The week leading up to the actual surgery I was very calm. There was no hesitation or nervousness on my part. If anything, I would say I was anxious. Anxious to begin a new life. Anxious to be the person on the outside that I felt like on the inside. The support I was receiving was moving. All of my family, my Husband, my Boss, my co-worker and most especially my Best Friend were all amazing. I felt like I was absolutely making the right decision for myself and I never doubted that decision for a moment. (still don't). I had been so careful about watching what I ate for the past three months but the week leading up to the surgery I allowed myself some indulgences. Still, I didn't go crazy. I made a little list in my mind of some of the foods I would like to have before the surgery since I knew it would be a long time before I could have them again. One night, I ate a great Kobe Burger w/sweet potato fries. One morning I had a raspberry coconut scone, with a Vanilla Latte. One day, I even allowed myself a handful of salt and vinegar potato chips. But, as I said, I didn't go nuts. I didn't eat the whole bag. I didn't eat more than I normally would, but I enjoyed every last calorie. "The Last Supper" as I like to call it was on New Years Eve. 12-31-11. We went to an amazing restaurant with good friends to toast to the New Year and it had a lot of symbolism for me because I really was starting the New Year with a new life. We had a very delicious meal that included bacon wrapped prawns in a lemon buerre blanc sauce, baked brie in phyllo dough with a jalapeno jelly sauce, hot ciabatta bread, prime rib, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and a dessert of carmelized bananas with a whiskey caramel sauce and candied pecans, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Oh..and let's not forget the THREE lemon-berry drops I had. Did I mention I am not a drinker? Well, thank goodness I didn't discover the lemon-berry drop until that evening, because wow, those were good! I know that sounds like a TON of food, and although it was definitely a lot, it wasn't as much as it sounds like. I had only ONE prawn. I had a small slice of the brie. I shared my 8oz prime rib with my husband and only had about 4 bites of the dessert. I didn't eat until I was miserable, but I was definitely satisfied. I can't believe that was seven days ago. It seems so much longer.
Sunday, January 1st, I began a two day clear liquid diet to prepare for surgery. I tried to stay as busy as possible on the first day so I would not think about food. I went to a movie and shopping with Terry. I just tried to stay focused and not let my hunger get the better of me. It wasn't as hard as I thought. I was actually able to get thru the day okay. Monday, January 2nd, was a bit harder. Also, I had to get up and drink a 10 oz bottle of Magnesium Citrate before noon to start the "cleanse" process. Magnesium Citrate is soooo sweet. I had to take a swig and chase it with water every time. It was hard to get it all down, but I did it and then waited for the not-so-welcome effects to begin. Let's just say that you shouldn't plan on being any further than about 5 feet from the bathroom the day before surgery. These effects went on from 10am until about 3:30am the next day. Maybe I should have reconsidered that whole HUGE meal thing from Saturday night!
Monday night I had a hard time sleeping. Much like I get whenever I have to leave early in the morning to catch a flight, I felt uneasy and as if I might oversleep and not hear my alarm. Of course, the Magnesium Citrate was still working it's magic as well, so that didn't help matters. My Husband was laying next to me peacefully sleeping, seemingly without a care in the world. I tried running my fingers across his back to see if I could rouse him. When that didn't work, I tried massaging him a little bit on his shoulder. Still...nothing. Finally, I started poking him with my index finger. I poked him in the sides, the back, the neck, shoulder and face. When he turned over and opened his eyes, I said, "Oh...are you awake?" He talked to me for a little while, and then rolled back over to go to sleep. It was about 2am at this point and my surgery was scheduled for 9:30am. The Hospital is about an hour away and I needed to be there by 7:30am. I couldn't turn my brain off, so I texted my Sister In Law and I was surprised when she texted me right back. She couldn't sleep either. She and I went back and forth for a bit and then I started playing with Facebook on my phone. My phone ringer was on silent, so at 4:26am when a call came in, I would have never known if I hadn't been unable to sleep. It was the hospital telling me that the first case of the day in the OR had cancelled and Dr. Vierra had requested me to arrive at the hospital at 6am for a 7:30 surgery start time. Holy shit! I woke my Husband, had him take a quick "Before" picture and we walked out the door about 10 minutes later. Let the games begin!
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