Two Items: Blog Focus Note, and Not for the Queasy

I'm aware that most of the posts here have focused on the recent surgery and my emotional journey through those waters. This is a relatively large thing for me...no pun intended...and so I kind of expect that it will be a topic of blogging for awhile, with the occasional sprinkling of other life events of note as we go along. Not that there are complaints or anything yet...I don't even know if there are more than three or four people that check in on the blog. I am simply afraid that sooner or later this surgery and my dieting efforts will come to define me as a person, and I don't want that. There are other facets to my life that better help define me as a person whether I like them or not and "the fat guy" is just one part that happens to be taking center stage for awhile.

In summary...while the next month will be heavy on the weight loss surgery stuff (again, no pun intended) there will be other topics put in here and gradually there will be a shift in focus if for no other reason than I don't want the blog to transform into a daily affirmation of "Yep, this hurts" or "Here's another lowfat recipe I've discovered!" Right now I want this blog to reflect what is currently prominent in my life...the weight loss surgery and its effects...and provide useful information for other people about to have the surgery or are considering the surgery or know someone who is in that position. I want to provide some food for thought.

Now that that is out of the way, one of the things I was...okay, am...freaked out about was the prospect of the tubes and devices that would be hanging out of me. When I first woke up I had:

• a tube in my back (epidural)
• a "grenade" tube on my left side of the abdomen
• a "grenade" tube on my right side of the abdomen
• 2 IV tubes in my right hand
• a virtual diaper of gauze and pads taped to my chest covering a vertical line of Frankensteinian staples in my midsection
• a sensor taped to my finger for heartrate monitoring (I might tell you some time about my "friend," Beepy the Annoying Alarm)
• A plastic tube that was attached to my favorite piece of anatomy (technically it was anchored to my bladder but for all intents and purposes it meant the nurses all got to have a glance or three at my giblets. I was glad they were professional enough to stifle giggles. And horrified looks. I don't know how nurses and clinical assistants can do the job they do.)

That was quite a bit of poking and doesn't even count the stabs by staff as they had to test blood sugar and take periodic blood panels and administer an occasional insulin shot.

Over the next several day most of that was removed and I now have only a few items stuck in me now. I had read some warnings of things that patients may have on (um...in) them when they leave the hospital, but if you were wondering what it looked like, here's some quick photos. I still pause when I see these wounds on me and shudder when I think about the fact that I have two holes where tubes are coming out of my tummy, but slowly I'm acclimating to the sight. If you are considering open Roux-En-Y surgery then you should be prepared to see something like this when you have your shirt up at home. Hopefully these things will be removed on Tuesday (these were taken on Friday).