We (my dear wife Michelle and I) reported to the surgery center dutifully at 6:30, and were then informed that we'd have to wait a little bit because my surgeon moonlights as a trauma surgeon and got called in to patch somebody up.  At about 7:30 they called me from the waiting room to get ready.

They took me to my room, where I was instructed to don the backless robe, surgical cap, etc., and let them know when i was ready for my IV.  After gettting me all hooked up, Michelle was allowed to see me. 

These were some of the longest minutes of my life.  As you may know from my previous posts, I've really felt conflicted about this decision.  I'm overweight, yes,  but not enough to contribute to any serious health conditions other than my type 2 diabetes.  I'm relatively pretty good about my diet (with some exceptions), but I have had the hardest time losing weight since I got my blood sugar under control, thanks to side effects from my medications.  So on the one hand, I had a voice in my head imploring me to back out, that I'm not that fat, and it wasn't too late to call it off.  Then I had another voice reminding me that the only way to reverse diabetes is to lose huge amounts of weight and this is the best possible thing I could do for it.

Finally the anesthesia nurse gave me a shot of something that made both voices just shut the hell up.  My RN called it the "I don't care" drug.  It was definitely that.

A bit later, they wheeled me into the OR, where I can remember cracking a couple jokes with the staff, and that's pretty much the last thing I remember.

My next memory was coming to in the recovery room.  What a crappy feeling.  I could tell that I had some sore incisions, and I was trying to have coherent thoughts, but I could only manage two-word sentences to the RN.  My throat being sore from the breathing tube didn't help, either.  I couldn't focus my eyes on  anything, nor could I keep them open for any length of time.  And my upper back hurt, which it always does when I'm in a hospital bed.  I know I said something to the RN, but I can't remember what.  Eventually I was moved back to my room.

The next few hours consisted of lots of walking, and before I knew it, they released me.  It was about 3 PM, and I could have left earlier if I had peed sooner.  Michelle drove us to Hy-Vee to pick up my pain prescription while I dozed a little in the car.  Next stop was home.

So here I sit, perfectly conscious.  Most of my incisions don't really hurt at all, with the exception of the incision where they installed my port.  That's really tender, and it's the one that really hurts whenever I put too much strain on  my abs.  I'm on a clear liquid diet for the next few days, but I don't think that'll be too hard, as I'm passing liquids through my new pouch really, really slowly due to swelling.  I actually got a full stomach on a popsicle earlier today.  I'm also feeling really kind of bloated thanks to the gas they used to inflate my abdominal cavity.

All in all, it's a pretty easy procedure and I don't feel too bad.   We'll see if I feel like this tomorrow.