Sunday, September 30, 2012

I will be back to normal soon…

 Monday I decided to get up and cruise around for a while. I found a hood to cover this apparatus that they have to put on my head. I did my exercises and then cruised around on our regular cruise, it's so nice during the week  when there are so many people. The lady that cleans my house suggested her husband for some of the maintenance stuff that I need to do around here so Karen and I met with him at 3 PM. He seemed like he knew what he was doing and I gave him the list of stuff I need done and he didn't run away screaming so hopefully it will work out.

Tuesday was not a good day. I started feeling pain really bad  where they did the Lycos suction. I'm used to taking pain medication just because it's prescribed to me and I don't want my body to go into shock, usually I don't feel anything. Under my job started hurting really bad so I broke down and took a pill and of course I felt better for the rest of the day. Around 7 PM I started feeling the pain again and it just got worse so I took another pill, a couple hours later and it was getting really bad so I took another one and I finally started to feel better. I wish I could have all my procedures done where I can feel it. Susan came over this morning and gave me a massage, that felt great. For breakfast I had some pinwheels that Heather made and some eggplant. For dinner I had some mushroom noodles with mushrooms that Kelly made. A magazine is giving her a 10 page spread for her cooking, how cool is that? She deserves it so much and I can't wait for it to come out so I can see it. She also made this really delicious chocolate and orange tart… it must be the pain pills. The noodles and mushrooms were awesome and I can't wait to have some more that.

Wednesday was just another day of the same old thing, I will be so glad when this is over. For breakfast I had chicken adobo and greens, for lunch I had mushroom noodles with mushrooms and some more of that delicious tart… I wish I could remember what it was. For dinner I had chicken adobo and brussels sprouts. Luckily it was cold all day so I didn't miss much.
 Thursday was just another day of staying in bed and avoiding pain. I liked the breast reconstruction surgery way better because I didn't feel anything. Because I do feel my chin and throat it seems like it is hypersensitive.  It itches and when I go to scratch it it hurts but I guess that's normal and I will get over it.

Friday was an awesome day. I got to get up and get out of this bed and I was so excited, I'm sure that Robby was also. I had my postop appointment with Dr. Piro so we decided to go have Ramen noodles before our appointment. We keep seeing this place every time we go by to the doctor and we keep threatening to stop but this time we did, the noodles were amazing. I had sweetcorn Ramen noodles and Teresa had miso Ramen noodles. We also had potstickers and they were also awesome. The doctor said that there is a lump in the middle of my throat that we have to massage for a couple of days and if it doesn't go down we have to go back and see him. It just needs to be broken up a little bit because I m Iny neck down too much. I hope it's not going to be a problem but if it is he will fix it. It was just so nice to get out and although we didn't get the news that we wanted it was still good.


 Saturday was another great day. I got up and did my exercises and took Robby for a nice long cruise. The weekends around here are pretty crazy and there was a lot going on but it is good experience for Robby. They had some kind of cheerleader competition going on on the stage on the beach and a lot of little cheerleaders running around. When Karen got here Tom took her and I to a much-needed trip to Costco, it has been a really long time and I was almost out of a lot of stuff. Of course I got a chicken bake, I love those things. I was really happy to get back home and go to bed, I was exhausted and freezing. I didn't even hear Karen leave because my head was under the covers and I was out.

Sunday turned out to be a really relaxing day. Teresa came in but wasn't feeling good so she fed Robby and then went back home. Last night Kelly made some custard French toast and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so that's what we had for breakfast, it was awesome. After breakfast I fell asleep and I pretty much slept all day until Karen came in at 2 PM and I think I even slept while she did my personal care, I haven't slept this much in a long time and I hope I can sleep tonight. Alexia came over to visit for a while and Heather came over to take Robby out for a little cruise.  Heather said that I should be glad I didn't get up because it was 95° outside and everybody was coming over to Santa Cruz to get away from the San Jose heat. I watched a movie called Rio, I think I have seen them before but it was really cute. For dinner I had some chicken adobo,  some other kind of chicken with the killer green sauce, some eggplant and some broccoli. I tried to eat broccoli because I know it's really good for you but the only way I can eat it is with a ton of mayonnaise on it and I know that's not good. It's really quiet and relaxing right now and it feels great. I hope tomorrow is not as hot as it was today.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

This is going to be my last surgery/procedure…

 Monday was an awesome day. I got up and did my exercises and then took Robby on a really really long cruise. We went through the lagoon and up over the bridge above the wharf and I decided to go see how crowded it was on West Cliff Dr., we used a cruise that all the time and it's so beautiful. We cruised all the way down past the lighthouse and then decided to turn back because it was getting really cold and windy. We cruised to the end of the wharf, they have a couple of seal outlook places they cut in the wharf where the sea lions, doggie mermaids, like to hang out. Every time we go by there Robby likes to stick his  head through the rail and look at them for a while. I never thought about it before but that's what everyone does, a guy came over and asked if he could take a picture because Robby look so cute with a bunch of people looking over the rail and Robby looking through it… he said Robby looked like a tourist. I'm going to have to get Kelly to take a picture of that. We cruised back and then over to the boardwalk which was again deserted after the weekend. I came back and Karen put me to bed and I had a nice relaxing evening visiting with my aunt and uncle and Tom and Kelly. For breakfast I had some mustard chicken and brussels sprouts and for dinner I also had mustard chicken and brussels sprouts with some greens and some awesome macaroni and cheese that Kelly made.

Tuesday was another great day. I got up and did my exercises and then took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, the wharf and the boardwalk. The boardwalk was again deserted for the week so we practiced some of our commands, Robby is so smart. We put some tug ropes on a couple of drawers and cabinets so he can practice opening and closing them. Teresa put me to bed and nurse came to give me a complete physical for my life insurance and then Susan came to give me a massage, I just love getting a massage. We did some personal care after everybody left and I was so tired I slept right through it. For breakfast I had a stuffed pork loin and some greens and for dinner I had a tuna salad wrap and some Pringles… probably not a good idea when the nurses going to come and take my blood, hindsight…

Wednesday was really nice. After I got up I went downtown with Karen to drop off some of my shirts at the tie-dye place, the guy said he would tie dye some for me and I'm so excited. We decided to go to the Surfriders Café  for lunch and we had another awesome experience. I had Angus sliders with Gorgonzola cheese and bacon bits with sweet potato fries and Karen had sliders with cheddar cheese and sweet potato fries. The guy remembered me from when I was in there a couple of days ago. I used another expired groupon, only 3 left. I went up to Safeway to pick up a prescription and then cruised back home just in time for Sony to put me to bed. I have some fish and some kale and then my uncle and my aunt, Lee and Claudia and my mom and I played cards… I won a dollar.

 Thursday was a pretty good day. I got up a little related than I expected but I got to do my exercises and take Robby for a long cruise. Teresa came by and we did some personal care and I got to take a nice long hot shower, unfortunately no baths for a while. Teresa took Robby home with her so that Jess can cruise him around for me tomorrow while I get my procedure done, I am getting Smart lypo on my chin. I am more nervous about this than my last surgery because this is going to be a place where I can potentially feel it even though it's going to be done under local anesthesia am a little afraid of the pain afterwards. I know he has done this about 1 million times before so I have every confidence in the doctor. I wish it was tomorrow night at this time right now so it can be over with. For breakfast I had a poached egg and lamb patties and for dinner I had chicken and kale… I can't wait until I can have garlic again, nobody is going to want to be around me for a while.

Friday was a really crazy day. I have my appointment with Dr. Piro to get smart liposuction on my chin. I was more nervous about this one that I was about the breast reconstruction because my neck I can feel. We stopped off at the cafeteria and got a breakfast burrito and some coffee because neither one of us had time to eat, there was actually a really great burrito. We got to the office and they started injecting local shots in my neck and I have to admit it was really uncomfortable. The next shot is the procedure plus more local anesthesia, you could hear the fat pop and it sounded really weird.  I didn't get to see what it looked like when he was done because he covered it with some compression bandages that I have to keep on for a week. I know it's going to be worth it but these bandages are driving me crazy. I got home and just went to bed and just kind of chilled out the rest of the night.





 Saturday I pretty much stayed in bed and took pain meds.

Sunday was the same thing, stay in bed and take pain meds.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

I feel great and I got my puppy back…

 Monday was a really long and exhausting personal-care day, I didn't even make it out of bed. For breakfast I had chicken Castroville and roasted vegetables in for lunch I had chicken and coconut soup and focaccia bread.

Tuesday was a great day. I got up and did my exercises for Stanford research, I decided to do them when I 1st get up because by the end of the day I always forget. I would for cruise through the lagoon, down to the end of the wharf and back and then home. It was such a nice day I decided to lay back in the driveway and enjoy it and Heather came by so I have her give me something to eat because I knew it was going to be a busy evening. The accounting lady came by at 3 PM and then Susan came by at 4 PM to give me a much-needed and appreciated massage, I think it has been 2 or 3 weeks. When Teresa came by at 3 PM she brought Robby and it sure was nice to see him. Of course he came in and totally ignored me and ran over to the accountant  and then back to Teresa, Tom came down the hallway and Robby dashed out to say hello to him… I guess Robby didn't miss me as much as I missed him. We'll see who's left out when I go for a walk tomorrow… just kidding, I am really glad to have Robby back. For breakfast I had some pineapple, Costco has better pineapple than Safeway but unfortunately Costco does not deliver. For lunch I tried a pineapple and golden beet juice smoothie, it didn't taste as good as it sounded and it was really thick. For lunch I had chicken Castroville, steak, roasted vegetables and quinoa. It sure is nice to get back on a real diet again although I really loved Heather's soups.

Wednesday I got up and took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, the wharf and the boardwalk. All of the rides, food and souvenir places were all closed up for the winter so I figured I was the perfect place to practice some of  Robby's commands, there were a few people around for distraction  so it was perfect. We cruised on back home and rested for a bit and then went to the Farmer's market with Kelly, she got me addicted to those white raspberries and now I just want to have them. I also got some almond milk with coconut and some vegan macaroons, I have always wondered what vegan desserts taste like and I think they are pretty good. We came back home and it was time to go to bed for the evening. For breakfast I had some cantaloupe, again it was from Safeway so wasn't that good. For dinner I had steak, quinoa and some roasted vegetables… after I went to bed I had some sardines in mustard and crackers.

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day also. I got up and did my exercises and took Robby on the same cruise and ended up again at the Boardwalk practicing some commands, Robby is such a good boy. As we were cruising through the wharf I noticed Robby didn't have his collar with his tags on so I texted Karen to make sure she forgot that I didn't have to backtrack to try to find it, she forgot to put it on. As we were cruising through the boardwalk I noticed that Robby slipped the nose piece off of his halti so I figured I was listening that it was time to go home. I caught Karen before she left and had her put it back on and we were going to go out cruising again but instead we talked to Tom and Kelly for a bit. Kelly went upstairs and my hand came in with Jessica, my cousin's wife. My cousin passed away when he was 22 and Jessica found him and she was so devastated that she just moved away so she came back to say hello, it was really great to see her and she looked exactly the same as she did 12 years ago. She said that she had moved back to Santa Cruz and was going to try to start a new life. Hopefully we will see her again. For breakfast I had a poached egg, a pork Patty and an English muffin. For lunch I had a white raspberry smoothie with almond Coconut milk and coconut water, it was a little bitter so next time I will try to add something sweeter to it. For dinner I had steak and kale and after I went to bed some more sardines in mustard, I really love those but so far only Teresa wants to feed them to me.

Friday was such a beautiful day. I got up and just hung around in my driveway loving my yard and the sun. We decided to have a barbecue for lunch and cleaned out my freezer, get rid of some of the stuff that's about to expire. Kelly found some calamari and my aunt had some tempura shrimp and Kelly made some broccoli risotto, I had never had risotto before and I have always wanted to try it… it was really good. Teresa came and put me to bed and I just relaxed the rest of the evening, so nice. For breakfast I had a poached egg, pork Patty and an English muffin.
 Saturday I felt miserable so I just stayed in bed.

Sunday was a much better day. I got up and took Robby for a nice long cruise and then came back home and Tom, Kelly and I  decided to try the surf riders Café. I have several groupons from them and Karen keeps telling me how fabulous there  food is, she was not lying. I had a coffee and chocolate milkshake and Kelly and I split some avocado fries and calamari. Tom had a portobello hamburger that looked awesome and that came with some which cut potatoes. After that we went to the tie-dye store and I got a couple of pairs of tie-dye pants. I have a bunch of white shirts that I have been looking for someone to tie dye and the guy said that they will do it for me, I am so excited. I can't wait to gather them up and take them down there. I already picked out a couple of patterns. I came back home and Karen put me to bed and I have the rest of the evening to relax and watch movies. For breakfast I had a poached egg, English muffin and some white raspberries.








Sunday, September 9, 2012

I think I'm almost through the worst of it…

 I'm really getting tired of sitting up in bed at a 45° angle and really really getting tired of taking all these pills, I downloaded all these movies from pay-per-view that I had planned on watching but all I do is sleep.

Tuesday is just more of the same, taking pills and sleeping. I am getting a lot of stuff done around the house that hasn't been done for a while thanks to Karen and Teresa. I did make an appointment for Thursday to see if everything is coming along like it's supposed to be and to see if I can start getting back up in my chair and critiquing these nasty pills.

Wednesday was pretty much more of the same thing, I hope my appointment goes well tomorrow. For breakfast I had a poached egg and red potatoes from my front yard and for dinner Kelly grilled salmon burgers and we have them on  herb bread we bought in San Francisco with avocado, they were so good.

Thursday was my 1st day back up in my chair and outside of the house, what an incredible feeling. I went back to see Dr. Piro and he took off the bandages, took out the drains and took out the stitches. Once again he did a fantastic job on me, I was so thrilled I couldn't stop smiling. He said that I can start getting up and resuming my life but no Jacuzzi bath until the holes heal up on the side.  I did get a nice hot shower before I went back to bed, I feel great. What a great day. For breakfast I had a poached egg and the roasted potatoes that Kelly made from my front yard, they were awesome. For dinner I had some corn and potato soup that Heather made. Since my surgery and there has been making me a lot of soups, all awesome. I didn't know that among everything else she cooks she makes an awesome variety of soups. I'm so glad that I found her not only because she's a good cook but because she is a great friend and always here when I need her.

Friday was such a great day. It was really nice to get out and out of the house for a little while. Now that I'm starting to feel better and now that I know everything went okay I'm really starting to miss Robby, he has been staying  over at Teresa's since my surgery because I was a little afraid he would jump on me. I can't wait to get him back. I cruise around for a while by myself and then hung out in the driveway in the sun talking to Kelly for a while. We decided to grab Tom and my mom and go down to the roadhouse restaurant for lunch, I love that place. I had fish tacos and we split some truffle and Parmesan fries. My mom had some soup and Kelly and Tom split the beet salad and this really yummy looking Pesto, Eggplant, Shitake Mushroom, Mozzarella,  fresh Ricotta, Chili flakes pizza. We have never been disappointed going there.  We came back and Kelly and I were looking at the vegetables in the front yard, the tomatoes are almost ready, the potato she dug up and roasted and she cut down the chard and cooked it off the other day. It is so nice to have all this fresh stuff right in front. Kelly and I went across the street and got a bunch of red and yellow tomatoes. Hopefully for a while I will have roasted tomatoes for breakfast. Teresa came and put me to bed and the rest of the evening I just relaxed and watched chimpanzee on pay-per-view. I am so relieved that the surgery is over, it was a really hard week, and everything turned out okay. I just have to make it through the Smart Lypo suction on the 21st and everything will be back to normal. The Lypo suction is going to be a piece of cake compared to the breast reconstruction surgery.




 Saturday I intended to get up but Sony looked at the incision underneath my chest and it was red and had a little blood, not very much. I think it's from the chest strap on my chair rubbing, we put sheep skin around it but apparently it's still too delicate so I have another day to relax. Terry, Angie, Phoebe and Phyper came over to visit for a while while Charlie, Peter and Parker went to the wharf to do some fishing, Parker caught a starfish and was so proud of it but he put it back, he is such a smart kid. My uncle and aunt, Claudia, my mom and I played cribbage… I only have a dollar left to my name. I was getting kind of tired of soup, although they were all awesome so Tom went over to Berger.and brought us dinner. I had an ahi tuna burger and sweet potato fries, I love that place. For breakfast I had some corn and tomato soup that Heather made, she really make some killer soups.

Sunday I got up and went to hang out for a little bit outside, I love my yard. Tom, Kelly and I went up to this really cool café and had coffee. We decided to go over to Trader Joe's and get some pizza dough, goat cheese and vegetarian chorizo and make grilled pizzas, we already have a type of tomatoes. They turned out really good and I ended up eating way too much but I'm not sorry. Karen came and put me to bed and the rest of the evening was just relaxing. While we were at Trader Joe's all of a sudden Bailey got quiet and when Tom and Kelly came back out I saw them looking in the window and giggling… Bailey fell off the seat into the cooler and couldn't get out.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

It's starting to cool down a bit…

 Monday was a really restful day. I was really tired so I decided to just stay in bed. The nurse from the Peninsula Hospital called to do my preop for Thursday over the phone, it took longer than I thought but she was really nice. The rest of the day I kind of just slept on and off, it felt great. I used to stay in bed at least once a week and I really miss those days but then when I stay in bed I do get a little restless and wish that I could get out. Especially on days like today where it ended up warming up to 81°. Teresa came over and we did my personal care and I got a nice long hot bath, I love doing my personal care and bath at night instead of the morning because then I can get up earlier and enjoy more of the day. For breakfast I had chili relleno casserole with Canadian bacon, mushrooms and spinach that Teresa made… it was so good I couldn't stop eating it so I ate way too much. For dinner I had tilapia with lemon and capers, eggplant and spinach.
 Tuesday was another lazy day, I stayed in bed. The accountant came by to help me with my bills and Susan came by to give me a much-needed massage, it has been a couple of weeks. After she left I was so relaxed and sleepy, I just love that feeling. I talked to Teresa a little bit about what were going to do after the surgery and what we're going to need to bring to make me comfortable on the way home. I think her and Jess are going to keep Robby for a couple of days so he doesn't jump up on me, every time we moved my bed out he likes to jump up and hang out for a while. I e-mailed Cici with a bunch of questions, she is Dr. Piro's assistant. I'm sure she's quite tired of all my last-minute questions but she's very sweet about it, I just hope I'm not the only one who asked all these questions at the last minute… I'm sure I'm not. For breakfast I had poached egg sandwich with wheat bread and for dinner I had some lentil and spinach soup that Heather made. Heather also made some Green Chile soup, I saw her roasting peppers outside and it smelled wonderful.  I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the jelly and my moms friend Betty made, it was killer.

Wednesday was such a nice day, not too hot and not too cold. I took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, through the park, to the end of the wharf and back, to the end of the boardwalk and back, through town and to the bank to make an extra payment on the principle of my mortgage. I came back and rested for a while and did my exercises for the research and then Teresa came by and did my personal care and I got a nice long hot bath with hexafluoride, I feel so clean. Tomorrow morning is the big day. I have my breast reconstruction surgery. We have been trying to go over everything  that we are going to need to do and although it doesn't sound easy but will definitely be worth it in the long run. I think the hardest part will be trying to sit up at a 45° angle for a couple of weeks. I had a poached egg, some wheat toast and some apricot jam that my mom's friend Betty made, it was really good… I think apricot is my favorite. For dinner I had some green chili soup that Heather made, THAT was awesome. Well… here I go, wish me luck.

Thursday went pretty smoothly. We got to the hospital and got to our room and there were a lot of people that help us although thank God I had Teresa, she knew exactly what to do. I woke up in the recovery room feeling like crap but I expected that. They somehow got me loaded in my chair and brought me home and that's all I really remember, somebody kept telling me to breathe deep and I wanted to smack them.

Friday I pretty much took the Percocet every 4 hours and slept, it's really hard to do everything at a 45° angle… I wish I would've practiced although I doubt it would have done much good. Everybody has been really good about letting me rest.

Friday was pretty much the same, I was out of it most of the day. I had all these hopes of watching movies and watching some of the shows on my TiVo but so far nothing has happened but sleep. People are waking me up to eat and then take your pills and then I am back to sleep again. I guess I'm catching up on all my sleep now.

Saturday is the same thing all over again, eat, pills, sleep.

Sunday I feel a little bit more awake even with the pills, I hope that is a good sign. I haven't gotten bored yet if they are getting hot and cold flashes and that is really annoying but thank goodness Robby isn't here or I would be making him crazy. 1 min. I have the air conditioner up to 70° and the next minute I haven't up to 78°.