Letter from your future (09/18/06 grad)

Congrats and best wishes to everyone having their procedure done this week! Don't blink your eyes - you'll find yourself a year later like me, still trying to comprehend how you could have made so much progress over the course of a year, after spending so much time fretting over whether surgery was a good idea, whether you'll be ok when you wake up, how you'll manage getting your fluids in, how you'll ever find a way to "relax" and still keep up with the vitamins and protein grams, and all that "fabulous" stuff you're in the middle of right now. We're all different people, we all have different goals, different starting points, and different medical hurdles to jump over after surgery - but we all have "the ride" in common. Enjoy every phase of it as best as you can - yes, even the difficult first month(s). You're about to learn how strong you really are, how determined you really are, how much you TRULY want to get out there and enjoy your life. That's exciting! And I'm rooting for each and every one of you! I remember my weekend prior to surgery very vividly, even a year later. The first dose of Fleet sipped while I watched a Three's Company marathon on t.v. like it was the best thing I'd ever seen, to keep my mind off the lemony oily concoction in my glass. Drafting, editing, checking, and re-checking different lists so that I had everything I would need with me at the hospital. Making copies of my living will for family, organizing my insurance info in a binder so it would be in one place. Checking the route to the hospital and parking with my father who would be driving me there the next day. Putting brand new sheets on my bed for when I got back, so I wouldn't have to worry about laundry or getting the incisions dirty. You'll have your own memories to share. Trust me, they'll get better and more fabulous as YOUR year marches on. Happy, healthy vibes going out to everyone!