Hi Darice. God Bless You for a wonderful outcome during surgery.
No matter what people tell you, your own experience will of course be unique to just you. You have a great guy along side of you that is behind you 100% and that will help tremendously in this journey.
You might experience a feeling of regret for doing this , but trust me it does not last. Not all people do experience this feeling either.
The first few weeks are overwhelming, not necessarily because of pain
(I had none ) but because you are trying to make sure that you get all of your nutrients and you just want to "Do it right." But it will become second nature to you.
My advice to you after you are on the mend is to wake up every morning and verbalize (or write) how grateful you are for even the smallest of differences in your physical being. That is the main thing that keeps me walking and exercising everyday. I thank God for my two good legs and acknowledge how they used to feel and just go on my way.
Oh, yes, Darice. Stay off the scale!
Best Wishes.