Recently, I had my 2 year "surgiversary", or the anniversary of my weight loss surgery. On December 22, 2014 I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, a surgery that I fully believe both changed and saved my life in so many ways. And two years ago, I spent New Year's Eve in the hospital trying to watch the Alabama playoff game before I passed out from pain medicine. Here's the story of how I got to both days.
I had tried so many different things to lose weight over the years: Weight Watchers multiple times, Slim Fast, fad diets, diet pills, low carb, low fat, no sugar. Basically, you name it, I had tried it with varying levels of success that never seemed to last too long. And yes, I sometimes even threw attempts at exercise in with my diet of the moment. I even walked a half marathon at Disney World at well over 200 lbs! But nothing worked for me. Thanks to some health issues, it was like my body fought against me at every turn. And, if I'm being honest, part of it was probably due to my unwillingness to really make the changes I needed to make. I think I just had to develop a level of maturity that said "I'm going to make the hard changes and give up some things to make myself better." And VSG was the tool I needed to help me do that.
Finally, during the spring of 2014 I started to really and prayerfully consider weight loss surgery. Several people I knew had had the surgery and I was able to watch them and see their successes. I found a wonderful doctor in Oxford, who also was my cousin's surgeon, and I got started with the lengthy process of getting approved for the surgery. I was originally supposed to have my surgery during the summer of 2014 and even did nine days of the liquid pre-surgery diet. But God had other plans and it was deferred until December. I remember being so nervous and excited as I sat in the waiting room and holding area at Baptist Memorial in Oxford. I knew my life was changing, I just wasn't aware of the full scope of those changes.
I had my surgery on the 22nd and stayed my two days in the hospital, drinking out of the little hospital cups and walking my laps around the 2nd floor. I had some of the sweetest nurses and nursing assistants while I was there and they were so encouraging! Everything went as planned and I was released to go home and spend my Christmas walking laps around my living room and progressing with my liquid diet. But things didn't exactly go as planned from there. Within a few days I was running a fever and we weren't really sure of the source. I tried liquid Tylenol, which is disgusting, and seemed to be getting a little better. But soon I was also feeling really nauseous again and couldn't drink anything without feeling sick. And I was having some stomach pains that should have already subsided. At this point, almost a week out, I should have been able to drink and shouldn't have been needing the anti-nausea medicine anymore. Thankfully, my mom trusted her "mama instincts" and got me back to Oxford to my surgeon. I spent that Monday, December 29th, going back and forth from Baptist Hospital to my doctor's office getting different tests ran and trying not to pass out from dehydration. I was blessed with an amazing surgeon who told me that day that he was not letting me go until he knew what was wrong with me. At the end of the day, through testing and CT scans, it was determined that I had a mesenteric venous thrombosis - or a blood clot in one of the main veins in my intestines. At first, I was relieved to know what was wrong with me and why I felt so sick. But then what my doctor had said set in - I had a blood clot! He quickly assured me that if I had to have a blood clot, this was the place to have one. I wasn't in danger of it breaking loose and causing problems like if it had been in my legs or lungs. The solution to this was that I would stay in the hospital for a few days, get some IV fluids to combat the dehydration, and start trying to treat my blood clot with blood thinners.
Oh, if it had really been that simple. Things kind of snow balled from there. First, I was so dehydrated from not being able to drink that it was almost impossible to get an IV going or do the blood draws necessary to check how my body was reacting to the blood thinners. I found out that the phlebotomists would look at each other and say "Not it!" when my room number came up! This led to a central line being placed in my neck to be able to keep an IV going and quickly check my blood levels. Second, all of those blood level checks were necessary because it became apparent that my body wasn't metabolizing the blood thinner correctly. My levels were all over the place and nobody was really sure why. My "few day hospital stay" turned into 18 days. That's how I spent New Year's Eve 2014 trying to watch Alabama play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff before I fell asleep from my pain medicine and anti-nausea medicine. I didn't even care that we were losing! I do remember thinking "This is not how I wanted to spend New Years!" The scary moments continued when I pulled a muscle in my chest and we thought I might have developed another blood clot, this time in my lungs. There were some very tense moments until the CT scan ruled out a clot and we surmised that I had pulled a muscle trying to sit up without relying too much on my stomach muscles that were still sensitive from the surgery and the clot.
My family and I spent the next few weeks making ourselves at home in the hospital. Mom and I set up shop with our laptops and printers so we could both try to get some work done once I was feeling a little better. Our nurses were a little surprised by that one. They said they had never seen an office set up before! We got to know our team of nurses really well and even made friends with a few that I still keep in touch with. Our friends and family visited and prayed with me. I had so many people texting and posting that they were praying for me and I was on their church's prayer list. I felt everyone of those prayers! I even had a couple of my sweet students come visit me in the hospital. Bless them, they didn't look too scared by all of my tubes and wires! Haha!
Looking back to two years ago, I know that God answered every one of those prayers and more. He healed me from the blood clot and allowed me to use my weight loss surgery as the tool I needed to change my life and my health for the better. People ask me if the surgery was worth it considering the blood clot and time in the hospital that followed. My answer is always "Yes!" Even knowing all of that, I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I have lost 110 lbs but the numbers on the scale are just the beginning. I feel so much better and am so much healthier than I was two years ago and there is so much I want to do and accomplish that is possible now. From the beginning, God's plans and his timing were evident through the whole thing. So tonight, on this New Years' Eve, I will happily watch football on the couch with my husband and look forward to another new year full of opportunities and blessings. And I will be so thankful that I am not in a hospital bed!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Friday, December 30, 2016
Rebranding - You're Listening to What?
Hi everyone! I hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season! It has been a busy but fun time here and I have found myself spending more time in my car as we drive to all of the different places we've needed to go for Christmas shopping, errands, seeing friends, and family Christmas gatherings. I also have a regular 45 minute commute to and from work so I'm well versed in being in the car for extended periods of time.
All of this time spent on the road has led me to discovering the wonders that are podcasts! Apparently I'm late to the party on this, but better late than never. I love listening to my satellite radio and all the the different genres of music it offers, but after awhile I was getting bored. Some friends suggested a few podcasts I might like and I've been hooked ever since. My best friend recommended "Serial" and "Criminal". I'm still getting in to "Serial" but I really like "Criminal." It has interesting stories and a few episodes that were "grab your attention" cliff hangers.
Another podcast that I listen to every week is "Stuff You Missed In History Class." The two hosts are so funny and I learn something new each time I listen to an episode. For instance, George Wallace didn't start out as a rabid racist and white supremacist, at least not in his political career. That came later after he lost an election to someone backed by the KKK and he decided that was his ticket too. I also learned he basically allowed his wife to slowly die of untreated cancer. The things you learn about people! One of the cool things to come out of all of this listening and learning is that I've even gotten ideas of elements to add to some of my lesson plans from "Criminal" and "Stuff You Missed In History Class."
Recently, I have also started listening to a few episodes of "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" after I found out about her books from one of my sisters-in-law. I also checked out "Sawbones" with a husband/wife host team that talk about different medical topics. Good stuff all around!
So, what are some podcasts you enjoy listening to? I'm always on the lookout for new things, so please share!
All of this time spent on the road has led me to discovering the wonders that are podcasts! Apparently I'm late to the party on this, but better late than never. I love listening to my satellite radio and all the the different genres of music it offers, but after awhile I was getting bored. Some friends suggested a few podcasts I might like and I've been hooked ever since. My best friend recommended "Serial" and "Criminal". I'm still getting in to "Serial" but I really like "Criminal." It has interesting stories and a few episodes that were "grab your attention" cliff hangers.
Another podcast that I listen to every week is "Stuff You Missed In History Class." The two hosts are so funny and I learn something new each time I listen to an episode. For instance, George Wallace didn't start out as a rabid racist and white supremacist, at least not in his political career. That came later after he lost an election to someone backed by the KKK and he decided that was his ticket too. I also learned he basically allowed his wife to slowly die of untreated cancer. The things you learn about people! One of the cool things to come out of all of this listening and learning is that I've even gotten ideas of elements to add to some of my lesson plans from "Criminal" and "Stuff You Missed In History Class."
Recently, I have also started listening to a few episodes of "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" after I found out about her books from one of my sisters-in-law. I also checked out "Sawbones" with a husband/wife host team that talk about different medical topics. Good stuff all around!
So, what are some podcasts you enjoy listening to? I'm always on the lookout for new things, so please share!
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Rebranding - Scenes in a Nail Salon
Yesterday afternoon I was indulging in a little pampering with a manicure and pedicure at a nail salon in a nearby town. I was in town for a meeting and thought I would just make a day of it. After enjoying a wonderful lunch and conversations with friends from my meeting, I headed off for my nail appointment. While there, I got to engage in one of my favorite past times - people watching. I like to see what goes on around me and I find people and their "stories" interesting.
When I first came in, there was a gaggle of young girls, probably around 8 or 9, who were there getting pedicures. I assumed from the looks of things that they were at the salon for one of their birthdays, although it was not immediately clear which one of them was the birthday girl. And that may not have been their "story", but in my mind it was a good explanation and I simply filled in from there. The girls soon left and other people filed in and took their places among the pedicure chairs and the tall chairs at the manicure bar. While waiting in the pedi chair, I noticed an older gentleman come in. This seemed a little out of place but then I heard him mention that he was bringing his wife in for an appointment and he would be back. I didn't take much notice at first and went back to enjoying my massage chair and the movie that was on the television in front of me.
Shortly, my pedicure was finished and my freshly polished toes and I were moved over to the tall bar with the gilded chairs for my manicure. During this process the elderly gentleman had returned, along with his wife. She was in a wheelchair and he maneuvered her over to a lower table that was a better height for her. She had light brown hair with a reddish tint and was wearing a tan trench coat. The man explained to the manicurist, the same one who had applied my chosen color of Chick Flick Cherry a few moments earlier, that his wife wanted the same color as the last time she was there. The wife looked hesitantly up at her husband, who quickly and gently reassured her that everything was fine and he would be right over on the bench against the wall at the front of the salon. It was then that I noticed the wife's reply was a little garbled and wondered to myself if she had suffered a stroke.
In the short time it took for this exchange to take place, my new manicurist appeared and began the process for my gel manicure. I focused my attention on him and our conversation about the preferred length of my nails, my chosen color, and the other options that a manicure entails. While my manicurist went about filing, shaping, and polishing my nails, I stole a glance over at the husband at the front of the room near the large picture window. He was elderly, with thinning grey hair, wearing a grey sweater. He had a rolled up newspaper in his hand which he had been carrying the whole time. He read the paper for a bit and took an offered glass of rose' from one of the receptionists.
There had been some anticipation and hurried readying among the staff for a large party that was to come in. Towards the end of my manicure, the party began to trickle in. It was a group of 12 college students who had booked the salon for the rest of the evening. The manager busied herself with taking care of the girls, getting each of them their special glasses of rose' with cotton candy draped on a stick across the top of the glass. The manager offered to play a movie for the girls and I believe "Legally Blonde" and some other chick flicks were suggested. "Legally Blonde" won out and the familiar theme song was soon emanating from the TV screen. I heard one of the other manicurists explaining to her customer that the girls were seniors at a local university and were each in the Honors College and were involved in some other groups together. They wanted to celebrate the end of the semester that was approaching and decided on some pampering and girl time at the salon. I was amused by the girls. Their conversations were amusing to me and it struck me that just a few short years ago, or at least what seems like a few short years, I was just like them. But now that seems foreign to me.
While I was musing over the college girls, the elderly husband walked back to where his wife was wrapping up her manicure. She seemed to be mildly distressed about something, which turned my attention back to them. Her husband reassured her that everything was alright, thanked the manicurist for the job he had done, and began to wheel her away from the lower table and back towards the front of the salon to pay. I was in line in front of them and saw while I was walking away that the wife's nails had a fresh coat of polish in a pretty shade of red. It took all I had to keep from crying while watching their exchanges and the way their love and care for one another was so evident. I was much more interested in the elderly couple than I was the 12 college students with their somewhat shallow choice in movies. At this point in my life, I identify more with a couple who are clearly living out the marriage vows of "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" that I myself promised only 5 months ago. I thought, as I walked out of the shop and stole one last surreptitious glance at the couple, that I certainly hoped Watson would be patient and caring enough to take me for manicures when we are older if that would make me happy and help me to feel more normal. And tonight he agreed to, as long as he gets to bring a newspaper to read. I assured him he could!
When I first came in, there was a gaggle of young girls, probably around 8 or 9, who were there getting pedicures. I assumed from the looks of things that they were at the salon for one of their birthdays, although it was not immediately clear which one of them was the birthday girl. And that may not have been their "story", but in my mind it was a good explanation and I simply filled in from there. The girls soon left and other people filed in and took their places among the pedicure chairs and the tall chairs at the manicure bar. While waiting in the pedi chair, I noticed an older gentleman come in. This seemed a little out of place but then I heard him mention that he was bringing his wife in for an appointment and he would be back. I didn't take much notice at first and went back to enjoying my massage chair and the movie that was on the television in front of me.
Shortly, my pedicure was finished and my freshly polished toes and I were moved over to the tall bar with the gilded chairs for my manicure. During this process the elderly gentleman had returned, along with his wife. She was in a wheelchair and he maneuvered her over to a lower table that was a better height for her. She had light brown hair with a reddish tint and was wearing a tan trench coat. The man explained to the manicurist, the same one who had applied my chosen color of Chick Flick Cherry a few moments earlier, that his wife wanted the same color as the last time she was there. The wife looked hesitantly up at her husband, who quickly and gently reassured her that everything was fine and he would be right over on the bench against the wall at the front of the salon. It was then that I noticed the wife's reply was a little garbled and wondered to myself if she had suffered a stroke.
In the short time it took for this exchange to take place, my new manicurist appeared and began the process for my gel manicure. I focused my attention on him and our conversation about the preferred length of my nails, my chosen color, and the other options that a manicure entails. While my manicurist went about filing, shaping, and polishing my nails, I stole a glance over at the husband at the front of the room near the large picture window. He was elderly, with thinning grey hair, wearing a grey sweater. He had a rolled up newspaper in his hand which he had been carrying the whole time. He read the paper for a bit and took an offered glass of rose' from one of the receptionists.
There had been some anticipation and hurried readying among the staff for a large party that was to come in. Towards the end of my manicure, the party began to trickle in. It was a group of 12 college students who had booked the salon for the rest of the evening. The manager busied herself with taking care of the girls, getting each of them their special glasses of rose' with cotton candy draped on a stick across the top of the glass. The manager offered to play a movie for the girls and I believe "Legally Blonde" and some other chick flicks were suggested. "Legally Blonde" won out and the familiar theme song was soon emanating from the TV screen. I heard one of the other manicurists explaining to her customer that the girls were seniors at a local university and were each in the Honors College and were involved in some other groups together. They wanted to celebrate the end of the semester that was approaching and decided on some pampering and girl time at the salon. I was amused by the girls. Their conversations were amusing to me and it struck me that just a few short years ago, or at least what seems like a few short years, I was just like them. But now that seems foreign to me.
While I was musing over the college girls, the elderly husband walked back to where his wife was wrapping up her manicure. She seemed to be mildly distressed about something, which turned my attention back to them. Her husband reassured her that everything was alright, thanked the manicurist for the job he had done, and began to wheel her away from the lower table and back towards the front of the salon to pay. I was in line in front of them and saw while I was walking away that the wife's nails had a fresh coat of polish in a pretty shade of red. It took all I had to keep from crying while watching their exchanges and the way their love and care for one another was so evident. I was much more interested in the elderly couple than I was the 12 college students with their somewhat shallow choice in movies. At this point in my life, I identify more with a couple who are clearly living out the marriage vows of "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" that I myself promised only 5 months ago. I thought, as I walked out of the shop and stole one last surreptitious glance at the couple, that I certainly hoped Watson would be patient and caring enough to take me for manicures when we are older if that would make me happy and help me to feel more normal. And tonight he agreed to, as long as he gets to bring a newspaper to read. I assured him he could!
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Rebranding - I'm In Print!
Today is December 1st and the beginning of Advent. I am excited to say that I was able to write an entry in the Advent devotional that our church organized and printed this year. Being able to see something that I've written in print, physically hold it in my hands, and share it with others is a really good feeling! I've been so thankful for the opportunities I've had this year to write for the church's blog and the Advent devotional. My love of writing has returned full force and I am looking for even more ways to utilize it and express myself through words.
I'm also very much looking forward to beginning the Advent devotional this evening. I thumbed through the book when Watson brought it home, to see where my entry had been placed, but I tried to be careful not to read any of the other entries from church leaders and fellow church members. I didn't want to spoil anything! I want to be able to read the entries each day and see the writers' thoughts about the anticipation of the Advent season unfold. In the hustle and bustle of this time of year that we often allow ourselves to get wrapped up in, I'm happily anticipating spending time each day in God's word and reflecting on encouraging messages from friends.
I'm also very much looking forward to beginning the Advent devotional this evening. I thumbed through the book when Watson brought it home, to see where my entry had been placed, but I tried to be careful not to read any of the other entries from church leaders and fellow church members. I didn't want to spoil anything! I want to be able to read the entries each day and see the writers' thoughts about the anticipation of the Advent season unfold. In the hustle and bustle of this time of year that we often allow ourselves to get wrapped up in, I'm happily anticipating spending time each day in God's word and reflecting on encouraging messages from friends.
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