Week One

Well I made past seven days.

Guess I didn't really have a choice. The Lord did, but not me.

Each day has had a life of its own. Many varying degrees of emotional and physical responses and reactions.

The first day of surgery you are so medicated that everyone is your best friend and this is the greatest thing ever. Until they won't give you a damned sip of water or an ice chip to save your life.

Seriously, I felt like I had French-kissed a wool sweater for several hours on end.

The problem is, they can't give you anything to drink. They would love to if only to shut up your perpetual whining. But your stomach just met the butcher and needs a bit of rest before you subject it to some marinade.

Relief comes, sort of, soon. On the second day they wheel you down to CAT scan hand you an impossibly small bottle of vile tasting chemical that you suck down immediately because in all seriousness you are so thirsty Pine-Sol would look like the most satiating artesian water right about now.

Once they give you the good to go, you go back to your room and inhale about all the water you can. Blessed, cold, liquid, wet water. Then and only then are you able to pull the wool fibers off of your tongue.

The first meal looks like you'd expect. Chicken broth, a Popsicle, decaf tea, water and a straw. Have at it girlie. Right. You cannot truly understand that you don't have a stomach now until you think you can actually consume all of what is before you.

Several sips in to the warm delicious (yes, delicious) broth and you are FULL. Hurting full. Like you've spent several hours at the Chinese Buffet full.

The next few days are spent rather as if you had the flu. You become cold, (nice feeling actually) you are tender, you get hot, you run to the bathroom as often as you breathe, and you sleep.

Home is a welcome, yet scary sight. Scary because there are no professionals here. Just me and the family and the dogs. And they get real food.

For me the hardest days, both physically and emotionally were my first two days at home. My husband had to work, my kids were at school, I was scared, depressed and not sure of what to do with myself.

In retrospect I am glad I shopped for the vitamins and the liquid diet items before hand. It was wise to do so since you are not to once you get home. That is unless you have the constitution of a California Redwood.

A couple of shopping tips:
Don't get the usual. You will have had chicken & beef broth for breakfast, lunch and dinner for all of two days and will feel quite ready for a change. Not to mention it isn't enough, nutritionally or otherwise.

Do go to a store that has more than your usual groceries. A store such as Central Market or Whole Foods. There you will find more nutritious options as well as variety of soups that are a wonderful addition to beef and chicken bullion routine.

Do get skim milk, fat free and almost sugar free yogurt, apple or grape juice, crystal light and sugar free popsicles. These items will be great in between soup and such.

Do keep whatever protein shake powder you have. Yes, I know, after two meals a day for fourteen days of the not-so-delicious stuff you will never touch it again. But you will. And if you use skim milk to make it instead of water (even though Isopure calls for water) you will find it is actually a bit more palatable. Besides, loaded with protein and vitamins that you are not getting anywhere else.

Don't disobey. This is critical to success in all areas of this life change. But especially now when you are one, just beginning and two, your digestive track has just been traumatized beyond what you can imagine.

Do walk, walk, walk. Walking is beneficial for so many reasons, digestion, circulation, activity, family time and just plain ol' mental stimulation.

I know it is almost week two, and I am just a little behind. I will write soon, I promise!