Back into Baylor again....

Thank goodness for free wireless! It's nice that between the puking and the multitudes of nasty tests my doctor has put me through, I can check my email! :) If you haven't figured it out already, I got re-admitted to the hospital late last night for not being able to stop throwing up. I had to go in through the ER this time, and waited about 10 hours for a bed in the hospital. So far, with the exception of one floor nurse, all my nurses and staff have been wonderful. I'm getting lots of fluid and anti-nausea meds. I've had a abdominal sono and a cat scan, both of which were normal. My doctor has me scheduled for an upper GI tomorrow which will allow them to see how the contrast goes through my GI tract. Hopefully, it will give them some answers as to why I can't eat normally.

I did get the chance (between the puking) to go see Spamalot with Michael and Jennifer yesterday. It was HILARIOUS! I wish I would have felt better so I could have enjoyed it more, but it was still a great show.

So now, I'm tied to a bed here at Baylor, looking fabulous with my hospital gown, capri pant pajama bottoms, anti-blood clot hose, footy socks, and wild hair. I'm quite the sight. I'm hoping my IV stays good so I don't have to get stuck half a billion times like last time.

Thanks for checking in. I have my cell if you want to contact me while I'm here.

Hooray for deals!

I just found 3 pairs of capri pants at Walmart for $9 each! Fabulous! That will absolutely help my need to have camp clothes. Now, I just need to find some shirts...

Wow! Was last week CRAZY or what? Work seemed to explode with more and more kids needing to be evaluated for transplant, kids having complications, but ironically (and kinda thankfully), no one was transplanted! It was BUSY! I was so happy to have Friday come around and have the weekend start! Shockingly, it's been a relatively quiet weekend, although that can change at the drop of a hat.

I've felt pretty good this weekend. I've gotten all my liquids in, and have even eaten more than one meal a day! I win! I'm still working SO hard on eating the things that I know my body wants...like protein. I'm having to get over some humps that I had right before my stricture. I got REALLY burned out on lunch meat and cheese, even though those are great protein sources. I need to get back to where I want to eat those things because right now, the thought of them makes me dry heave. It's completely psychological, so any suggestions on how to overcome that would be helpful!

In two weeks, I'll be going to camp! Oh yes, you DID read that right! I'm going to be a camp nurse at my church's brand new camp in Hawkins. I'm so excited! I'm a tad nervous at the thought of being outside and having to maintain REALLY good hydration, but I'm hoping by that point, I'll be fine! :) It should be so much fun...and now I just need to get prepared! I don't really have any clothes that fit, and that might just be a good thing to have. I'll have to go to Goodwill because I do NOT want to go buying new clothes for a week and then I'll be shrinking on out of them. Thankfully, the nurse's station does have a washer/dryer, so perhaps I'll be able to recycle some of my clothes and not have to find so many!

Life just does not get any more exciting than that...or at least I hope not! I need some calm! :)

Advancing slowly

My diet of choice this week has been the good, old, reliable clear liquid. I learned about 24 hours after my stricture dilation that clears were about the only thing my sensitive stomach was going to handle right then. I've mostly kept to that and have only really ventured out in my choices the last few days.

I have discovered that my nausea/vomiting really only likes to come in the morning. It's like I'm pregnant. I've learned to take nausea medication when I get up, and about 75% of the time, I can ward off the episodes. Some days, I'm not so lucky. If you see me in the morning and I look a little off, it's probably one of those bad mornings!

Other than the puking, I'm doing pretty well. I'm trying to get back to the part of my diet where I can eat the majority of my protein in food. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks...hopefully by then I will have accomplished something! My energy levels are good, but usually not until the afternoons! I've lost a total of 53lbs in my 8 weeks, which I think is pretty good. I'm hoping that this isn't too fast. I don't want to waste away faster than I should. That doesn't seem healthy at all!

I am STILL off call, which thrills me to no end. I don't go back on call until this weekend, when I go on with my favorite surgeon who won't wake me up with every single offer. I actually don't have any plans this weekend, which usually means I'll be stuck transplanting in the OR. That's usually how it goes. And with SEVEN kids waiting, it's only a matter of time.

Liberty and Oliver have been so funny the last few days! Yesterday, I spilled some dog food in the laundry basket while I was refilling the food containers. The dogs found it necessary to drag the laundry basket across the room, almost removing a shirt through the holes. They were determined to get those four pieces out! Crazies.

Well, it's getting late and I do have to be up in the morning...blast it all. I have NEVER been a snooze girl and I'm getting SO bad about it. My snooze is only three minutes...so is it really worth it? Most likely no.

My breaking point

This past week has been absolutely draining to me. I have had no energy, looked white as a sheet, and haven't been able to eat or drink very much at all. It's been miserable. I pushed through because I knew I had to be at work, being the only coordinator in town. I had a brand new transplant, a funeral to attend, and all the run of the mill work things to accomplish....which would normally not be a big deal! I was never so happy to see Friday come when I went off call!

Friday, I went to the doctor for my 6 week check up. The PA (NOT my surgeon) checked me out, figured I was low in some vitamin level, and sent me to get labs drawn. I was convinced I was anemic, so I asked when the levels would be back...oh don't worry..."We'll call you around Tuesday with your levels and tell you what to do!" I was infuriated. I was going to get to spend the entire weekend feeling like GARBAGE. I even think I said that to her. She gave me a shot of B12 and sent me on my way. At the lab, they drew almost TWO ounces of blood (hey, if I wasn't anemic before, I sure would be after!). Around this time, my friend Kris called me and asked me how the doctor's visit went. I pretty much unloaded on her every angry feeling about the experience. She was equally shocked that pretty much nothing had been done. I went home, slept, and hoped I would feel better the next day. Well, not so much as it turned out. Then the puking began....and I had nothing in my stomach to puke. I went shopping with Whitney and Eli...and then things just started getting worse pretty fast. I finally broke down and called my surgeon. He was concerned and told me he wanted me to go be admitted at the hospital for severe dehydration and what he thought was a stricture. In the world of gastric bypass, a stricture is swelling where the stomach pouch meets the small intestine.

I ended up getting admitted, getting almost no sleep that night, and had IV's started for hydration. I got about 3 liters before I actually used the bathroom...which is VERY scary! :) Sunday, my poor sad dehydrated veins were blowing fast so I kept getting poked....for a total of 12 times. ICK. When my surgeon visited me on Sunday, he told me I needed a endoscopy and a balloon dilation of that stoma. Thankfully, this does not "ruin" my surgery. It happens in about 4% of gastric bypass patients. Of course, I would have to be in that small percentage. Today, I was taken for endoscopy where it was discovered that I did have a stricture. It was dilated and my world became a new and wonderful place again! I'm still weak fom the week of not eating, but I'm feeling better every hour that goes by. I was discharged this evening and am now happily at home. Of course, I look like I've been doing drugs with all my multiple IV bruises...but oh well.

Thank you to ALL those who came to visit me, brought me flowers, sent me sweet and encouraging text messages, and kept me in your prayers. I'm hoping that in the next few days, I'll be back to happy and correct eating. I'll probably go back work on Wednesday...energized and not looking like death!

The way it always goes!

It would just figure that the day I would go back on call, I'd be transplanting all night long. Ah well, as long as the babies get hearts, I'm okay with that. I think the last transplant we did, I had just come on that same day as well! How weird! :) It was my first transplant since my surgery, and it was SO hard to stay hydrated! Thankfully, the OR nurse is pregnant and she needed to keep drinking too...so she helped me remember! Every 15 minutes or so, I'd sneak off to side room to take a drink.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up on sleep and general lounging around. At one point in my sleepy haze on Saturday, I started some laundry...which turned out to be an entire weekend project (even though it was only one load!). Oliver took advantage of my sleeping time by shredding toys and popsicle sticks all over the floor. I believe Liberty just slept next to me during his run of destruction, but I can't be sure.

Today, I got some horrible news...one of my very closest friends' mom passed away last night. Please keep Amanda and her family in your prayers. Amanda's mom was a believer, so I absolutely know she's in a better place right now. My friends are I are way too young to be losing parents.

On a more joyful note, today is my parents 35th wedding anniversary. WOW! I am so blessed to be born to parents who picked right the first time and stuck it out for all of these years. They have produced three normal (well, I guess you could say semi-normal) children, all of whom have college educations, good jobs, and morals. Six puppies call them grandma and grandpa. They've set a wonderful example of what marriage should be.

Well, sleep should be calling soon....and hopefully not any heart offers! :)