. I’m still nervous but it feels so good to be out there running again.

Progress

Although my official weigh in days are on Mondays, I weigh myself daily to see how I’m doing from the prior days choices. Some days I’m happy with the number and others I’m not.  I don’t have an end goal in mind as I’m not trying to be a specific weight or size. My goal was to feel better and get healthy and so far I am feeling great.

To date, as of my official weigh in this morning, I’ve lost a total of 78 pounds. I’m down 4-5 sizes and had to buy an entire new wardrobe (thankfully I have an awesome friend who is on a health journey as well and she’s been giving me loads of clothes). 

There are weeks I don’t lose anything, weeks that I’ve gained a few ounces and weeks where I’ll lose a couple of pounds within days. Since last Monday, I lost 4 pounds, but for a couple of weeks prior to that I stayed the same, day after day. It’s all a progress.

Non-scale accomplishments

·         I can cross my legs again!! Around day 30 I realized I can cross my legs.  This may seem small to you but this is a pretty big deal.

·         I can walk up 3 flights of stairs without being winded and feeling like I’m going to die from an asthma attack.

·         I can tie my shoes by bending over or leaning over if I’m sitting down. I could not do this before without popping my foot out to the side or propping it up on something because my stomach was too big to reach down that far.

·         I can play on the floor with Taryn and no longer feel like a whale when I need to stand up.

·         I can play basketball with my son and family. Yesterday, I played basketball outside with the kids for a couple of hours and it was AWESOME!!

That’s all for now!  Thanks for reading.