I'M DRAIN FREE!!

Yes you have read it correctly! As of yesterday I am now drain free. But of course this not a go code for me to starting running around like I haven't had major surgery 10 days ago. None the less it feels so good not have to manipulate that thing around. It will be SO much easier to shower, go to the bathroom and just wear clothes with out having to worry about that thing. Although I wanted the drain out it does still worries me that it still continued to have drainage in it. My doctor attempted to explain it to me yesterday and I will attempt to explain it to you. Normally our skin is attach or adhered to what every is closest to it, fat. Well during surgery the fat was removed from the hip area (I told him to remove any fat he saw :) ) When the fat was removed it created a dead space or pocket and this is where the blood is collecting from the trauma of the surgery. The goal is to removed the dead pace and have the skin again adhere to what fat is remaining. So when I walk a lot this does not give the skin the opportunity to re adhere and this also the reason for the tight fitting compression garment. Unlike most surgeries where they want you up and walking immediately this surgery they want you to walk very little . This information I found quite interesting. I see the doctor again on Monday and I am hoping that there will not be too much fluid gathering in the hip area since the removal of the drain. If there is too much fluid he will have abstract it with a needle. He said it wasn't a big deal but he also isn't the one getting a big needle stuck into his hip!
I am really feel SO much better! Although I still have some tightness and a little hip pain when I attempt to sleep on my side I am doing GREAT!! It is so remarkable how the human body works to think just 10 short days ago I had major surgery. The scar is beginning to heal and now the wonderful itching is starting. The doctor gave us stuff that is to be painted on the scar that will help with the itching as well as help reduce the redness of the scar. Paul painted it on me last night and it was SO darn itchy when he was putting it on. But shortly after it did help a lot. That has to applied twice a day. Paul has been so great and little did he know by saying "I DO" all this stuff would come with it!
I also have the go code to drive which I am very excited about. So this morning I am going to run over to the gym and see all the girls I lift with on Saturday morning. I miss that place SO much and I look forward to being able to go back soon. I will attempt to do another video blog next week.
Thanks to all who have keep me in your thoughts and prayers it has meant the world to me.

The words has been spoken, YOUR DOING TO MUCH!! I don't understand how could this be true? I saw my doctor twice since my last post and as you can see from the one week out pictures the one last drain remains. I saw my doctor yesterday and I continue to have about 50 to 60 cc of dark red drainage coming from the drain. I guess an indication to him that I am doing to much. So the scolding began: Take it easy, you have just had major surgery. At that moment I feel like a little kid being scolded. So of course, like me, I begin to argue my case wanting to prove that I am right little did I know that I was not going to win that battle. But I haven't been doing much. Would you say going to Costco (and just geting what we need, no browsing) and visiting at the Gymn Tuesday and going to Kohl's and Walgreen on Wednesday doing to much? And the answer was Yes! Sigh... So here I sit with one sole drain remaining. I see the doctor again on Friday.
Dad arrived yesterday to get Mom and I am sad to see her go. It has been such a blessing having her here and it was wonderful for my kids to spend some time with her on their "turf". So I question if I am doing too much with her here how I am going to do less with her gone? I have a feeling it is going to be a rough going until I get the go code that I can do more.

Post-op Day 5

Well yesterday was day 5 from surgery. I continue to make progress. Still have pain in the hip areas and the one drain is still draining quite a bit. I see the doctor this afternoon so I will find out what will happen with the drains today. I am hopeful at least one drain will come out. They are just really inconvenient. I have them pinned to my compression short so they hang down. I was describing it like having testicles! I did also have a little bleeding coming from the drain sites.
I have only been taking pain medicine before bed so I have been able to wean myself of that nicely. I will take a pain medicine before heading to the doctor today to prepare for removal of drains which is not a wonderful experience.
I got on the scale today and although it wasn't great it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. I have some work to do. Although I haven't done terrible it has been the snacking that has hurt me and some thing I will begin to work on.
I am doing well and look forward to seeing what progress I will make this week.

Video Blog with update!

Post-Op Day 3

Had a pretty good day yesterday. Pain is becoming much better. Still pain in the hip area but I was able to wait all day until about 5:00 pm before I took a pain pill and I didn't have to take one in the night. So looks like I moving a head nicely. I texted my doctor yesterday and asked him if I could take a shower and he said yes! So Paul helped me take a shower last night the only difficult part was dealing with those damn drains. Theyare sutured to the skin so to have them just them hanging would be too painful. So we tied a piece of material around my neck and had them hanging from it. Should have taken a picture of that! Some times you have to get creative to get what you want. But it felt good to get washed up and now I feel human again.
I am up early this morning, 6:30 and I want to get back into a groove with my eating. I have been far from perfect and it is starting to wear on me. So I plan on getting back on my eating plan and schedule. I am feeling pretty good this morning so I will make and eat my eggs at 7:00. Also am starting to get stir crazy which is a nother good sign. Who knew that just in a few short days that I would start feeling like myself again. I guess it is a testimate to a healthy and strong body that I know have. It is amazing to see it first hand what you can do with your body and how well it responds. Here is to a strong healthy body!! Now I am off to eat my egg whites!

Post-Op Day 2

Getting a chance this morning to reflect on second day of recovery. It is the small things that I have to be aware of to show me that I am making progress. I have noticed that I am able to stand up a little straighter, was able to walk around the house and I was able to lay on my right side last night when I was sleeping. All signs that I am moving forward.
The doctor visit went well yesterday and I was able to see the incisions for the first time. Still a lot of swelling and brusing so it was difficult to get an idea of how it will truly look. I was hoping that aleast one drain would be pulled yesterday but no go. Looks like I will have them through the weekend and have an appointment with the doctor again on Monday. The left drain is still draining quite a bit about 75cc this morning. They don't like to pull the drain until it is less than 30cc so I guess we will see what the next few days are like. And remind myself that I need to take it easy.
I had emotions come up yesterday that I was not prepared for. I started question why I did this and how stupid I was to attempt it. I am sure these are all normal feeling but it took me off guard. I also began to question how I would react if it didn't come out the way that I invisioned it to. It was a lot to process and I want to thank my friend Gale for being there for me yesterday. Her support was priceless and she is a true blessing in my life.
I got up and washed my hair in the sink by myself today I couldn't stand it any longer. Can't take a shower until the drains come out so maybe we can do some kind of sponge bath today just to feel like a human again. You don't realize how much you miss nice clean water on your body when you don't have it.
Gale has talked about stopping by for a visit today which will be SO nice. I am starting to get a little stir crazy and the thought of sitting another day... Well I didn't do this surgery to have my butt get flat for goodness sakes!!
Will attempt to do a video blog today so you guys can see me! Probably take another set of pictures at one week. post-op,

Post-Op Day 1

I am getting a chance to recap on how the first full day after surgery went. It was "hard' and painful. I wasn't prepared for that kind of day. Since my compression garment they gave me was soaked in blood we decided to change into another compression short I had bought so that one could be washed. I don't think it was quite as tight as the other and maybe that was why I was so uncomfortable yesterday. Mom got it washed and it looks pretty good. I got it back on later yesterday evening before heading to bed. The day was filled with sitting, sleeping, texting and taking drugs! The surgical center called to see how I was doing as well as the doctors office. I am schedule see the doctor today, Friday at 10:15. My trainer also gave me a call to see how I was doing, which meant a lot to me. So here I am starting post-op day 2. Already a better day I was able to get up to the bathroom myself this morning and I even made it down the stairs. But still need to remember to take it slow. Easier said then done for me sometimes.

Here is a couple of pictures of my wonderful drains. Sure hope atleast one of those will be removed today. Not the most flattering picture of me but it pretty much summoned up how shitty I was feeling.

Surgery Recap

Well thought i would take some time and update everyone on the surgery. Hopefully won't get in any trouble for posting my behind on my blog. But I thought people might find it interesting to know what was done to my body.

As you can see by the photos that a big section of skin was removed from behind. Of course there was some skin almost removed from the front but of course it would not be appropriate to post that.

We left our house about 5:30 to pouring down rain. I guess we can be thankful that it was not snow. We had no difficulty finding the surgical center and arrived about 6:20. I was checked in and couldn't wait to be called since I had to go to the bathroom SO bad. As soon as they called me and brought me back to my room I asked to use the bathroom. What a relief that was!! Of course I was asked all the typical question, last time you ate or drank anything, any medications I was on, birthday... etc. They brought my husband back and we waited for Dr. Gelman. He arrived and made the marking on my body that you see in the photos. He left and they came to get me. Put medicine in my iv, I kissed my husband good bye and that is all I remember. The surgery was 4 and half hours and I was back in recovery around 12:oo. The doctor talked to me but of course I do not remember any of that conversation. We check out and I arrived home about 2:30. The pain was under very good control but I did have a lot more bleeding that I expected. I ended up calling the doctor that evening regarding the bleeding. He indicated that he did remove fat from the hip area and this could be causing the bleeding. I was instructed to lie on the side the bleeding was coming from to provide more compression. That seem to help alot! Kim, a trainer from the gym, stopped by and brought my family dinner which was SO sweet of her. I appreciated it so much. So thankful mom has been here she has helped a lot with the dressing and emptying the drains. I am scheduled to see the doctor on Friday and hoping that at least one of the drains will be pulled. Will not be able to shower until all drains are removed. I will post a picture of the drains tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for me.

IT"S GO TIME!

It's about 5:00 am the day of my surgery. I am up and showered and just dried my hair. I will straighten it and then wake Paul up about 5:15. Didn't have a deep sleep last night in anticipation for today. But I am sure I will be doing quite a bit of sleeping today. I can hardly believe that the day is here!! I have been waiting SO long for this day. I have the camera charged and ready to go.
Haven't had anything to drink or eat since yesterday around 9:00 pm. So I am attempting not to go pee so that I will be able to give a urine sample when we arrive. All I need is to be sitting there with "nothing" to give. Interesting how you are just accustom to going to the bathroom as soon as you get up. Since I have been become so lean my body has decided that I no longer need to have a menstrual cycle, hence the need to pee this morning to make sure I'm not pregnant. No I am not that either since with the loss of the cycle the loss of any kind of sex drive. I'm poor husband he has been such a trooper through all this.
Off to do my hair, thought I would do that since I won't be able to shower until the drain are removed from my body and depending how well I do (i.e. rest and not do too much, which is a difficult thing for me to do) I am hoping to have them out in a few days.
Talk to everyone soon!! Love everybody!

Final Day

Had a good day and feel at peace about tomorrow. Paul and I went out for a nice "cheat" dinner. I had a nice burger and onion rings. I am home to relax watch "biggest loser" and then head to bed. Here is another video blog for your viewing. Thanks to everyone for you kind words and prayers. Depending on how I am feeling I will attempt to post something tomorrow. Looking forward to the "new" me.

My Trainer

This is a picture of my trainer and myself taken at the gym yesterday. He is also my boss! He is an important person in my life and someone that has pushed me and inspired me to be my best. He has been my friend and my enemy at times! But I know that he cares about me and wants the very best for me. I find it interesting that I still have difficult seeing myself has a fit person. I am so glad that this picture was taken and that I can see what an amazing job I have truly done with my body. And after the surgery it will only get better! It is so very exciting.

It truly has been and amazing journey. I began training with him almost a year ago. I believe it was February 21st. Little did I know at the time that by meeting him that my life would change. Not only did he help me create this great body but also gave me the opportunity to be a trainer at his club. A job that has been such a blessing to me. How odd the people that come into your life that make such and impact. To those who think they are to old to change their body I say don't under estimate what you can do. Did I know a year ago that I would have this kind of body. Who knew with dedication and committment to a clean yet challenging diet and work out routine that this would be possible. I say challenge yourself and see what you can do!! I think you will be amazed.

Now I am on to yet another journey, the surgery! Although I am not looking forward to the downtime and not being in the gym, I am SO interested to yet what kind of change I can make to my body. I thank my husband for standing by my side. I know this has not been easy for him and sometimes he has difficutly understand why I want to do this yet he has been there for me and I love him for it!

My first attempt at a video blog, hope you enjoy!!!

One Week

It is one week from today that the surgery will take place. It is becoming very real now and at times I have a sense of panic and question. Is this the right thing to do? Should I wait until things are better financial in our home? But I reassure myself that all these feelings are real and that I should just enjoy the journey. I have returned to a very tight clean diet since Sunday and my body is responding quite well. Got to love that. I was 158 on Monday and I should be around 154 in the gym this morning. So I am just about back in line where I like my weight to be, 152. It will be great going into the surgery at a weight that I feel comfortable at. So my plan is to stick to this diet until Tuesday. Have a nice dinner out Tuesday night before surgery day. A last supper kind of thing! I will not be doing a cheat day on my usual Saturday so that might be a little tough but knowing I will have something special on Tuesday will help me get through. I only have four more training session with my trainer. I am going to enjoy every one since I will probably not be able to train for about 4 weeks. Its going to kill me! It is such a big part of my life now. Weird some times to think that way because it wasn't just a few short years ago that it wasn't. How life can change.
I was still hoping to do a small video blog and my afternoon is free today so maybe I will attempt to do that. Just thought it would be something fun.

The Gym

Brought my camera to the gym the other day to take pictures of the people that are such a big part of my life. I am going to miss them all so much while I am recovering. But they have all been So supportive and I know that I will be back and better than ever.

A Night on the town!

Although it is a rarity that we go out on the town I felt like it was a much needed one for us with all the stuff that seems to be bogging us down from just having a good time. Kim, a trainer at the club, set up a night on the town. We meet at her house around 6:30 and a limo picked us up at 7:00 and we headed downtown Chicago to a Brazilian restaurant. I had never been to one and it was a perfect place for a bunch of people that eat a mostly protein diet. They just came around with all kind of meet on skewer and slice them for you. There was lamb, fillet, chicken, sausage, flank steak, Brazilian steak, etc. All I can say thank goodness for a cheat night. We topped it off with a nice dessert, a piece of caramel cheese cake that Paul and I shared. We then headed over to a dance club. Although it was much to load for us old folk it was an interesting site to see. We took the limo back about 12:30 and were home around 2:00 am. It was a great time and I thought it was just what the doctor ordered.
Of course the scale showed the indulgence I had last night I know that I have the tools to take it off in a short period of time. I am back on track and have decided to keep it solid on the diet until the surgery. So it will be a solid diet run of 10 days no cheats. I am looking forward to the challenge and feel good about going into the surgery health and at great weight.
Todays plan will be to finish up the cooking. I am just about finish making all the meal for the next three weeks. This way there will be meals plan and ready to go while Iam recouping from the surgery. It goes well I may just do it on a regular basis. Although the prep time is long the rewards out way that. Knowing that I have a months worth of meal in the freezer would be wonderful. Well off to finish the cooking.

The day is drawing near!

It is only 12 days away from the surgery. Got a call from the surgical center to my health history and last minute things to remember, i.e. no food or drink after midnight, no jewelery, what time to arrive at the surgical center (6:30am). It made it more real yesterday getting that phone call. Talked to my mom yesterday and finalize her plans for coming to stay with us. She will be here a week and I am looking forward to having her here with me. I also sat down yesterday and made a list of menus for the next 3 and half weeks. I have the grocery list written out so I just have to get that done. Made an extra batch of calzones and put them in the freezer last night so that is one meal ready to go. Plan on making lasagna this weekend so make two so I can freeze one of those too. Hopefully that will happen since the oven just stop working yesterday. SIGH.... Not something we need to happen right now. Paul said he will take a look at it and hopefully it is something he can fix.
Feeling pretty goood with my weight these days. After the melt down I had with Dick this past weekend I have been able to get the diet back in control. I am sitting around 151 at the gym and 147 at home. I would love to stay right around this weight going into the surgery on the 18th but that will take work and dedication. At the moment I have it but we all know how that call all of a sudden disappear.
May attempt to do a video blog. So watch for that coming soon.

Signing Day!

Today was the big day for Steve. He official signed his letter of intent to play football at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. They had a nice little thing for Steve at the school with several of his former football player, Coach Jackson, Paige, Mr Stephens, Steve, Paul and I.

They ordered some pizza after the pictures were taken.

It is hard believe that my baby boy will be starting another journey in his life. It all seems so unreal and I am not sure if I yet have come to terms with what all this will mean in my life. I have always lived for my children and now they are moving on. I am sure I will adjust just seems weird.