VSG Maintenance Group
Sunday, July 18, 2021
The graduation party went fairly well though we had several cancellations so there is food for thousands leftover. But we did have a fair number of guests including both birthmothers of my 2 younger children. We see DS's birthmom on a regular basis but hadn't seen DD's for a long time.
We didn't go to bed until almost midnight. It is a long time since I stayed up that late and Mike cancelled his golf today as he was too tired. The weather ended up being sunny and HOT, so the canopies we had up in case of rain were good for sheltering from the sun. I believe there was rain across a lot of Massachusetts but it completely missed us as is often the case with summer showers.
A major cancellation was because one of DH's closest long-term friends had a massive heart attack the prior night. He was visiting here for the party as he has always been like a second father to my children. He is still in critical condition on a ventilator and the doctors are not hopeful though they said they would have a better idea of whether he could survive it after the first 24 hours or so. That really dampened the day to say the least but with many people already here and food already prepared it made sense to go ahead with the party.
I guess with that I definitely have to get this BP medication figured out. I have been on meds for it since my late 30's and it got worse after menopause. It did drop significantly after WLS, but I never got fully off of medication and my BP has been way up for the last year or so even when my weight was down.
Today is clean up day and I will go visit the wife of my friend as she is feeling very alone with her husband in the ICU. She doesn't cope well with stressful situations at any time. Have a safe and healthy Sunday.
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Liz, I am so sorry to hear about your friend, well, family member really. I will pray for good news, good news about the ventilator.
There comes a time in life when weight management is not about vanity, but much more so about health and quality of life.
This morning, we took DD to the airport. It was very early, so we decided to take a little nap when we got home. We slept all morning! I'm happy for DH, because I could see last night he was very tired. His job is so physical, and while it's kept him quite healthy compared to his brothers (both have type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, one had a heart attack in his early 50s), I think the pace is too much now. He plans to start part time before next summer.
It's another hot one. I think we will stay around the house until this evening, when we are going to a friend's house for dinner.
I've finished 2 more books I would recommend: The Hour of the Witch and one that's been on my shelf forever, Orphan Train. Both historical fiction.
Liz, so glad the party went well!
My work triggered in therapy (and a somewhat busy schedule the past few days) has helped move the scale reading in the preferred direction. I did talk to my brother briefly about some of my work about childhood/teen/early adult stuff and he was pretty clueless, but does not discount my experiences. I'll talk to my dad at some point soon, too. I think it will validate him, too hear some of what I have to say. My mom could be really hard on him, too.
GOAT's water heater is fixed. Yay! We are good to go for our Oregon trip on Wednesday.
Lots of grooming the next few days to get ready for shows and then travel to Oregon.
Liz, I was only off BP meds for about 2 years after WLS and that was kind of iffy. For some of us there is a genetic factor, too. No matter how thin we get, the BP just wants to be elevated.
There is research now that is pointing toward endurance athletics actually breaking down the body rather than making it stronger. The heart being a muscle also degrades with endurance exercise. It's fascinating to me because it is counter intuitive, but when you stop and think about it and read the science behind how the body degrades over time, it makes sense!
It does make sense. He was doing his biggest training in the 70s and early 80s. Add in his high blood pressure and what we now know, he probably wasn't well designed to be a long distance runner. His sister, my aunt, also had life long high blood pressure. She got congestive heart failure, but lived to be 83, so it played out differently for her. My Dad, their other sibling, did not have blood pressure issues, but despite a stellar diet and daily 5 mile walk, had a quintuple bypass at 63. He is 83 and still up to many shenanigans. All 3 had cardiovascular disease, but it played out differently in each of them.
