A year ago (at around 6am on Groundhog Day) I sat in registration for my surgery when my phone rang - then my husband's. We had carefully set up the children to get themselves ready for school. My mother was going to pick them up and take them. Clothes out, lists, lunches made, medicine out, hearing aids out, the whole nine. Really - I was prepared. So the phone. Oh yeah....so no school BTW - snow day. I quite literally laughed out loud, I mean really? Um...the plan is that my 11 year old and 12 year old will be in school. Call the kids, tell them to go back to bed and *SOMEONE* will check on them in a couple of hours. (PS - I have the best friends. Amy, Jessica, and Leah stopped - unprompted - with treats for the kids as a rouse to check on them over the course of the day. I honestly could not have asked to know better people. I am surrounded by amazing humans.) Checking off boxes - children, they're alive and fine, the door is locked and they will be okay. Okay. Not panicking. Not.panicking. Fast Forward a few minutes : I'm in a jonny, IV in place, playing on my phone when the *squeek*squeek*squeek* of my surgeon's shoes bring me back to reality. He made it, roads aren't too bad. We're going to do this - and I'm okay. So what happens next? A whole bunch of anatomical shit - surgery stuff. You can read about what actually happened to my body here: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/about_vertical_sleeve_gastrectomy.html I spent HOURS in recovery. Not normal. I was horrifically sick to my stomach...my new...just barely made very much smaller stomach. Over the course of 3ish hours I was given all the medicine they could "legally" give me. I was pretty much going to feel really really badly until the anesthesia wore off. I spent a couple of days in a room with two different roommates, see also : hell. I really never wanted to go home so much in my entire life. Home is so good. So so so so so good. I was really over the moon to be there. I rested, I resisted - but then took - my drugs, I watched TV and sipped on water. I was showered with love from my friends and family. Dawn came and vacuumed my rugs (I'm a little neurotic about vacuuming), Jamie and Cora visited and gave me an excuse to get dressed. Amy stopped by - as well as so many others who either came by for April Time or checked in with me often. My Mom took me to my stylist Kristin Ploof, who very slowly washed my hair (post surgery grooming is the worst) and gave me a gorgeous blow out. I hit a wall around week 3 - sort of "buyers remorse" - this part sucks. It does. I had a lot of people in my corner reminding me it was gonna get better soon. It did get better. I got better. I coached a Girls on the Run team and ran a 5k just 4 months after they placed 7 incisions in my belly and changed my insides. I got really strong. I learned how to be a different version of myself. Though, still myself. I have had to exert an enormous amount of compassion for myself, and this process. I am learning how to do that better all the time. There's less of me - yet somehow I am larger than life. I used to tell myself that I could do anything. But now I know it. This has been an AMAZING year. I could not have predicted the wonderful, awe inspiring, adventuresome things I would do with my life in this short amount of time. I am utterly grateful for this chance to be 100% me. I still love the stuffing out of this girl.
2/1/2015 47"/50"/60.5" 1/1/2016 38.5"/40.5"/49"
5 Comments
Sarah Waite
2/1/2016 07:12:26 pm
You look amazing.
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April
2/7/2016 12:31:21 pm
Thank you Sarah <3
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HM
2/1/2016 08:08:07 pm
Looking good mama. However you have always had such greatness in you. ......
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