Gary S.

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September 25, 2008

Hello Everyone:

I would like to give you an update on my post surgical recovery.  All my wounds are licked clean and healed, and I have lost 70 lbs of girth.  That girth was the product of some very expensive restaurants in my heyday but it is much nicer having a complete absence of appetite and much more energy.  I now can walk for 45 minutes without stopping whereas prior to that I could only stand for 5 or 10 minutes.  My knees don’t hurt any further and I have minimal back pain.  I am only one third of the way in weight loss so far so you can imagine how I would feel dropping another 120 lbs.  My shoe size has already decreased by one and my waist is 10 inches less.

The Discovery Channel has been following my progress and they sent a crew from England to re-interview me one week ago.  They asked the usual questions but wanted to get some additional footage as if I was still pre-op.  The only problem was that my face has changed and the shirt that I wore back then doesn’t fit me now.  With the marvel of modern photography, they did some extra footage and can re-simulate the way I was eight weeks ago.  I will let you know when it airs but all indications are that this will be in November.

A typical meal for me now is four shrimp.  You may think that is due to the poor performance of the stock market but I only have a small stomach capacity and I get full really fast.  I still have some issues left but, in general, my good days outnumber my bad days.  My angel is still helping me supplement myself with loads of vitamin pills that are necessary due to my malabsorption, which was part of the surgery.  She has lost 10 lbs so far as a consequence of my surgery.

At 8 weeks post op, Jana, the angel, attended the world premiere in San Francisco of the opera based on Amy Tan’s book, the Bonesetters Daughter.  Jana, and the critics, gave the performance a world class rave review.  Gordon Getty and Ted Turner were also in attendance that night but the society reporter for the SF Chronicle failed to mention Jana in her synopsis.

So far I have not done any traveling and continue to concentrate on my recovery (both financial and surgical).  I look forward to hearing from you and wish you all the best.  It is always much easier to recover when you have the good wishes of friends and family and I must thank you for that.  Please be well and happy.

Gary

2008-7-21

Hi Everybody:

I am happy to report that I survived the surgery!  The only thing that was abnormal was the amount of skin under my fingernails; the skin probably belonged to the anesthetist. I must ask the crew from Renegade Productions (which was filming my surgery for the Discovery Channel) what they saw. I was told that they enjoyed the surgery so much that they stayed much longer than they planned.

My surgeon, Dr. John Rabkin, operated on me at St Mary's Hospital in San Francisco.  Apparently, he has claim to the four spectacular private corner rooms on the eighth floor.  Each has two walls of glass windows.  I was lucky to get one of them.  The view from my room looked over Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean.  My nurse told me that  Joe Montana stayed in my room when he was hospitalized there.  All I could see was fog but I was told repeatedly that with better weather the view would be even more spectacular.  Even with fog it was spectacular but most of the time I was understandably distracted.

If you are ever in need of a hospital in San Francisco, I couldn't recommend a better facility, better nurses, or more caring staff. You probably know that Los Angeles is called the city of Angels, but I had an angel in San Francisco with me this week. This angel, Jana, stayed with me by my side giving me personalized nursing care, being my medical advocate at every instant, and probably only getting three hours of sleep per night.  She was exhausted, always on the run, and did this with her usual charm and aplomb.

I am now home.  There is some recovering to do and Jana is helping to make it easier.  So this has not been a walk in the park, but it has not been an unmitigated disaster either.  The only disappointment I had, was that I weighed 10 pounds more on discharge than on arrival.  and, that was AFTER I left my body parts in San Francisco! Jana, on the other hand, lost two pounds. My theory is that it was due to the anesthetist's skin that I talked about earlier. Jana reminds me that it is a result of third spacing of fluids and some vigorous fluid therapy! 

I wish to thank everybody for their support and good wishes at this major moment in my life.  It's wonderful to have friends.

Hugs, Gary 

Anticipation of Freedom- by Gary Stein

I walk and get tired more easily than before

My knees don’t seem to cooperate with me anymore

When I fly on a plane I can’t fit into the john

And that makes the flying time seem so long

So I strategically go before the flight

Hoping that everything will turn out all right

When into a restaurant I dare to go

I am always worried about how I will show

I ask for the bench seat or a chair without arms

And pray that I won’t cause the place any harm

 And hope that my weight will not cause a break

Of the chair or the stool or any other mistake

And I worry about navigating all the way to my seat

Without stepping on anyone else’s feet

 When my girth is on display I am easily ignored

People don’t seem interested in me anymore

I cannot easily mingle throughout the room

And find that socially that spells my doom

 My belt size has risen, and I feel like I’m in prison

It’s time to be free, and take care of me

So its off to the OR for my Duodenal Switch

Where I can finally get rid of everything which

 Has caused me distress in my enlarged state

And hope for the time when I can myself appreciate

Cheers to Dr John and the Pac Lap crew

For giving me a chance to have my body renew

 I know it is hard to anticipate the day

When my body is half what it is today

So in Mid July its off to St Marys

To begin the rebirth of the new modern Gary

Apologies to Tony Bennett who uses Frisco

I call this piece “I left my stomach in San Francisco”