Three weeks post-op

I know, I said I’d be better about posting once I was past my surgery, but at first, I really wasn’t up to sitting at the computer desk, and was just really tired. I’m feeling better now, about 3 weeks out from surgery, plus my husband Mike bought me an iPad when the tax refund hit, so now I can blog right from my living room, or wherever, and not have to wait until I have time to sit in the office at the computer.

So, about surgery… The day before I was scheduled to check into the hospital, we took our kids to stay at my dearest friend’s home with her and her 3 children, where apparently they had a wonderful time. They are something of a handful, though, and she’ll be getting a pretty good thank you gift just because we love her even more for doing this. Anyway, from her house, which is about 2 1/2 hours NW of us, we then went about the same distance SE from her, to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, because I had an appointment for my final weigh in before surgery so they could see I was still at or below the weight I was at my scheduling appointment. I was a bit below it, so I was good to go for the next day. We went down to patient services to see if we could find out what time surgery would be instead of having to continue waiting for the phone call, and since they were about ready to call anyway they went ahead and told me I needed to come check into the hospital at 5:30am for surgery at 7:30am. We had reserved one of the on campus apartments for the night, so after finding a store to buy me some broth, we went back to the hospital to check into the apartment. We’d gotten up SO early to drive the kids to our friend’s home that we were exhausted, and actually went to bed at 8:00pm, setting the alarm for 3:30am, so Mike could have something to eat, and we could both get showers. We were checked in at the surgical lounge by 5:30, and it wasn’t all that long before I was taken back for prep. Mike was allowed to be there with me, until time to go to the operating room. Once they took me there, Mike went and checked us out of the apartment, as he was staying in my hospital room with me until I was discharged. My surgery took about an hour longer than expected because of my previous hysterectomy, the surgeon said there were a lot of adhesions, but the surgery did go well. While inside, they discovered what appeared to be some cirrhosis on the liver, so they took a biopsy. At my follow up with the surgeon two weeks later, he said it came back yes, that it is cirrhosis, but very early, that at this stage I’d just be told to lose weight, which is what the surgery will help me to do. At my one week post-op with my primary care physician, me blood pressure had been so good he had me stop taking the meds for that, and my blood sugar levels were so much better that he took me off my daytime insulin and lowered the night time one from 28 units to 12 units, pending my next appointment one month later, at which time he can re-assess.

I was told not to step on the scale for a couple of weeks, that I’d just get upset, because they pumped me so full of fluids the entire time I was in the hospital that my weight would actually be up, but of course I did it anyway, and they were right. But the fluid weight is gone now, and I’m starting to lose actual weight. I had to go out the other day and buy a belt, so I could wear what I have longer, LOL! I had to buy it in the big men’s section at K-mart, but that will change.

I’m on the road to saving my life, and that’s a very good thing.