One week Post-Op and So Far, So Good!

Well, my surgery went as planned on Monday Aug. 29th. I arrived at the hospital at 5:00am and they got started prepping me pretty quickly.  I think the surgery started around 8:30am, which was about a hour later than scheduled.  Thankfully, all went well during the surgery. I did have a small hernia that they fixed during surgery, but other than that, everything went smoothly.

From the surgery, I developed something called subcutaneous emphysema.  It is where the air that is pumped into the body cavity during the surgery migrated it's way up into my collar bone area, neck, and face.  My eyes were extremely swollen and I could barely see out of them. I had no peripheral vision whatsoever. I also couldn't breathe well because of the air constricting the airway in my neck.  Once they got me set up on the CPAP machine, though, I was good to go and could breathe much better. So my face and neck looked swollen, but it was from air, not fluid.  It was really a strange feeling. Thankfully it has mostly gone away and my voice has returned to normal.

I had to stay 2 nights in the hospital and was discharged Wednesday evening.  The best thing about coming home was being able to SHOWER!  They did not let me shower in the hospital because I had a drain hooked up to me and I couldn't shower until the drain was removed. They didn't take the drain out until Wednesday afternoon and by that time, I figured I'd just wait til I got home!  It was good to be home again.

So far, so good with the diet. It has been tough, I won't lie.  This has probably been one of the hardest things I have done in my life.  Right now I just long to taste something other than water, Crystal Light, jello, and popsicles. I long to be able to chew my food instead of having to sip it!  Those are the hardest things.  Last night, the boys made popcorn for themselves and it was really hard for me because I love popcorn and that smell just permeated the house.  But I am staying positive and trying to remember that it's just popcorn and one day, I might be able to eat some again, just not right now...and if I never do, the end result will be worth it and it won't matter.  The biggest thing that excites me right now is the fact that I am "graduating" to smooth soups and dairy products so I can finally make my protein shakes with milk again and I can have some Greek yogurt and things like that. It will be such a welcome change from the clear liquids. In another week, I can start on the soft foods and I will be able to do scrambled eggs.

I know I said I was going to post before and after pics, but I got busy before the surgery and didn't have a chance to post the "before" pics.  But...look at any of my Facebook pics...and that is what I looked like!  I will post after pics...I'm aiming for once every month, but we'll see how it goes!  So far I am down 17 pounds total.  I dropped 11 pounds in the 2 weeks prior to surgery by doing protein shakes and then I've dropped another 6 pounds since Monday. 

So that about sums up my week!  I am overall doing very well and feeling good and praying it continues this way!  I am thankful for everyone's support, thoughts, well-wishes, and prayers!!