Two weeks!

I've had the pleasure of having two of my nephews spending the week with Melissa and I. My sister, Nicole and her husband went to Newport Coast for a week. Jordan and Andrew arrived at our house on the 29th and we've had so much fun! We've gone to Classic Skating, the park to fly kites, to see Horton Hears A Who, and bowling! Boondocks will be on Monday. They've been really fun to have around. Everyday is a day filled with laughter. Those two can make anyone in the universe laugh their heads off!

I'm a little over two weeks out now. Things are great! I went to my 2 week follow up and was told I'm dehydrated. (Liquids are so hard to get down, especially 64 ounces worth!) So I've made a big effort trying to get more than 32 oz down per day since my visit. Its worked well, my eyes aren't as sunken in and I do have more energy!

One Week Out...

And I feel great! I've had a lot of people surprised that I was back to work on Monday. They were all worried I wasn't giving myself time to heal. To that I say, with laparoscopic surgery, the faster you are up and moving the faster you heal. I've gone on at least two walks a day and noticed that even though I only eat 2 ounces of food 3 times a day, I've had more energy than I've had in a long time! I can't get enough water. (I used to gulp water, but now I have to sip it all day long) The only bad thing is that I can't drink 30 minutes before my meal or 30 minutes after my meal. I get pretty thirsty during those times. The reason for it though is so the food won't move through my stomach too fast, and that I'll stay full longer. Although I'm not really hungry through the day. Like yesterday, I forgot to eat my breakfast and finally ate it at 11:00 AM. :o) Anyway, I'm doing great, I'm enjoying the transition, and I'm grateful for all the support that surrounds me!

I live!

Check out the bruise! That's one of eight! This one is the most ugly, but hurts the least. This came from when the nurse was trying to find a vein to put the IV in. Well obviously this one didn't work. :o)

The surgery went well. My doctor told me I was his "star patient" and that everything went text book smooth! I had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia. I felt so out of it for a while. Not to mention having to get up and walk the halls every hour. But that made me heal faster and I'm doing great!

My mom and my sister were by my side the entire time. Its a good thing my mom stayed the night in the hospital with me. My blood pressure dropped to something like 70 over 44. (It was because I was pushing the pain pump every 10 minutes...not because I was in pain, I just didn't want to ever feel it.) Well the nurse didn't really react much and said that couldn't be the reason, so my mom told me not to push the button at all for the next hour and when the nurse came back to check my vitals, my blood pressure was back to normal: 122 over 70. Moms are soooo smart! I'm so grateful for my mom! I got kind of annoyed with Melissa, as she was the one that made me get up every hour...so sorry about that Melissa. :o) It helped for sure!

Anyway, everything is great. I'm planning on going back to work tomorrow! I'm so happy everything worked out. Its been a great experience. Its really weird to feel full with a sip of water. I'm very aware of my stomach and every gurgle! I'm excited for what adventures await!

This is it! Time to fly!

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm really, really excited. Yesterday I was really, really nervous! I asked my dad to give me a blessing and that has helped a TON! Thank goodness for the Priesthood! This morning I woke up and thought Wow! Tomorrow I get surgery! but no nervousness came with it. What a wonderful thing!

So this to the left is my before picture. To me, this represents someone who is going to be in my past. Although this person has had a great life up until now, this person is going to have a much greater life from here on out! I can't wait to be able to enjoy all the sports that I love to play, go hiking, fly comfortably, enjoy Disneyworld to its fullest! I won't have to worry about whether or not I go on that roller coaster, always wondering if I'm going to fit.

Hooray for all the posibilities this surgery is going to open up for me! I know its just a tool, but I've finally found the right tool. Its as if I've always had nails to hang things up with, but have had to use a wrench to nail them into the wall. I finally have my hammer! Like I said in the title. Its time to fly! So hang on and enjoy this amazing ride with me! Wish me luck that everything will go smooth tomorrow!

Still trekking along!

5 more days! Its starting to get really close! I'm still excited but the nerves are creaping in too! It doesn't seem that real yet. I know it will the day of! :o)

The diet has been really good. Not too hard. The first two days were crazy. I was crazy! I think I've found out how I'd be if I were to get drunk. I got to the point where I was laughing at everything! I thought everything was so funny and I felt like I was out of it.

Then everything evened out, and I'm doing well. I ate something higher in fat yesterday (I had the calories left to do it) but it actually made my stomach hurt. So that's a good sign! I've lost 3 pounds while doing this (water weight of course!) although I didn't expect to lose anything, any little bit helps! Anyway, its been great! I've had lots of support and for that I'm grateful! Just like the subject, I keep trekking along and that's what counts! Here's to less than a week before my life changes for good! YAY!

Happy Birthday to me!

26 years old today. Wow. I could actually be considered to be in my late 20's, however I think I'm going to stick with my mid-20's for now. Today was a fun day! I went to work and my team had decorated my desk, and they also bought me a gift card! Rock star! I got A Thousand Splendid Suns from Zoey...I'm so excited to read this book! The Kite Runner was amazing! (same author if you didn't know) I left work early and went shopping with my mom and my sister. What could be better than that? Well I'll tell you, to top off a great birthday I got to spend the evening with my 2 sisters, my mom, and my 2 nephews. We watched Evan Almighty, the boys loved it! It was really fun to watch that movie with them.

Here's to a new year! A new year with many changes to come, and I can't wait!

1,000 Calorie Diet

So I started the 1,000 calories a day diet yesterday. (The whole reason for the diet is to shrink my liver before surgery, to avoid any possible complications with that) It's not too bad at all! (Probably because there's a light at the end of the tunnel with this diet!!!) I'm sure I'll be sick of slimfast at the end of the two weeks, but then again, its only two weeks! I get to clean out my pantry tonight, which I'm really excited to do, just one more step closer to the surgery! The only kind of sad thing about this diet is that tomorrow is my birthday, so no birthday cake for me... but its totally worth it! We should have thought about having cake this past weekend, but of course we didn't. Life happens too fast! Anyway, I think the diet will be good and it will go fast. My team at work is super supportive and alleviated me from all the candy in my house! :o) My family is super supportive as well. I love the people that surround me in life!