YAY! I MADE IT!!!!! Looooooong.....
Here I am - yay!!! Not sure how long I wil be able to sit here, but I made it! Wow - you sure learn ALOT of things when you have this surgery - ALOT! 
I have a list a mile long, but if I share I might get quite a few people mad, but it will be the truth, what can I say I was on the 7th floor East at Boston Medical which is where you go after surgery if you have no other major co-morbidities for them to worry about. The interns, nurses, nutrition people, everyone were AWESOME!!!!! And of course Dr. Hess - he is a LIFE SAVER, people, no other words to describe him I remember NOTHING from my day of surgery - absolutely nothing. I had no gas or passing of gas until Thursday. They will ask you this a million times too And forget about any modesty - when you have a room full of 20 somethings looking at all your parts and then some, modesty is taken away 800 percent. The chicken bullion is AWFUL, but the beef bullion was great! And the first sip you get of that Carnation Instant Breakfast will taste like the BEST THING you have ever had in your entire life! And you WILL HAVE PAIN no matter what you have been told - use that fancy dancy pain button right up until they yank it away from you! I have 6 incisions in my middle - felt like I did a million sit ups or something, and do not get nosey and look at yourself in the mirror - you will not be happy It looks like I was shot with a cannonball in 6 places! So get used to doing sit ups before you have this surgery, and also get used to sleeping ON YOUR BACK - if you are not normally a back sleeper you will not like this part either. OMG I can go on forever... but I am still giving it all an A-PLUS considering everything they did while they were in there. I did not know that they semi-invert the operating table - kinda kewl when you think about it Oh and trying to make sure you pee in that hat thing after they take out the the catheter - I totally missed once so that fluid output did not count. I had a very mild urinary tract infection which was cleared up in 24 hours, so pee as much as you can whether you think you need to or not. And do not be brave and suck it up with the pain meds - take them so you can get moving on your own! I was not hungry at all, and was told I will not be hungry probably for 18 months too! But is is very hard to get everything in once you are home, it is do-able but hard. OK I will stop for now. I was glad that Luann and Jennifer got to say hello too while I was in there. And I got to take my first SHOWER today and WASH MY HAIR - WOOHOO!!! That I think is the worst part of everything - jusy yucky! Oh, and do NOT be surprised if you GAIN WEIGHT while in the hospital - I was mighty ticked off, but I know it will be gone again soon - damn 12 pounds of fluid I gained in four days! More to follow in a day or so I am sure, but I am still glad I did it, pain and all!
Liz F.
POST-OP as of 08/10/2004
First check will be next Friday
I have a list a mile long, but if I share I might get quite a few people mad, but it will be the truth, what can I say I was on the 7th floor East at Boston Medical which is where you go after surgery if you have no other major co-morbidities for them to worry about. The interns, nurses, nutrition people, everyone were AWESOME!!!!! And of course Dr. Hess - he is a LIFE SAVER, people, no other words to describe him I remember NOTHING from my day of surgery - absolutely nothing. I had no gas or passing of gas until Thursday. They will ask you this a million times too And forget about any modesty - when you have a room full of 20 somethings looking at all your parts and then some, modesty is taken away 800 percent. The chicken bullion is AWFUL, but the beef bullion was great! And the first sip you get of that Carnation Instant Breakfast will taste like the BEST THING you have ever had in your entire life! And you WILL HAVE PAIN no matter what you have been told - use that fancy dancy pain button right up until they yank it away from you! I have 6 incisions in my middle - felt like I did a million sit ups or something, and do not get nosey and look at yourself in the mirror - you will not be happy It looks like I was shot with a cannonball in 6 places! So get used to doing sit ups before you have this surgery, and also get used to sleeping ON YOUR BACK - if you are not normally a back sleeper you will not like this part either. OMG I can go on forever... but I am still giving it all an A-PLUS considering everything they did while they were in there. I did not know that they semi-invert the operating table - kinda kewl when you think about it Oh and trying to make sure you pee in that hat thing after they take out the the catheter - I totally missed once so that fluid output did not count. I had a very mild urinary tract infection which was cleared up in 24 hours, so pee as much as you can whether you think you need to or not. And do not be brave and suck it up with the pain meds - take them so you can get moving on your own! I was not hungry at all, and was told I will not be hungry probably for 18 months too! But is is very hard to get everything in once you are home, it is do-able but hard. OK I will stop for now. I was glad that Luann and Jennifer got to say hello too while I was in there. And I got to take my first SHOWER today and WASH MY HAIR - WOOHOO!!! That I think is the worst part of everything - jusy yucky! Oh, and do NOT be surprised if you GAIN WEIGHT while in the hospital - I was mighty ticked off, but I know it will be gone again soon - damn 12 pounds of fluid I gained in four days! More to follow in a day or so I am sure, but I am still glad I did it, pain and all!
Liz F.
POST-OP as of 08/10/2004
First check will be next Friday 
Lisa Liz,
Glad to hear you made it through and are home. I go on Friday for my follow-up appointment also, but so far except for getting everything in I am suppose to things are going well. I do not have a scale so have not weighed myself so have no idea as to weight at this point. Hope your recovery continues to go well.
Ginny M
I figure as long as I have lost that dang 12 pounds of fluid I gained in the hospital by then I will be happy I am feeling better every day. Hopefully we will see each other on Friday at Dr. Hess' office - I think Jennifer may be there with us too!
Liz F.
POST-OP as of 08/10/2004
First follow up on Friday Aug 20th
I am feeling better every day. Hopefully we will see each other on Friday at Dr. Hess' office - I think Jennifer may be there with us too!
Liz F.
POST-OP as of 08/10/2004
First follow up on Friday Aug 20th Glad to see you back on the board Liz and also glad I got to meet you and Jennifer in person. I had my pre-op visit with Dr. Hess Friday and he was just so good about taking time and answering all questions. I did ask him about the support group at QMC moving to Friday nights and he didn't think that was a very good idea. He said he would look into it staying on Tuesdays. Rest and follow your plan! Feel better each day!
Luann
for a safe and speedy recovery.
Charlotte 
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