On Thursday, I became the proud new steward of a one ounce pouch to substitute for an over-inflated stomach that had ruled my life and undermined my health for a long time.

Now, I am home making adjustments.

I sent the following report to a group of friends who requested an update. I post it here in hopes that it might be a help and encouragement to others:

Thanks for check-ins and continued prayers.

I am home and working at the new regimens that require thought and
discipline such as:

• 2 liters of fluid a day (one can’t get behind and
  catch up with a 1 oz pouch!
• Breathing treatments to prevent pneumonia.
• Walking
• Not sitting for more than 45 minutes
• Vitamins, calcium, and iron supplements staggered through the day
• “Meals” (jello, broth, and tea)

The biggest challenge in the first few days was swallowing. I was
having severe reflux (not expected), but coming home, I used my
instincts (with doctor’s permission), and took my Prilosec. That seems
to have gone away … and some of the swelling has subsided as well.

I discovered that laporascopic surgery does not mean painless
or non-invasive. It is just how they enter. There are six small
incisions, but once inside, you are filled with gas and all of the
cutting and tying is essentially the same.

The staff at Clovis is ready for bariatric patients, professional,
supportive, and attentive. I could not ask for better doctors, nurses,
aids, and educators. The camaraderie with fellow patients in the halls
was also encouraging as we took walks, told our stories, and cheered
each other on. One fellow even said he might drop by the church to
visit a service.

Spiritually, I have been developing dependence on God for the biggest
fear of not being able to take in enough fluids to avoid dehydration
and the new attitude toward the food all around me. I never realized
how much food there was in the house, on television, and in our culture
– and how much was unhealthy. Some that is healthy is no longer healthy
for me.

It is not that I am being tempted or even repulsed. It is just getting
used to what really is a new life.

I had chided myself a bit that this was the “easy way out.” I would
never tell anyone that now. It requires all the discipline and adds a
few things to that. In addition, it adds the dimension of pain that
reminds you that you have made an investment that should not be taken
for granted. I have a sense of “no-turning-back.”

I knew all of these things going in as I counted the costs, but I know
them better now.

I have had lots of prayer support and I am grateful for this.

In the weeks before the surgery, I had the privilege of meeting a
number of people who had experienced gastric bypass. Some had
encountered complications. Most had not.

I was wondering this morning if I would advise a friend to follow this
path. I had been noticing that I could not get many people who had been
this way to say, “You should do it.” I see why now. I think I will do
what they do. I will live a healthy life, tell my story, and share my
feelings about the process, but they will have to decide if it is worth
it for them. Like the path of faith, it is a hard road and I have only
begun. Unless there is a real sense of desire, commitment, and reliance
on the Source of our strength, it is not doable.

That is about all for now.

I am doing well and I believe this is the right path for me.

EXTRA:

If you have the “stomach” for it, watch this: