Rumors of my demise are exaggerated...

Hey loyal blog readers! I'm here, I'm alive, I slept a FEW hours in the night, I've peed about 7 IV bags and 4 cups of tea out, and I'm completely inflated with gas! Side effect of the surgery. 

Things went well. Very friendly doctor with reassuring eyes, Dr. Behrens, and I came through it with flying colors. I'm already up and about (a little bit) and can take care of my basic needs, so that's a good sign. About to try breakfast soon - doubt it will be more than yoghurt.

But I digress. Life is pretty good today. I'm looking forward to seeing Wilbert when he arrives, and looking forward to going home soon to start our new adventure there! Many thanks to all those who have been pulling for me!

My weight loss goals

• Lose enough to be rid of joint/back pain and stop snoring [DONE!]
  
• Have physical activity become non-threatening/non-painful [DONE!]
  
• Create and stick to a regular work-out regime [DONE!]
  
• Shop in a "normal" store for clothes (at least shirts). [DONE!]
  
• Lose 100lbs/45.35kg [DONE!]
  
• Become "obese" and not "morbidly obese" according to the BMI scale. [DONE!]
  
• Lose 50kg/110kg [DONE!]
  
• Weigh my sophomore year in college weight (135.6kg/299lbs) which is also my lowest weight in 20 years [DONE!]
  
• Buy pants/trousers in a "normal" store (may be post-surgery)
  
• Have somebody attractive suggest something indecent. :-)
  
• Get rid of the extra skin I now have as a result of extreme weight gain/loss.
  
• MAYBE Become "overweight" and not "obese" according to the BMI scale (106kg/234lbs), though with my big build and musculature this is optional.
  
• No longer have this post always be the one on top of my blog.
  
• And perhaps the most difficult of all... no longer think of myself as "fat".
  

If you want to know how surgery went...

I probably won't be able to let everyone know personally how things went that quickly on Monday, but I'll try to get a quick update to my BLOG ASAP, perhaps just to the Twitter box on the right side of this page. So if you're interested, check back Monday afternoon/evening!

Naturally Protected

I usually don't like to identify the company that I work for, but I am too proud of the new ad campaign we launched this month to contain myself, so here it is. Love the visuals and how we link nature to our business! Good job, team!

Change of blog plans...

Moved my surgery blog to Blogger... easier to manage.

Surgery Next Monday!

Assuming the supposed case of shingles (which hasn't gotten any worse) doesn't get in the way, then I will be going into Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem next Monday morning (24 September) at 10 a.m. to start my new life as a skinny person. Am going to the doctor this morning to see if this is really even a case of shingles or not, as I'm beginning to doubt.

Ready for it, want it done and over with, and am so happy to have Wilbert on this journey with me for support (he's great at that!). We're going to stay in a hotel there on Sunday night so that Monday morning doesn't get all stressy with a 2-hour drive, and he'll stay there during my one night in the hospital (knock wood). 

Will update you as soon as results of operation are known! Your prayers would be much appreciated. It's not an inherently risky operation (laparoscopic), all surgery is somewhat risky, and there's a 5% chance it could convert to an open operation (which I'm not sure I want). We're hoping for the best! And for me to be a supermodel by 41. :-)

Perfectly fits my mood this week...

Not just for roofs anymore!

The stress of the last three months (wedding, work and upcoming surgery) has earned me another ride on the Shingles Express. Not what I needed a week before surgery.

The left side of my upper back has been hurting for about a week, and physical therapy didn't help (though drugs did a bit). Seized up and irritated - sort of a burning sensation with occasional shots of severe pain if I stressed it too much (mostly due to poor posture).

This morning a fairly sizable rash appeared on my side - long and blistery. I put 2 and 2 together and headed to the emergency clinic where the doctor agreed with my diagnosis and prescribed me valacyclovir and a lidocaine salve. Said he usually wouldn't give me anything, but that considering my upcoming surgery, a more aggressive approach was called for.

To top it all off, I'm sitting at the airport on my way to England for three days (doctor told me there was no reason I couldn't). So not happy about being away from home too. At least it will be three fairly calm days of training.

So that's all my moaning and whining for now. Wish me luck!

Exhausted, satisfied, home

Wow, it's been a whirlwind summer. First the wedding (and all the many months of preparation), then my company's annual 3-day customer meeting, which I was responsible for (luckily with some fabulous help from several colleagues), and now the IBC  trade show in Amsterdam, which lasts for five days, including through the weekend. Luckily one of my able-bodied colleagues was responsible for that, though I gave a lot of support here and there with various things. Add to that our new advertising campaign, and this is the single biggest body of work I believe I have ever delivered in such a short period of time. 

I've been generally really happy with the outcome of everything. The wedding went off exactly the way we wanted it to, and I've actually enjoyed it more after it happened than while it was happening (which is somewhat typical of me - I'm a 3 on the enneagram if you know what that means). The User Group went off very well with nary a hitch (one or two small ones), though the content could have been fresher - partly my fault and partly the fault of the industry where technology has outpaced the ability of companies to implement it effectively, so things are sort of stagnant or frozen right now. The ad campaign is really fun and unique and gorgeous, but there are a few execution flaws we might have to fix - it all had to happen on such tight time schedules, it was crazy. But generally, I'm quite happy with everything. And quite grateful to the great (mostly new!) colleagues that helped pull it all off. Good job, team!

Now, after finishing IBC and a short trip to England (robbing me of yet another weekend day), it is going to be all about me for a while. I should get called for my surgery sometime the week of the 17th, and then will know exactly when I have to go in the next week. I've been talking a lot about it to people, who are curious about how it works. That has lead me to get pretty enthusiastic about the whole affair - sort of an Adjustable Gastric Band Ambassador - and I'm feeling really ready for it. 

Last but not least, I'm really happy to be back at home with Wilbert and not so much of a stress chicken (cool Dutch term) as I've been. Time to get back to basics, and I'm looking forward to it.