Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Oh Surgery....How Thou Stresseth Me Out...

Whew.

Decided I wanted Weight Loss Surgery(WLS).
Went for my consulation with the surgeon, Dr. Mark Takata (or Mark Ta-HOT-a.) on March 8th.
Had everything else by April 10th...psych eval, nutrition consult, etc. And on May 17th, I learned that my surgery was APPROVED by insurance. (I only had to call and pretend to be my surgeon's scheduler, Nicole, like 4 times!).

Seriously, I complain about all the shenanigans, but then I have to remember that most people have to wait more than a YEAR to complete all pre-op appointments and weight loss programs to get approved. With persistence, determination, and perpetually pestering people (say that five times fast!), I have ARRIVED. June 24th is the big day.

You think I'm too vain for my own good now? Those car and storefront windows won't have a CHANCE when this is over! ;)

Since it's been awhile since I've blogged, let's recap the most recent and significant events that have taken place, shall we?

1] My "sister" and one of my best friends, Chelsea Quinn left for bootcamp on May 23rd. While I miss her terribly, I am so ridiculously proud of her and the steps she is taking to improve her life. She is a resilient and determined woman, and I am so grateful to have a person like that in my life. It's so refreshing, after some of the dead weight I've carried around(no surgery pun intended ;))

2] I joined plentyoffish.com, and I've got MAD hoes on that site. I'm not gonna front. My being on that site is beyond useless, because I will never meet any of them in person. I do it for the attention. It's a huge ego boost to post a pik on there, say whatever you want, and then see your inbox flood. And they all start by telling me I have a gorgeous smile, and ask why on earth I think I need to lose weight. Lol. Can you say Ego Boost?! It makes me even more determined to drop all these lame guys and start fresh post-op. Anyone who didn't make their move before better not try to snatch me up after, mark my words!

3] In the midst of planning for life altering surgery, I was faced with the need to plan a move. My landlord/roomie is combining households with family members, so I needed a new place by July 1st that was adjacent to work, since I'm sans vehicle at the moment, and that was affordable. Enter Alex Ard [aka, the BFFF] and her boyfriends AMAZING family. Her boyfriends cousin [hellllloooo Jerry Springer status] was looking for a roommate, and seeing as I know their family somewhat, they agreed to let me rent a room with my OWN bathroom for what I am paying now. And guess what? It's only 2.3 miles from the office! You know what that means? It means See Sondra Sprint to work! So convenient, so perfect, so grateful that opportunity made it's way into my life! How can you NOT have faith when things like that happen? I was panicked over finding a place, and had 65 year old ladies on disability who grew their own weed responding to my ad! Then, go on a lovely weekend trip to Santa Barbara, and BAM! Done deal. God is GOOD!

4] I am terrified about this surgery. No lie, as much as I am excited about being healthy, and being in Sports Illustrated someday [go ahead and laugh, don't be jealous when I steal Kim Kardashian's man!], all this talk they do right before about catheters, site tubes, anesthesia, injections, protein shakes, and blood clots, and 6 week liquid diets makes me beyond NERVOUS. So much to learn, so much to remember, and the part that scares me most is the fact that I have 23 years of habits to break. Mindless snacking, drinking with meals, eating when I'm NOT hungry just because it's there....I'm definitely not worried that I won't be able to do it. I guess I just worry that it's not one of those things I will be able to do perfectly right away. I hate that. But, alternately, I LOVE the new vanity lights in my new huge and amazing bathroom....as well as the mirrored doors on my new huge and amazing closet that takes up a whole wall of my bedroom. And if that isn't motivational, then I don't know what is, dang it!

5] I am absolutely addicted to reading the blog by Shelly Vicarri, entitled The World According to Eggface. She had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago, and looks RIDICULOUSLY GREAT! She is a whole new person, with a new attitude towards not only food, but life. She gave me hope for life after surgery. She tailors recipes to be everything a post-op needs, without sacrificing flavor and enjoyment. And let's face it, this Black and Italian girl needs FLAVOR! She is absolutely wonderful, and I can't help but wish she was my neighbor. If she lived in San Marcos with me, I'd beg her to do start a support group for North County. I've been taking notes from everything she posts, and making sure that when I get to eat solids again, I follow her lead. She needs to publish a cookbook like, YESTERDAY.

Check her out here!


Even if you're a size two, you'll be addicted to tons of her recipes, and wish you NEEDED to drink protein shakes! Now, if only I could find the Max Protein that she uses....AHHHH!

5] Let's talk about StupidHead for a minute, shall we? StupidHead would be the guy that is a best friend to me. Honestly, he is a boyfriend. He is a boyfriend that doesn't know how to ask me if he can be my boyfriend. Let's be real....even kindergarteners know how to write those cute little "Will you be my Girlfriend" notes! But me, I get the scaredy cats and crazies and looooosers! Crazy. I love this guy. Am I in love with him, no. Mainly because I find it hard to fall very hard for someone who won't even tell you they want to be with you. He calls me EVERY single night, texts me EVERY single morning, drives up to see me, has been supportive through all this surgery business, and just recently started an argument with me because I was talking about one of the guys on plentyoffish (and then calls back to apologize and tell me he just is really jealous when I talk about other guys. WTH?) but he doesn't see me as girlfriend material, clearly.

Which is ok, right? Because any man of mine better know how to ask for what he wants! A closed mouth don't get fed! [Unless he wants a protein shake......]

I think that is about it. After surgery, I'll be making this mainly a weight loss blog. That will be my life, so that will be what I have to babble about! I want to thank all my loving friends for all of their support on this journey. Your prayers, and words of encouragement mean the world to mean, even though some of you may not agree with what I am trying to do.

I love you all so much! Don't forget to check out Eggface! I'm not playing! It's amazing!


<3