I have a date

Well, my 7 months of preparation has paid off. It looks like I have a surgery date for my gastric bypass. I received the long awaited call at about 2:30 or so today. My surgery date is officially February 1st, at Brook Army Medical Center(BAMC). I will meet with the surgeon on January 27th, and go over the details at that time. In the meantime I will start my liquid diet on Saturday, and will have to incorporate 30 minutes of walking a day. It's my last task for this procedure. I need to drop by the store and get some Flintstone's multi-vitamins. I'm excited, but I'm also a bit nervous about it. My dream is coming true, and it feels a little surreal at the moment. This is what I've wanted to do and now it is soon becoming a reality. Now that I have the date, I hope once people know, I will be greeted by a "Hello" rather than "Do you have a date yet?" LOL! So tomorrow is my final day for a serious meal and I'll be looking forward to it.

Looking back, I've done a lot to get to this point. Let me reflect a bit. I've had a consultation with a nutritionist for 6 months. I've had an Echo Cardiogram, an Endoscopy, a Colonoscopy, a Mammogram, a GYN annual exam, I had to attend a mandatory support meeting, had lab work, Psych evaluation and I'm sure I've left something out. I'll have to check my paperwork, but it has been a lot. At least now I know that everything is working great and there are no complications. I've only run into one bump in the road, and that was that I wasn't able to do the UGI because there was an issue with my weight and the weight limit of the table. Other than having to wait on what to do with that kink in my plan, everything else ran smoothly. I waited a good month before I was instructed further in regard to the UGI, as this was my last exam to complete. At first they had talked about sending me outside the military hospital into the civilian world to have it done. The explanation was that they would have more current machines that would facilitate my weight issue versus the old machines that both Wilford Hall & BAMC have. I waited and waited, but nothing ever developed. Finally they came to the conclusion that I would, instead, get an endoscopy at Wilford Hall Hospital, at Lackland AFB. Since I was scheduled for my colonoscopy at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC), my doctor decided to kill two birds with one stone and get them both done at BAMC. So that took care of that.

All in all, it hasn't been that bad. Although my appointment book has been filled for the last 7 months, it's been pretty breezy. God willing I will survive this liquid diet and breeze thru this surgery and be on my way to a thinner and healthier me. I'm looking forward to it with excitement.

WHAT DID YOU DO?

Here are Brinkley & Noah


Noah, the guilty party

I have 2 dogs, Noah & Brinkley. Noah is a 4 yr old Bassett Hound dog, and Brinkley a 12 yr old Terrier Mix. Noah thinks he's in charge, and Brinkley doesn't want to debate such nonsense. I had to run an errand yesterday, and decided to leave both boys inside, since it was drizzling. Both are not fond of inclimate weather, and I just couldn't see leaving them outside. So, they were left indoors to relax and take their naps. I stepped out to head on out when I noticed that I had forgotten my phone. I turned the car off, headed back inside to retrieve it, when I notice that one of the newspapers were on the floor-one that was in our recycling bin. Who do I see leaving that area, but Noah. Brinkley was innocently lying in the hallway, clear away from the evidence. I scolded Noah, picked the paper up off of the floor and sent Noah to bed. He ran off with his tail between his legs, and I headed out. Fast forward to my conversation with my husband. He came in the house, and only moments later he asked, "What the heck happened here?" It became very apparent that Noah had a field day with the contents of the recycle bin. The floor was littered with the entire contents. Now, was Brinkley involved as well? We will never know, but one thing is for sure, I am certain that Noah was the initiator. Such an angel face, but behind it is a mischievious Bassett. Naughty, naughty dog!!!

Happy New Year

Good riddance 2009, hello 2010. For my family, 2009 was a very tough year. We definately had some hard transitions, but we persevered. My husband losing a job, but fortunately getting hired on to another job the day after was certainly a blessing, but it came with some changes. Economically it was tougher for us-but no doom and gloom here. I'm hopeful that 2010 will bring good things to not only us, but for all those others that had to struggle with their own issues in 2009. God's blessings to each and every one of you. May 2010 bring you Joy, Peace, & Comfort.
I will start my year out by helping another family that is in much need right now. Unfortunately they have brought the New Year in with tragedy. Their apartment was consumed by a fire on New Year's day, early in the morning and they have lost everything. So my mission today is to help them in anyway I can.

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us." Flora Edwards