Ready? I Hope So...

At this time tomorrow I expect I will have already been made to stand and walk around for the first time after surgery. It has come fast and tomorrow morning I check in at the hospital at 5:30AM sharp. I’m still fairly calm about the surgery so far. Actually, I’m trying not to think about it. Over-thinking can only make it worse. My mother-in-law, Kathy, braved the Rocky Mountains and the lovely (hate!) snow we have been getting in Colorado for the past few days to be here with us during my hospital stay. She’ll help out with the boys and their transfer to and from school. I’m grateful for her help, especially for Tess’ sake. My Mom is still recovering from her hip replacement surgery back in December, and doing excellent I might add, so she is not driving yet. My sister will bring her to the hospital tomorrow. It will be great to have them there. Dad will be up during lunch and after work as instructed – I’ll be fine. Tessa will be there with me of course, too. I am getting everything else ready tonight: ID, Insurance Card, list of prescriptions. Comfy clothes, MP3 player, sketch book. Plastic and silicone face jewelry for surgery – check!

My Aunt Imelda reminded me that tomorrow, the 23rd of February, is my Grandpa Boone’s birthday. She reassured me that he will be there with me and that is comforting. My sister also inherited my Grandma Boone’s rosary and has let me hang on to it for the duration of my recovery. While I am not a particularly spiritual person in the religious sense, knowing that my Grandmother held this rosary in her hands for a good deal of time warms my heart. And I am welcoming prayers from friends and family alike, especially from my Grandma Stigall who will be attending a special mass for me tomorrow. Thank you all so very much for your thoughts and prayers! I’ve received so many kind words from all of my friends and family the last few weeks and I assure you all – it helps!

An update on the liquid diet – well, I grossly underestimated this shit based on Medifast. Oh man, and that’s the truth. With Medifast I was getting a proper amount of nutrients from the shakes so I felt fine. I am now on my fourth day of almost no nutrition. I am tired, weak, and worst of all nauseous. On top of all of that, this will be my diet for the first week after surgery and I can barely stomach another drink of fucking low-sodium chicken/beef broth. I am looking forward to nausea medicine, I’ll tell you that much.

As you can see above, I have posted picture number one of “the progress shots.” My plan is to pose the same way, wearing the same clothing, every month so you all can see my progress – and to remind me that this is all worth it. It is likely this will be my last post for several days. I’ll see you all post-op!