Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A Hot Date with a Surgeon....in the OR...

Two days after my last blog entry about being submitted to the insurance for approval, I received a call from my caseworker at the surgeon's office that I was officially approved to have the surgery. That sure didn't take long!

Yesterday was my follow up with the surgeon to go over my test results from all of the pre-op tests and assessments that I had to endure. I think waiting the 2.5 hours in the waiting room just to wait my turn was the most painful part (and I was 20 mins EARLY for my appointment)! He said that my test results all look good and that I appear to be in good shape physically, mentally, and emotionally to have the surgery. He said my risks of complications appear slim given my age and test results. My only orders are to try and lose 5-10 pounds before surgery with the "liver reduction diet" - similar to the SlimFast plan - 2 high protein shakes a day and a "sensible" dinner. I had to laugh when he said that, he sounded just like the commercial for SlimFast! The only difference is, I won't be drinking SlimFast shakes, I will be drinking high protein shakes that they sell there or they gave me a few "over the counter" options to try. I think I will start next week, maybe I can drop a few pounds before going on vacation the first week of August. I sure am not going to worry about it on vacation, except maybe to have a shake in the morning. I'm not much of a breakfast person anyway.

So with that, my "date" with the surgeon in the operating room is Monday August 29th. I have to be at the hospital at 5:00am to get ready and be prepped for surgery at 7:30am. The surgery should last about 1.5 hours and I will be in the hospital probably 2 nights, maybe 3. I am hoping for only 2 nights, though! I am definitely praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. Since I don't get paid for being out of work, I am hoping 1 week off and 1 week working from home will be all I need so I don't lose more time (and money). And afterwards, comes the weight loss...and I will be truly on my way to a healthier, and thus happier, me!

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