I Got A Date: Need An Angel:

Well, lo and behold, my Dr's office called and said I was approved for surgery!! You could have knocked me over with a feather! After hearing all the horror stories, I never expected to be approved in 3 days. My surgery is October 10, 2005 at 11:30, at Swedish Medical Center (Ballard) Seattle, WA 98107. I hardly know what to think. Very mixed feelings right now. Caught off guard. Really need and Angel I don't know what I should be buying for after surgery, and taking to hospital. Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted. Santina

Hello Santina, Congratulations on your surgery. I would love to be your angel if you will have me. I just got home from the support group meeting at Barnes and Noble so I will email you again tomorrow. Talk to you soon. Arlene

Hello Arlene: Thank you for your response. Just looked up your profile. In one place you wrote you were going to be reversed, but from seeing further down , looks like you have lost 113# How wonderful. Thank you for saying you would be my Angel. Do you have any advise for this confused "cookie"? How are you eating now? Are you able to eat solids? Did the esophagus heal? What can be done to prevent the problem? Thanks, Santina

Good Mornibng Santina, Reversed??? Got me there. Not sure what you saw but I have never had plans for being reversed. And mess up this wonderful work Doc Weber did?? Never. I did have problems with Madigan tearing my esophagus but that closed itself up in the hospital and they never had to do surgery. That God! I am eating more. But only a little. I can eat solids. Not really meat....maybe a small bite. I actually got to what i tell my husband....a new number today 160. That means I have lost 115 pounds. I owe it all to Dr Weber. He is so wonderful. What to bring to the hospital................ PACK wipes! Pre surgery shower soap clip-on fan back scratcher larger PJs Pain Meds!! Brush Tooth brush/paste Wash cloths LIP STUFF!! Shampoo/conditioner body wash Hair ties Pillow Slippers Lotion Magazines Q-tips Camera PJs wipes tongs lose/comfy clothes pads/tampons back scratcher journal pedometer medicines Things to do and get: take "before" pictures prepare & freeze meals for fam indulge in FEW select treats and meals lose more weight walk a 5 mi walk! blender strainer Ensure or boost protein powder bottled water Splenda SF jello/pudding Plain or light yogurt Sorbet or sherbet broth or bouillon Baby food meats v8 Cream or broth based soups Cream of wheat or cream of rice Liquid vitamins chewable vitamins B12 Iron Calcium Citrate I took this list from Nancy Carter's profile. Check her out she has so much information on her site. I will talk to you soon. Arlene

Santina, Looks like Arlene covered alot of it. Practice deep breathing. The one thing I might be able to add to what she had to say is if you are on any meds for chronic stuff you might want to talk to your pcp about getting what you can turned into liquid. I take prozac which is nasty dumped out of the pill form. I also didn't get after care for my diabetes straightened out prior to surgery so i really didn't know what to do when I got home and had to run over to my pcp to get it figured out..when i really would have rather stayed home. so a plan of action from your primary care doc is a really good idea. I am 3wks post op and I still crush some of my pills as it just makes life easier. I don't need as much water to get it all down. I mix it up with splenda and it works like a charm.. Congrats and we shall see you on the loosing side. Debbie