Thanksgiving Day 2007 - Freedom

I slept till about 6 AM today. Have not had any pain meds since about 11 PM last night and still feel pretty good. Shannon relieved the Evil Tami, who really is not so evil, but I just like calling her that, at about 7 AM. Last shot of Heparin and Pepcid. It's Thanksgiving Day 2007 and I need my Doctor to come do the final inspection and release me from the assembly line.

Waiting.

About 10:30 Dr Dervall, the Internal Medicine man, came to check me out. My blood pressure is 113/69. I have not taken blood pressure meds since Sunday. Dr Dervall wants me to wait to see my PCP until next Thursday and determine what we are doing about the BP meds. Until then, I don't take them. We will see how the BP is next Thursday. Another set of vitals and need to see my surgeon. Shannon is keeping an eye on me, doing a great job, be HE is not as nearly easy on the eyes as Karen, Jennie, the Angelic Crystal, Polly Pureheart and the Evil Tami. Sorry Shannon. I am such a guy!

Waiting.

Speaking of Nurses - I need to say this. They work way to hard for not near enough money. These folks are amazing. They have so much responsibility. They were always comforting, supportive, loving, and caring. I could not have been better cared for. They laughed with me, helped me when I need help, pushed me when I needed pushing. Everyone should hug a nurse, right this second, if you are in the vicinity. I am pretty sure I love Nurses. Even you Shannon, but but not in an creepy way. If those of you contemplating this surgery are reading this, don't be a jerk to your Nurse. They will get to you and want to help you. I loved all of mine - even the Evil Tami.

Waiting.

Dr. White's partner showed up around 1 PM or so and I am free. Well not completely. Shannon gets my paperwork, disconnects me from the IV and now is prepping to pull my drain. Now I have to say, this freaked me out. He pulls the dressing off, which shows signs of drainage, cuts a couple of small stitches and tells me to take a deep breath and blow out slowly. Now the last time I heard these words, there was an attractive blond nurse pulling about 12 inches of poly tubing out of my hoo-hoo. Definitely not a positive memory and hearing these words again just caused a minor flutter in my chest and an uncontrollable shrinking of my manhood. Maybe its the gas. I take the deep breath and start to blow, when I feel what might be the strangest feeling I have ever felt. I am sure it only lasted a second or two, but I will remember this forever. This rubber tube is being pulled out of my body and I can feel it on the inside, rubbing on organs and my innards. It was just weird.

Shannon cleans and tapes me up, I sign my release and Shannon calls me in a pain prescription and the Lovely Sandy went down to the car to meet me outside. I wish all the Nurses my Best, and Karen gingerly walks me to the front door, and I get to smell fresh air for the first time in 4 days. What an experience, simply amazing.

Thus ends the saga of my Laproscopic Roux-en-y Gastric Bypass Surgery. Now the real work begins. Watching what I eat, how I eat, the quantity of what I eat. I will continue to chronicle this journey. I will provide weekly updates for a while and updates whenever I have a Doctors visit. I hope my graphic explanation of what occurred this week, being tempered with humor, will draw you back to read. I am planning to share my complete journey with you, as I present my Life, Exhibited.