Terri H.

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I know it has been a long time since my last post, but things are good!
I am down 95 pounds since January, and 75 since surgery.  I had my three month appointment with my surgeon, and I thought I was doing fantastic, but found out I am way behind on the weight loss.

Well, needless to say, I was blown out of the water!  It took me several weeks to recover, because I am so hard on myself.  I am doing everything he says to do!  I am exercising 4 days a week.  Walking for 2 miles a day, and doing an hour long super hard exercise class 2 evenings a week.

So, I came to this conclusion.  SO WHAT!!!  So what I am not in the top of the weight loss class!  I have never lost this much weight in my life!  I am happy!  God is in control, and as long as I am faithful to my diet, and exercise as much as I can, God is going to have to do the rest.  I don't care how fast it will come off, just that it is going to come off.  I am just going to keep on keeping on!

We went to the beach last week, and I walked the beach in my Junonia Swimsuit, and I didn't care what other people thought of me.  I was on top of the world.  I can breathe!  I can walk miles on the sand and not die of a heart attack!  Thank you God!  We did so much walking, and playing that I could have never done this time last year.  Wow!  and thank you God!  I can see the 100 pounds mark, and I am blessed!  The Devil will not take my joy away!

So, if you are reading this, know that this journey is not without it's lumps and bumps, but if you trust in the Lord, he will carry you over them.  If you don't know him . . . He wants to have a relationship with you, and loves you very much.  It is not about religion, people have religion, but there is a God who loves you, and wants you to know him too!  You don't have to change, he will meet you where you are, and loves you just as you are!  I love you all too!  

Keep the faith!  Keep walking the weight loss trail!

Later!

Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law?  What can go wrong, will go wrong!  I just have to laugh!  

All of this just happened Thursday, (yesterday), and today, Friday.  Wednesday night, our dishwasher started making this noise in the middle of the night, that we could hear all the way into the master bedroom.  Kinda like a grinding noise.  Both me and DH get up and make sure there is nothing "jammed" in there, and to no avail.  We decide to call the repairman.  (I stil haven't, and later you will realize why.)

I come home on Thursday night, after going to exercise,  (Yes, I am in an exercise class . . . who would have dreamed it! ha ha), I come into the house at 8:00, and my kitchen sink is filled with wet, soapy clothes!  UGH  The washing machine has died.  RIP 16 year old washing machine.  I take those clothes, and rinse them the best I can, and wring them . . BY HAND, UGH!, and then put them in the dryer, and low and behold, the Dryer is dead!  It will not provide any heat to dry clothes, whatsoever.  RIP 16 year old dryer!  They died together!  How sweet.  They just couldn't go on without each other!   We went shopping for a new washer and dryer, and they are expensive!!

Well, later on in the day, I took the kids fishing down to the pond, and we caught some blue gill fish!  The kids had a blast, and they wanted their daddy to see the fish, so we brought them in a bucket filled with pond water back to the house.  Well, our beagle then takes and shoves his head into the bucket, grabs a fish, and runs off, and rolls all over it, and then proceeds to eat it alive!!! EWWWWWW!  He ate the entire fish!  Bones and all . .  . double EWWWWWWWWWWWW!  Then he runs through my home smelling of fish!   YUK!  

Well, the dog has had a bath, we are rationing our clothing until Tuesday.  (If you see us in Walmart this weekend, we are buying underwear!)  And I promise to call the Dishwasher repairman on Monday.  Murphy has got to go!!!

On the weight loss front, I have lost a total 70 pounds, 50lbs since surgery, and I am feeling great.  Others are losing faster, and yes I feel like I should be doing better, but, I am waiting on the Lord!  He knows what is best.

Laugh, and God Smiles .  . . . . . God Bless you all!

O.K., I know I haven't written for awhile, and right now is the calm before the storm.  In just about 30 minutes I will have both of my babies home for spring break.  We have a great week planned for them.  We are going to visit My DH's family in Kentucky, and stop off in Pigeon Forge.

I am excited about this because I am 60 pounds down, and I can walk soooo much easier than I could not even 60 days ago.  

I had a "wow" moment this morning, that I want to share.  This morning I dropped my daughter off at pre-school, and went walking for an hour.  It was tough, and my legs hurt, and I huffed and puffed, put I just finished walking the longest I ever had in a very long time without having to sit down.  Well, it gets better . .. . .

I ran home, and took a shower, and when I came out of the bedroom, I saw my son's library books laying in his floor.  Well, today is library day for him in school.  I thought to myself.  "I feel so good, I think I will take them to his class so he will have them."  This was a different response for me.  Before surgery I would have said . ". . Too bad, there is no way I am going to walk through Matthew's big school and get out of breath and sweaty."  So I picked up the books and went to Matt's school.   Hang on the good "Wow" part is coming in the next paragraph. . . . . 

Well, I get there, and park, and walk from the office to Matthew's first grade class (that is at the back of the school), and I immediately noticed that I was not out of breath, or sweating!  Then the most amazing thing happened . . . . 

My son saw me as I came into his room, and his face just lit up!  It was the most wonderful proud smile I have EVER seen my son smile, and it almost brought tears to my eyes.  WOW!

Now here it gets funny, hang with me.  The teacher sees me and says . . . . (HI!!!! do you have a minute?  Can you run out in the courtyard and hide these 400 Easter Eggs?  I don't have anyone to help me, and if you can't . . . they won't have their Easter Egg hunt!)  She then handed to me a HUGE container filled with 400 CANDY Easter Eggs!  Guys, there was no way I could say no!  So off I went with this heavy container, back to the FRONT of the school, to the courtyard, and quickly ran around by myself and hid 400 easter eggs.  Before surgery, I could have never done this, not even half of this.  WOWWW!

I stayed with the class as they ran and gathered their eggs, and I could here my son telling his friends, That's my Mom, isn't she beautiful!  He just made me feel like a million bucks!  You bet He is going to get the BIGGEST Easter basket I can find and make!  LOL

This surgery has been a blessing already in my life, and the life of my family.  I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us this next year.  O.K. God . . . WOW me!  I am ready!!

Well, I am one month post op, and had my visit with Dr. Bour today.  I have lost a total of 33 pounds since surgery, and 53 pounds since Jan. 10th.  Yes, I fell short of Dr. Bour's goal, but I am going to up the exercise, and see if I can catch up.  My new goal is to lose another 30 by my 3 month check up.  WOW!  That seems like an unbelievable goal to me.  

I am a little discouraged because I fell 7 pounds short of my goal.  However, when I look at it . . . that's 1 pound a day.  I am not going to beat myself up about it.  I am still strugling with getting in all of the protein, and that 6th meal!  UGH!  I start Solids next week, and I am looking forward to chewing, chewing, chewing.

My son and daughter have noticed their mommy's tummy is getting "flatter"  (I love my children!  They always tell the truth . . .. right?)  I also have some pants I am wearing today that I haven't fit into for 3 years.  Awsome!

So, I will get "jiggy with it", and exercise, and try to do better in the other areas.  I can't wait to see what the future holds! 

I know that the above comment may sound weird, but in the back of my head there was some doubt that the surgery would really help me to lose this ton of weight I have been carrying around!

I was really surprised when I started the optifast pre-surgery and lost 20lbs in 4 weeks.  I couldn't believe it.  I cheated very little, and the pounds just seemed to fall off.  Wow!

Then the surgery happened, and the first check up I had lost 13 pounds!  It still didn't sink in.  I just told myself that anybody would lose weight after getting your gall blader taken out, and a surgery.  I just couldn't make myself believe it.

Well, last Thursday I had my stinky drain taken out, and I had lost another 6 pounds, and Dr. Bour was happy with my 20 pound weight loss, and told me that I should lose another 20 before I see him on March 9th.  Well, I told myself, "What?  I only lost 6 pounds . . . It is really going to be slow going now right?"

Well, I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when I went in for the Pureed group meeting, and weighed in, just 5 days later, and I had lost another 5 pounds!   WOW!  I can't believe it . . . . that is a pound a day!  If I can keep that up, I should dissapear soon!  (ha ha!)

Needless to say . .. I am believing it now!  I can do this!  Thanks Dr. Bour!  

And as a side note;  I am so happy that I can eat "pureed" food now!  whooo hoooo!

Well, I went to my first post-surgery support group meeting last night!  Boy was the mood different!  We laughed, and it was light and happy.  Not that the pre-surgery support group was bad, but things were always so serious, and I know that I just wanted to get to surgery.  I think the best part was seeing all my my friends that had surgery the same day, or around the same time as me.  

We showed each other our battle scars, and also shared how in the world we are still eating just liquids, and surviving.  We griped about our "drains", and it felt good to be around people who are going through, or have been through the same thing.

I am a little worried that the chef is no longer apart of our office.  I really looked forward to eating some of his prepared "pureed" food.  I was, however, pleased to meet the new chef, and hopefully there will be some tasty treats ready for us by the time we are moved to the next phase of our "new diet".  I go this thursday to get my nasty drain taken out, and I will weigh again.  I can't wait!

One point I want to make, before I go, is that all of you Moms out there that work outside the home, I really admire how you guys get it all done.  Each family has to make a choice based on their circumstance, and kudos to those who are doing a great job balancing the two.  (children, and a full time job)  I however, am a stay at home mom, by choice, and there are a few comments that really rub me the wrong way.  The next time you encounter anyone like me (and there are millions of us by the way), please don't say that you could never stay at home, and just sit around all day!  UGHHH!    First off, it is a sacrifice to stay home.  I would love the extra money and the challenges of working outside the home.  But we made a choice to do it this way.  I respect the working Mom, so please just please respect me in return.  (That's all I ask.)

A comment like that one, really puts a dent in the stay at home Mom's self esteem.  Secondly,  I do NOT just sit around all day.  My day begins at 5:30 a.m., with my devotions and getting myself ready.  Then I make (cook) a good breakfast for both of my children., I drive the oldest to 1st grade by 7:30 a.m., (he goes from 7:45 to 2:10), and then drop off my 3 year old at pre-school 3 days a week at 9:00 a.m.  (She goes from 9:00 to 12:00). I volunteer at my sons' school 2 days a week, my daughter's school 2 days a week, do laundry every day, keep a clean house (which is no small feat with a 6 year old and a 3 year old).  Do the shopping, cooking, (that's 3 meals a day folks . . . we don't go out to eat very often.) and driving to lessons, doctors, sports, play dates, birthday parties, etc.  I am very active in my church, and other civic organizations.  I put at least 400 miles on my van a week, and I really don't go that far! (ha ha).  At the end of the day my children's homework is done, clothes are ready for the next day, my kitchen is clean, the toys are in a controlled mess, and I usually hit the bed around 11:00 p.m.  Did you read "sitting and watching TV" in there anywhere?

Last point I have to make.  My husband also helps me a great deal.  He is such a wonderful guy.  But when I had this surgery, he had his parents come to take care of the kids, and it took 3 people to do what I do every day.  My husband said he couldn't believe it.  He was never so happy when I "started back to work" on the 6th day after my operation.  It was great to have everybody back to normal again.

Whew, I feel better!  sorry for rant! 

Well, I survived!  The Lord didn't take me home!  Praise God!  And even if I hadn't survived the surgery . . . God would still be good, for it would have been in his plan.  But boy am I happy about this plan! (ha ha).

Guys, let me tell you; it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my lifetime.  I have NEVER been in the hospital, much less had a major operation.  Not even a broken bone folks.  Yes, this was a big thing for ol' mrs terri.

However, Dr. Bour, and his intern were wonderful.  Katie was FANTASTIC!  The hospital was super.  I only had a few little problems, but the staff really helped me, and encouraged me along the "bumps".

When I got home on Friday, I was so tired and sleepy, that I don't remember much except that my family was eating, and the smell made me go YUK!  (Now this was a first!)

When I would drink something I would feel so full only after a sip or two.  (another first!  feeling full at all!)

As the days progressed, I got in all my protein, and all of my water.  My left side hurt, and lets just say I have counted all of the stripes of the wallpaper on my bathroom wall. (For those of you who don't follow my humor . . ) I spent a lot, and I mean a lot of time in the potty going #2.  Enough said.  One word of wisdom however . . . don't trust the "flufs".  They have stinky behind them!

Well today was my first visit with Ms. Lisa the dietician, and boy do I like her!  I went on "full liquids" today, and I am beginning to feel more like a human now.  I ate with my family, and sipped on my tomato soup.  That might not sound like much to you all, but believe me . . . It was a HUGE deal!  I have never been so happy!

Then I met with Katie and I saw Dr. Bour, and I lost 13 pounds in one week!  I still have the drain tube in . . but I knew that upfront, and that will be a part of history next Thursday.  Since Jan. 10th (my 40th birthday)  I have lost 40 pounds total.

I am going to begin to exercise this week (walk) doing so every day but Sunday, and the Lord will have to help me through it.

Thanks to all of my OH buddies who sent kind words, and prayers and thoughts and even a visit!  You can't beat it!

More later!

I can't believe it is finally here!  I have my bag packed.  I haven't eaten anything except for broth and water, and jello.  I have bought all the protein supplements I can. 7:30a.m.   Tuesday I will be ready to go!

I AM READY.  There are still a few questions . . . Will I have a gall blader this time tomorrow night?  Only Dr. Bour knows for sure, and he sure hasn't told me yet. (ha ha)

I will let you guys know what happened when I get home.  Thanks for all of the kind words of encouragement.  I can't wait to meet some of you on Monday nights! 

Dr. Bour's office just called, and tomorrow I have to go and have my Galbladder ultrasounded!  Think good thoughts for me as I brave the snow and ice from Spartanburg to Simpsonville! 

Wow guys, only 6 more days!  Yesterday was really a milestone.  I had my last pre-surgery meeting with the dietician, and I lost 8 more pounds!  20 1/2 pounds in all!  I have 6 more days on optifast, and I am aiming at 5 more.  If I meet that goal, I will have lost the most weight in the shortest amount of time that I have in my entire life.

For the first time in my entire life, I feel like I am really going to do this, and I will get the weight off.  I have the tools, and the support from my family and friends.  But most importantly, Dr. Bour's office, I believe is exactly what I needed.  They have every piece of the puzzle that I need to succeed.  I have tried other things before, but something was missing, and I do believe when I would cheat, and gain weight, I just gave up.  With this, for me, there is no giving up.  If I fall down, I am just going to get right back up, and keep moving forward toward the goal.

I went to the hospital, and met the Anesthesiologist.  At the end of our meeting he asked me if I had any questions, or was there anything I wanted him to know, and all I could say was . . "Keep me alive!" (ha ha).  He assured me that he would and laughed a little.  There was talk of a living will, and my answer to the nurse was . . . 'Keep me alive!!!!"  Don't pull the plug!!!! (ha ha)  No matter what my family says! (ha ha!)  They must get that answer a lot. Because they just laughed a bunch and told me that they would take good care of me.

Well, 6 more days until this big day.  I am stocking up on protein, and vitamins and clear liquids.  I hope I made the right choices!  I'll let you know how it goes!  Next time I blog, I should be on the "losing" side.