NSV: I can finally take care of others instead of the other way around.

As mentioned in some of my other posts, my husband and I are in Nicaragua until April. For the past two weeks, we've had the pleasure of my friend Ann's (her middle name) company on her first out-of-the-USA trip. Two days ago, both she and my husband came down with a severe case of food poisoning. My husband coped by going to bed and staying there between bouts of unpleasantness. Ann's case became so severe she had to be hospitalized on Friday morning.

So I had two patients to take care of -- my husband in our hotel room; Ann in the hospital. I took my courage in both hands and for the first time drove our rental car five miles through insane Managua traffic to see her in the hospital and make sure all was going well. Then to the supermarket where I bought soups, crackers, and other convalescent foods for them. Yesterday morning, Ann felt well enough to be discharged from the hospital, so I picked her up in the car, took her back to our hotel and then walked to the pharmacy in ungodly heat to pick up some prescriptions for her. Since then, I've been heating up soup, checking their temperatures, buying bottled water, fluffing pillows and doing the usual chores of your average at-home amateur nurse. 

They're both recovering nicely. Ann is better but still very weak, so my next job is to contact the airline (she's flying home tomorrow) and arrange for a wheelchair to take her through the miles of terminal at Miami and Dulles. And a lot of what I've been doing involves getting things done with my very limited Spanish in a country where almost no one speaks English.

I'm not complaining. I'm not boasting, either. It finally struck me yesterday was that I now have the stamina and strength to be able to competently care for two sick people in a foreign country and help bring them back to health. This time last year, at my high weight, I needed to be cared for, since my weight made me a quasi-invalid. I would not only have been completely unable to help them; I also couldn't have even taken care of myself.

I certainly didn't wish anything bad to happen to my husband and friend, but since it did, I'm incredibly grateful for my sleeve and weight loss, because now I can finally be of use to others, whereas before, I was nothing but a burden. This sense of achievement is almost beyond description. This NSV rates up there with being able to actively play with my grandson for the first time in his 7-year-old life. This surgery saved my life in more than the physical sense. I'm actively living and participating and helping in the world again. I have purpose.

Gotta stop now. Tears of gratitude need to be mopped up. Parrots are such emotional animals. 

psychoticparrot

Let the gratitude flow....it helps keep us in the right frame of mind for life. 

This one could win the best Oscar NSV this year. You are a good friend 

wipes my eye and sniffles.. must be allergies acting up 

Parrot- thank you so much for sharing.  I travelled the world alone for many years (in my younger, thinner body) and I completely understand the courage it took you to go alone into the city itself (driving! BRAVO) and advocate for and serve your two loved ones!  That is an amazing feat!  This week...you were a super hero!  You did what needed to be done and you are grateful for the ability to do just st that!  Brava, my friend!! Well done! 

Awesome you are able to do this.  VSG enabled you to be not only a healthier person, but a better friend and partner.  Cheers.  diane s

Thanks for the kudos, everyone. But really, I only did what any of you would do in the same situation. What was wonderful was that I was physically able to do it.

If anyone deserves the kudos, it's the researchers who developed sleeve surgery, the surgeons who perform it, and the nutritionists, physiotherapists, and office staff who all do their part to make it possible for us to lose weight and get healthy again.

If anybody who belongs to any of these groups is lurking here, THANK YOU!

psychoticparrot

A friend of mine has always said that "God gives you what you can handle" and thanks to your hardwork over the last year, you handled it beautifully. What you did in Yiddish is known as a "Mitzvah!" 

The timing and irony of the past few days have not escaped my notice. I've been "mitzvahed," for sure!

"Today I am a parrot!" 

psychoticparrot

This post made me what to cry Psychotic Parrot! You're awesome and an inspiration.