Re:[MGB] Darlene

June 8, 2000

Hi all,

I got back Tuesday after clinic but have taken 2 days to catch up on

reading posts. Here is my experience with this process.

I got the wonderful news of a surgical date on May 25- I was asked when

I wanted. I said yesterday, she asked how about June 2? I jumped at

it. That meant I had clinic on May 27. I did not have time to get

nervous I had too much to do. Friday I had to get my pre-op labs and

EKG from my PCP. I got these Friday afternoon and made sure they were

all there before I left. WARNING- You need to also know that these are

all within acceptable limits. I looked at these later on and discovered

I had an abnormal EKG. It was Memorial Day weekend, my PCP was not

on-call. I went to Durham unsure what would happen.

Monday evening I headed out with my support crew. My 19 year old

daughter and her 1 year old son accompanied me. Tuesday, I went to

clinic, this was a real treat. I had 1pm clinic with the most wonderful

group of people. It was a combination of post-ops, pre-ops and

undecideds. I was late getting there (I got lost) so I was sitting with

the undecideds. Trish and Genz were there and told me I had just missed

Flo. Everyone was so warm and genuine that they put you aat ease.

Rexanne was there, showing off her fabulous bod (and I mean that in the

nicest way) she answered questions while Dr. R was seeing individual

pt. She was dynamic, she had sooo much energy and enthusiasm. The

funniest thing that happened at clinic was someone requesting a group

photo. Well you know we all HATE to have our picture taken and demand

to be put at the back of the group. If you can imagine about 20 large

people all trying to get to the back - except Rexanne who WANTED to be

in the front (but she wasn't big enough to hide behind). I would love to

see this picture. After seeing his am pt. Dr. R came in and spoke with

our group. He had all pre-ops introduce themselves individually and

tell a little about how they found him and to ask questions. He was very

knowledgeable about each individual. After this he started seeing the

pre-ops individually. When I spoke with him I had a few questions which

he patiently answered and I did not feel as though he was rushing me

even though it was getting late and there were others to be seen. I

showed him my abnormal EKG, he said we have to do something about this

and immediately told Debbie that I would need a cardiac consult before

surgery. Debbie told me to call the office at 10am the next morning. I

left clinic not knowing if I would have surgery or return home early. I

would have loved to have gone out with the group for dinner but knew my

little companion needed time to get down and run. Being confined in a

restaurant setting with have been a torture to him and would have taken

away from the good time that you all were able to have. However, I was

thinking about you all.

Wednesday morning I called the office and was told that Debbie was out

sick but she had gotten her sister to take care of my problem. Poor

thing was sick but still remembered my need and had it taken care of.

Thanks Debbie. Her sister was also wonderful. She had set me up with a

cardiologist for Thursday a.m. -she told me a little about the

cardiologist (Dr. Buchanon) and made me feel better about my situation.

The bad news was that I may have to pay for it myself as it was not

preapproved. What were my choices, I agreed to this. I did not want

to dwell on all this all day so we took her advise and went to the Life

and Science Museum (others had also told me to check it out). This was a

wonderful diversion. I did think about those having their surgeries and

said prayers for you all but I just could not go to the hospital. I

took my daughter to the Outback Steakhouse for my possible last supper.

I had been going lightly recently. I had given up soda and candy in

anticipation of surgery. I was good and only ate about half of a small

steak along with the salad and no dessert.

Thursday morning I went to see the cariologist. Where I am from you

can expect to cool your heels in the waiting room for up to an hour and

then sit in a cubicle for an extended period of time and then see a doc

for a few minutes and then he is done with you. WOW was I surprised. I

was a last minute work-in so I was expecting to wait. I told my

daughter to leave for at least an hour. I was waiting for her when she

came back. I was called back immediately. The nurse got my history and

I told her my dilemma. She told me what she thought would be done which

was correct. Dr Buchanon came in and said he had seen some of Dr. R. pt

and they were doing well. He said the tech that did my EKG probably did

not put the leads on correctly since I am a large person and that the

heart may have shifted to give the appearance of an old MI. A repeat EKG

looked more normal. I also had PVCs which means that my heart is not

beating as effectively as it should and will give a premature

contraction that is not felt when taking a pulse (simplification). He

gave me a stress test for this. I had to walk on a treadmill to get my

heart rate up to 150. The good news is when you are fat it does not

take much to get your heart rate up. When stressed the PVCs disappeared

and my heart appeared normal. I passed. I was able to put this on a

credit card. Dr Buchanon was wonderful and very understanding of my

situation. He said we could do an echo to complete the workup but felt

it was not really needed and since it was coming out of my pocket it was

too expensive to justify. I will fight this when I get back home. I

was so anxious that I immediately went to the office to make sure I was

on the surgical list. Debbie was back to work and told me Dr. R had her

pull my info and that he was sure I would be approved. 3p.m. I called to

check on my surgical time. I am scheduled for 1:30 but need to be there

at 7 a.m.

Advice- be there when told to be there.

Friday- Arrived at hospital (when you enter the hospital you are on the

3rd floor). Signed in on 2nd floor and saw the name Watts as

the one ahead of me. is young with a 2 year old son. She is

very excited about what is happening. She had her mother and best

friend with her. She has been up since about 3a.m. she lives about 2

hours away. She registered before I did and got the low down on the

others who were on for today. was already here. I never did see

her. Bill- the dentist from Alabama not on the onelist was rescheduled

from first thing Wed to last thing Fri. Genz she had jumped shipped for

an earlier cruise. She was already recovering. Marie was takent

immediately to a room to be prepared. Bill, and I were sent to

a waiting room to cool our heels. Bill has a beautiful wife that was

very outgoing. Bill kept us entertained with stories and jokes. Our

extra people tormented us with goodies that they found to eat while we

suffered in silence, yea right. Poor was threatening to eat a

blanket that had been left in the room and her surgery wasn't until 3

p.m. Someone finally came and called our names and took the 3 of us to

our individual rooms to get ready. The bed had a gown at the foot but

the nurse discreetly picked it up and said I will be right back with the

rest of what you need. I told my daughter she is going to get a larger

gown and she said she was. She came back with a gown that was plenty

roomy ( don't worry about this, it overlapped plenty in the back and I

am hippy). It was not too long before I was taken down to the holding

room. A nurse came in and talked to me and told me just what was going

to happen. While there a frantic pt. came in and started demanding pain

med and that she needed immediate attention. I told the nurse to take

care of her needs first. I remembered several others who had spoken of

unruly pt. and it had unnerved them enough that they had backed out and

immediately regretted it. I am a nurse so I understand how these things

are but it is unnerving and I could see how this would happen. The

nurse said that she was being taken care of and that she needed to

attend to me. A lot happened in a short time down there. My IV was

started I saw the anesthesiologist and spoke to Dr. R. He had just

finished surgery on Marie and told me she had taken 32 minutes. He came

back to tell me he had seen my daughter and surgery would begin soon. I

was told I was being given something to relax me and that is all I

know. Somewhere along the line I spoke to someone and told them that I

did not like the idea of others moving me and that I preferred to do it

myself. I was told not to worry that I would be able to do that. I

don't know if this was true but it did make me feel better. I don't

remember the surgical suite or recovery room. The first thing I do

remember was hearing my daughter and seeing the baby. I waved to him

and then was gone again. I did have the pain pump and used it about 3

times. I had difficulty waking up. I remember my daughter being there

for a while and then leaving. I can't sequence things. I know I had a

tray of liquids but I had no interest. I did pick up a cube of orange

jello but it was yucky. I remember Flo coming in to see me. She was

wearing a white top and I thought she was a nurse. She asked me if I

had been up walking yet. I think I told her, no, and asked if I had to

get up and walk now and she said yes. I knew I didn't have it together

enough to walk yet. My thoughts were all in slow motion. She was there

for a little while talking to me and then said something like, she is

still high we better go. I did appreciate your visit and you were like

an angel. I was just too drugged to respond. About 8 p.m. the phone

rang but I didn't care. At 10 p.m. I got up for the first time to go to

the BR. I had some difficulty initiating a flow of urine a side effect

of the pain med. The phone rang and I was able to answer it this time.

My daughter was calling from Duke Tower she was afraid to be by

herself. This was helpful because it caused my maternal instincts to

kick in and wake me up. She couldn't stay and she was too afraid to

leave. I offered several reasonable suggestions but she was too upset

to listen. She was my 8 p.m. phone call. She finally decided to leave

and was at my side before I was out of the BR. She and the baby settled

down in the recliner in my room and we all slept. About 1a.m. I

awakened and decided that if I was not seen out of my room I may not be

discharged. I started walking the halls.

Saturday- and Marie came to check on me. They look wonderful.

They are about ready to go home. Marie is as wonderful as she appears

in her posts. They bring news of Bill and I appreciated that. Dr. R

comes in and asks if I am ready to get skinny. Who me? I was able to

be discharged and slept most of the day. My attendees were there but

did not disturb me which is what I like when I am not up to par.

and Colby went on a trip to get my prescriptions filled. I have no pain

and am able to pick up my 27 pound grandbaby.

Sunday- and I went to check out a shopping center. We went to

Walmart, Old Navy, Marshalls, Zany Brainy and and Noble. I went

back and took a nap after this.

Monday- and I went to North Gate Mall and checked out the stores

there. They have a carousel in the mall.

At Duke Tower where we stayed we were on the 2nd floor and I had no

problems with the stairs. We were anxious to get back home so we decided

to use the laundry room and take our clothes back clean. So we made

several trips up and down the stairs doing the laundry and loading the

car. Did I really have major abdominal surgery?

Tuesday- We are packed and ready. 9 a.m. we are at clinic. Trish, Flo

and Genz are there along with many others. We are all jubilant. Can we

really have done this or was this all a dream? Dr. R removes staples

from the post-ops. I don't get mine out it is too soon. I take a

staple remover home with me and I book. I am homesick. Sorry guys. I

drove almost 300 miles 4 days post-op. Actually the trip home was

easier than the trip there. The most pain that I have is joint pain not

incisional pain.

I did not get my pain meds filled, I didn't need to. I am drinking

gatorade, juice, and broth. Dr. R. told me I could have saltines, so I

stopped and got that on my way home. 1 saltine filled me. I have not

dumped, I am too chicken to try anything I shouldn't. I am so glad to

be home. I am feeling wonderful. My whole experience with this was a

wonderful one even though it was not all smooth. I found the website at

the end of April and saw my PCP on May 1. My surgery was June 2.

Pretty fast as far as I am concerned. Yes, this has been an obsession

and I will have to learn to move on. Yesterday I went to the grocery

store. My family informed me when I got home that I needed to do this.

My old friends were no longer at the grocery store. I didn't really

care about the food there anymore as someone else said it was just

stuff. I know it is hard to believe but it happens quickly. Even the

smell of food is different than before. I don't enjoy it the same as I

did a week ago. I gave my grandson Cheetoes (once a favorite of ours)

then he took a drink out of my cup and left a trace on the cup, it

stunk. I can't believe how much I loved them.

To anyone who has decided to do this- GO FOR IT, as my husband told me.

Don't waste anymore of your life in your present state. Fight for it if

that's what it takes. Whatever it takes, Do it. I am so proud of

myself for doing it. When I found the site I knew it was for me. I had

known for a long time that I would like to have wls but never expected

it to be like this. You meet the best people in the world before hand,

and if you are as fortunate as me you get to meet wonderful people when

you are there. I am sure that there has not been a group like the one

there the week I was there just think of the ones that you missed last

week. But all on this list are so wonderful. Life is wonderful and I am

so happy. Best of luck to all. Sorry this is so long but remember I was

gone for a long time and so had a lot to say. Your prayers were felt and

I appreciated everything that was done for me and our group.

Darlene

June 8, 2000