youngfireman

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Well, i started my puree diet about a week ago, and have found that the eggs they tell me i can eat arent going down very well, but chicken and potatoes in the blenders are awesome.  Throw some veggies in and you have a awesome meal, i have tryedsome salads that are high in protein and they havent been bad, but eat even the slightest bit to fast and hold on for the hurt.  Rite now im having some chicken that i put in the VITA-MIX (amazing investment) and then i microwaved 1/2 cup and mixed some bbq sauce in and this is amazing as well.  The hardest part of this stage is the lack of breads which im aloud to eat, and grains etc.  Id love to make some chicken soup in the blender.  I have been eating turkey chili, which is a good thing bc its colder then a polar bear fart right now in Iowa. Well im gna go crash in the chair and let my stomach settle, then its off to the Fire Station for my daily walk.  Still dropping the Lbs and even fit into my favorite jacket. Ready for the day im done and can be 190 and not worry bout losing but instead just eat to maintain.

Well its been about 2 weeks since surgery, and almost 4 weeks since ive been on my clear liquid diet.  Tonight it has hit hard and i want something with a substance, not jello or broth instead id do anything for some steamed veggies and a baked porkchop.  I have found that sweets including the sweetness of my vitamins are hard to eat, every morning it gets harder to chew the mixed berry flavors and easier to drink water rather then the chocolate protein and 100% juices.  But i have to keep sippin and chewin, ive been reading forums about what to eat on the puree stage of my diet, they sound tasty and healthy, but at the same time i have soo many questions about how to prepare them.  I need to find recipes so i can do this right and make the 5 weeks pass by hopefully fast. i have it figured that if i do get the ok monday to move forward on my diet and i only have to do it til the 7 week mark i should be startin to eat solid foods by the first week in january and i can go out to eat with my girlfriend for my birthday on the 28th!  Im curious as to how long this losing 14lbs a week will last, im sure it will slow down once i start eating the puree and gain some calorie intake, but i have a feeling that by the 11th when i have my family christmas i am going to suprise alot of the family who dont live in town with me.  Also im hoping to get get aloud back to light duty work and firefighting starting monday, i have the training to drive and operate the trucks and do most anything needed on the fire grounds and hope they allow me to get back into that.  Well thats about all i have to say tonight, gonna hunker down and bite the bullet for 2 more days.  Goodnight world!

Well i just got home from my first weeks appt with Dr. Glascock.  Everyone  there was very excited to see that i was down 17 lbs on my way to 190.  The drain is gone and im not sure if im happier to have that tube outta me or that im doing great.  They say everything is going great, the pain is minimal and only when i stretch myself out past my normal reach.  Overall i am suprised that i have not had any actual hunger pains, or wanted to eat, which i had heard both good and bad from friends i know who have had the surgery.  But i am happy, still trying to take in the idea that i am below 300lbs and are healthy with a normal blood pressure reading.  Thats all for today, hope to post again after my next appointment and be even lower.

Well today is my 4th day postop and im must say OUCH, the incisions still hurt but the pain meds work great.  Ive started to drink the 9 cups of fluid a day they want though it hasnt been easy working my way upto it.  The chewable flinstones vitamins are fairly easy to chew and swollow, though trying to drink the broth is still hard. Just been working on intakeing the vitamins and calories and protein each day.  Well im beat from the walking and coughing today. Night world, 2 days til my first preop appointment. 

Well today is my first day home after surgery, i slept like a baby last night, only up long enough to take my meds and do my breathing excercises.  Had very few problems while in the hospital, ran a fever the first night after my spinal wore off, and couldnt sleep the second night but the nurses took very good care of me andm kept me goin.  All i can say is this will all be worth it when i can shower this morning and start my new life.

So im sittin im the last 12 hours preop, and i cant sleep and dont know if its because im anxious or worried.  Everythings falling into place perfectly, family is happy and ready, girlfriend is here with me and ready.  So the question i should ask is am i ready for this life changing and altering surgery?  Truth be told ive dreamt of being normal size since i was in middle school, and now im soo close to having that chance, yet it still bring up questions.  I hope this cures my hypertension and lowers my cholesterol, but more importantly that i dont change who i am deep inside through everything.  My closet friend told me tonight that i will always be his fat lil buddy, no matter how big or small i am.  And that makes this easier, the support has been off and on from my family, but my friends have stood behind me 100%.  I am very fortunate to have the help at home after surgery that not many can say they do, mother is a surgery nurse, sister is an ER nurse, step-mother is an ARNP, and my father is a Paramedic.  Which with the 5 plus EMTs who would be at my side in a blink of an eye, and countless firemen who would be there too, i feel very fortunate to have the support at the end of the day.  With being a firefighter and being in the volunteer setting in rural Iowa, i see how often that can be taken for granted, the help of others and how many people care that is.
So those who may read this that dont know me, i am 24 years old and live in a small Iowa town where when theres a person who need to go to the hospital or has a fire you see pickups and suvs with flashing blue lights going to the Emergency Services building with one thing on there minds.  They leave there jobs, family dinners and any other occasion because they know someone is at that time less fortunate and needs them to help.  I have been very fortunate to grow up with my father a firefighter EMT and police officer in this small piece of the world, in the past 3 years i worked my way onto our fire dept. and now have begun to drive an ambulance also.  I have become very involved in all aspects of the emergency services field.  I have been blown outof a house fire, helped within a hour of an EF5 tornado hitting a small neighboring community, and driven 90mph plus on the interstate when a patient in the ambulance goes south in a instant.  Those are some reasons that i am having surgery so i can live a longer and much fuller life and help more people. 
If you havent noticed from reading this, i am very nervous and anxious.  But til i get home from the hospital i wont be on to check and report back, but i am very optimistic and trust my surgeon and nursing staff.  Well all i can say is Wish Me Luck! 

So today im 48 hours pre-op, and have taken the mag citrate, found that when your on a clear diet for 2 weeks theres not much in your system to get rid of.  The nerves are starting to grow and i cant believe after all the diets that i am this close to actually getting the body and health that i have only dreamed of before. Crunch time here i come!