This Just Got REAL!

I had myself the best little nap EVER this morning!  Emily dropped me off at Wise Regional Health System for my EGD (scope down my esophagus) at 6:30 a.m. sharp.  I sent her to the Golden Arches to get herself some breakfast.  No sense in both of us starving.  I sat down at a window to be checked in for my procedure, and was slapped in the face by the overwhelming smell of peanut butter as the considerate lady slid her window open to greet me.  REALLY?!?  I haven't had anything solid in a week, and you wanna sit there and eat peanut butter in front of me?  Anyway…as I was telling her my name and birthdate, I heard someone say, "Is that Missy Lewis?"  I turned to see the familiar face of a sweet nurse/friend with whom I used to work.  Such a small world!  She was having her actual procedure done today.  

Being a patient can be difficult when you are a nurse, but I think I did a great job.  I let that nice pre-op nurse start my IV without offering any suggestions on which vein she should use.  I allowed her to tell me what to expect in layman's terms without trying to impress her with my own knowledge.  I even asked for help walking to the bathroom so the hospital could keep its incidents of falls at a minimum.  When the CRNA came in to introduce himself, I caught Emily checking out his left ring finger, only to find a silver band there.  AND she happened to snap a photo.  That helped her feel better about having to get up so early. Never a dull moment!

Back to the nap, though.  So, the nurse wheeled me into the procedure room for my EGD (which was an interesting vantage point, I might add; being on the gurney instead of pushing it.  I saw Dr. Stowers standing there in his superhero cape, talking to another guy.  Wait!  Maybe the superhero cape is imaginary, but after tomorrow, I'm afraid he will have attained superhero status in my book!  Anyway, the nurses began putting oxygen on me and explaining the bite block, etc.  One nurse said, "I'm going to give you some medicine, and it might be a little warm in your IV, but it won't last long."  I was like, "OK" (or something like that around the bite block).  I remember thinking, "I'm pretty slee…" That was IT!  I was OUT!!!  That was the easiest and BEST sleep I've ever had!  I know now why Michael Jackson liked that propofol!  JK!  JK!!!

After my short recovery period, Em and I came back to the hotel and crawled into our respective beds.  We both felt it might be hard to go back to sleep, so Em played some white noise, a thunderstorm, on her phone.  That second nap was almost as good as the first!  

Now, as I write this post, I am alone in the hotel, having sent Todd and Emily to get a bite to eat.  I just couldn't bear sitting in another restaurant eating the broth off one of the soups on the menu while, all around me, others are eating delicious solid food.  I am drinking a fuzzy navel (protein drink, not OJ and vodka) and contemplating how my life is about to never be the same.  For a while, it won't matter to me that I can't eat food, but slowly, I will transition back to real food.  The cool thing is that my new "pouch" (what they call the remainder of my stomach) will only allow me to eat small amounts of food.  And if I disregard its cues that I am full, it will turn on me, tossing that food back out.  Gross, I know, and that is one of my least favorite things to do, so I will listen.  I will obey.  

So, this just got REAL!  Tomorrow is the beginning of a brand-new way of life for me!  I cannot thank God enough for this tool to help me be healthy and fit!  I will honor Him with my body and treat it as the temple He created it to be.  Let's do this thing!