It’s been a rocky road
I started this journey convinced that I would get through it with no problems at all. I knew my positive attitude would just pull me straight through. Ok, I was wrong on that bit. I had a horrible start. I was in a lot of pain. I could sit for a few minutes and then I’d be hugging the heating pad. I’d walk to the kitchen and get something to drink and then hug the heating pad again. I ate the Degas tablets like they were M&Ms and I drank peppermint tea like it was water. This went on for nearly 3 weeks. Then I could stand to be away from my friend HP (heating pad) for about 3 hours and I thought, “Beauty, the tough bit is all over.
Wrong again.
My husband and I decided that maybe a rest by the water in New Zealand would be just the thing. No phones, no work, no intrusions — just rest and recovery. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I thought so too. So J made the reservations and decided that he’d go a day ahead of me to make sure the bed was made and there was plenty of liquid foods in the house. He was really supportive of all that I wanted to accomplish. He left in the mid afternoon and I was to leave the following morning. How easy and how clever were we?
As it turns out, not so clever. He arrived just fine only to realize that he’d forgotten the key to the house and had to get the real estate agent out at 9pm to let him in. Did that bother me? No, I was at home in my cozy bed. He finally got sorted, got in the house and set about making it ready as a convalescent home.
Next morning, I got up at 4:45 to be at the airport by 5:50am for a 6:15am flight to Melbourne and then on to Auckland and then on to Kerikeri where the house is. I took my time and got to the airport about 5:45am and checked in with no problems. The flight was a few minutes late but I was fine – no pain at all. The flight took off with no problems and just as we were getting to the outskirts of Melbourne the captain comes on the PA and says, “Folks, this is your captain speaking. The Melbourne airport is socked in with fog and we’re going to have to go back to Wodonga and come back later.”
Ugh
The plane is a little Saab 340. Not many people can fit in a plane this size so it’s not as roomy and comfortable as bigger planes but it’s only a 45 minute flight to Melbourne so who’d worry? Me, that’s who.
We arrived back in Albury-Wodonga and we waited. …and waited. I had a connecting flight at 1pm Auckland time and I was counting the minutes as they flew by. It’s amazing how you don’t think about pain when there are other things more pressing on your mind. Finally the announcement came to get back on the plane and off we headed to Melbourne.
I arrived right on time to board my next flight to Auckland. I was first on board and got settled in my seat and I was feeling great. I love New Zealand and I was really looking forward to kicking back with my husband and just relaxing and feeling good. The plane got all loaded and just when I thought it was time to close the doors and get on with things, the PA starts.
“This is your captain speaking. There’s been a bit of a problem with the bits under the plane where the wheels go in. There’s a part that’s loose and we have to get it fixed before we can leave. We expect that it will take about 30 minutes. We’re really sorry for the people in the middle of the plane because due to the work below you, there will be no air conditioning for you. (remember it’s summer down under) So I’m thinking, poor buggers, but I’m in seat 1J and I should be fine. I really should stop thinking because I was wrong again. To keep the folks in the middle of the plane cool, the solution they decided on was to chill the front and back of the plane so much that the coolness would drift to the middle.
I was freezing.
I had the blanket pulled up to my chin and would have covered my whole head but I thought I’d look pretty stupid, so I kept from my eyes out.
I called my husband and told him what was going on and he said, well, first he said the f word and then he said, “Your ticket to Kerikeri was non-refundable how could you expect that you’d miss it with so much time to spare. Maybe you’ll make it.”
I didn’t. I called him again and said, “It’s 3 hours to Auckland and it’s a 3 hour drive from Kerikeri. Let’s meet in Auckland.”
You’re thinking I missed the flight by a little bit, didn’t you? The plane was due to leave at noon Melbourne time and get there at 1pm Auckland time. We didn’t leave Melbourne until nearly 5pm. The 30 minute delay became 20 more minutes and then it became another 15 minutes and on and on. Sure, I could have all the champagne I wanted but I just had a gastric band put on – I couldn’t drink the bubbles!
I was getting hungry. They had orange juice and it didn’t settle well at all. So from 5am til nearly 7:30pm I had water and 3 Shapes crackers that I chewed and chewed and chewed until they were as liquid as any drink I’ve ever had. They were the best tasting 3 crackers I’ve ever had. I didn’t dare eat any more for fear I’d throw up on the plane. I hadn’t had solid food for 3 weeks.
J was waiting when I finally arrived (past immigration and customs) about 7pm.
We still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us. I was exhausted and I missed my friendly heating pad something awful.
Shortly after 11pm we arrived at our house in Kerikeri and I immediately went to bed. I didn’t have a look around to see how things had changed in my absence – I walked through the door and turned left down the hall to my bed.
The next few days were unventful. We took short drives, I read books, I watched the boats go by the window and thought to myself, “I should be feeling better, it’s been 3 weeks,” but I still had a lot of shoulder tip pain and pain on my left side. One of my incisions was redder than the others but it was larger than the others, so I thought perhaps that was the reason. After 3 days J left to go back to Australia to get some work done and I was alone to get all better.
The next morning I noticed that the area around the large incision it was really hard. Baseball or cricket ball hard and about the same size but not quite. I was a little concerned but not worried because I felt a bit better. I still couldn’t leave HP for more than an hour or so but the shoulder tip pain was lessening. The next day the ball was harder and a bit bigger and then I started to be concerned. I called my surgeon’s office and was told she was away on holidays and I should see a local doctor. I didn’t have a local doctor but I looked in the yellow pages and called and explained the situation and to my complete shock she said, “Come on in right now.”
Yep, it was infected. Probably had been all along due to my type 2 diabetes, she told me. So I got some antibiotics to take 4 times a day and was told to rest, rest, rest. It took over a week before the hardness started to go away and some of the redness is still with me now. I’ve since seen the surgeon and she said it was fine and the coloration would go away over time.
So would I do it again? Absolutely.
Disregard all the mess in the background, we’re in temporary digs for 30 days and everything is in boxes and bags and suitcases.
Since November 2nd I’ve lost 14 kilograms (a hair over 31 pounds) and I don’t know about you but I can tell the difference. I’ve lost weight everywhere but my nose. I wonder how much rhinoplasty costs?
I still have a long way to go but I’m nearly half way there.
I haven’t been hungry other than at mealtimes and when I went for my first fill on the 12th of December, the surgeon told me she thought I was losing fast enough without any, so I have very little restriction but enough that I’m not hungry.
I don’t eat much. 3/4 cup of Rice Krispies (Rice Bubbles) and 1/3 to 1/2 a banana for breakfast. 1/2 a sandwich for lunch and then an ordinary (but very small) dinner at night. Meat, veggies, etc. If I’m hungry in between, which is rare, I have a small container of fruity yogurt. I drink a lot of water and I make sure to take a vitamin tablet every day.
I see the doctor again at the end of February. To show how popular this surgery is, my surgeon is going to see me on a Thursday night at 10:15pm. That’s how many patients she has to see. I can see why people are opting for this gastric band. There is no pain (not once the infection was gone), I’m never hungry and I’m getting thinner every day. There is nothing in my closet that I can’t wear.
I do walk every day for about 30 minutes but I take the dogs and we have a real outing of it. They love the walkies and I’m getting fitter.
My husband was not as overweight as I was but now that there’s less food at meal times, he’s losing weight too so it’s been a benefit for the whole family. (him, me and the 2 dogs)