Happy New Year!

So after a successful and fun Christmas holiday in Marshalltown, it is now the eve of 2007. I have had some time to contemplate and here is my list for the year.

Things I Did That I'm Proud Of

I had 2 operations and a procedure to help me lose weight.
I lost 140 pounds.
I quit a job that had been my career for 13 years but was unhealthy for me.
I sat in a booth in a restaurant.
I can wash my entire back without a brush.
I can sit indian style when playing my guitar again.
I cut my hair and colored it for the first time in several years.

Things I Did That I'm Not so Proud Of

I put off finding out why I couldnt' eat without throwing up.
I haven't exercized as much as I should have.
I ate sugar tonight (I'm going to regret this tomorrow morning).

Things I Haven't Done Yet But I Want to Do This Year

Find a job at which I'm happy where I can make some money.
Lose 50 more pounds.
Have my hernia fixed.
Have a face lift and boob lift (this might have to wait until 2008 depending on the whole money situation).
Go to Cedar Point and ride each roller coaster 3 times.
Visit my friends in Colorado and at least put ON a pair of skis.
Clean my home office and paint it.

Things That Bug Me

Fancy Feast Cat Food advertises a new line of cat food which it says is "restaurant inspired." Here's a clue: Cats don't care. They have no concept of what "poached salmon florentine in a delicate sauce with greens" even means. If they had a choice, cats would eat the intestines and brains out of a cold, dead rat. Organ meats are what they like - it's the best part! These ads have to stop.

People wearing pajamas to Wal-Mart. What is up with this? When did it become okay to go anywhere you please in your pajamas? I know the weather has been nice, but come on... these crackers need to put on some PANTS!

My car battery is dead. I went out this morning to go to the Hy-Vee and nothing happened. I called Joe and he and Eric came over and jumped me. I went to Wal-Mart Auto and the guy there said they can't service my Chrysler because the battery is under the front fender and they are not equipped to do it. I don't know why, but oh well. I guess I'll call John Helfer on Tuesday. (did I mention that I'm in love with John Helfer?)

In conclusion...
I would like to start the new year on a positive note, so as I sit here alone at the computer, I am not alone. All my friends and family are with me and I hope they know I am with them. Thanks for a great year and I am looking forward to big things in 2007! Have a Happy and Safe New Year!

The Medical Adventures of Dawna

Tuesday (2 days ago) I had a procedure where the Dr. looks into your gullet through a tube with a little light on the end that he sticks down your neck. It wasn't a bad experience.

The anesthesiologist was really nice and he gave me some medicine to calm my stomach so I wouldn't get nauseous. Then he came in to the little waiting room with what appeared to be a can of WD-40. He said "I'm going to spray this in the back of your throat. It will numb your throat and limit the gag reflex." (now that sounded interesting and I was wondering where I could get some for those occasional times I would need to limit my gag reflex - right Greg?) But what happened was, he said "Now this is going to taste like bananas." Really? But he stuck that long tube into the back of my neck and sprayed and OH MY GAWD! I started gagging and coughing and spitting! It may have smelled like bananas, but it tasted just like WD-40... or lydocaine because that's what it was.

So then they took me into the OR and put me on the little table. The Dr. gave me some medicine to help me "relax." I am here to tell you that was some good stuff! I think I expressed my true feelings for Dr. K. at that time... but it's a little foggy to me now. It must have been versed because Mom had that when she had this same procedure. She couldn't remember anything!

So after I had a nice little dream where the cute anesthesiologist was singing at my Christmas party, they woke me up and took me to a recovery room. I got dressed and had a piece of toast and a cup of coffee! Dr. K. came in and told me they had found a stenosis in the little area where my small intestine was reconnected to my little stomach. A stenosis is a narrowing of the opening. So he used a balloon thingy on the scope and pushed it open. Sometimes it takes more than one time of doing that to completely fix the thing, but some people have it once and it works. Hopefully that will be me. the photo shows a normal digestive system, but in mine it's different because I have a little tiny stomach now and the stenosis was in the place where they reattached the intestine to the stomach.

So now I'm eating and drinking and I haven't had that thing happen to me since. Of course it's only been a couple of days but I have been trying new foods (i.e. not soup) so I can tell if it's working. I had some chicken and yesterday Anita and I ate at Latin King and I had some pasta with prociutto and cheese and an antipasto plate of artichokes, tomatoes, white beans and boiled potatoes. It was delicious!

Anita and I went to Des Moines yesterday to finish our Christmas shopping. It was a zoo! Best Buy was the worst. There were at least a giga-gillion people there and they were just standing there. Toys 'R' Us was not so hot either. There were women with carts just standing in the aisles with a sort of dazed look on their faces. I'm sure they were just wiped out from the shopping and the kids and their jobs... lucky me! No kids, AND no job!

This will probably be my last blog before the holidays so just let me say thank you to all the friends and relatives that were there for me and supported me through my operations and all. I appreciate and love you all so much! Happy Holidays!

EGDs and Bowling...

Next Tuesday I am having a procedure called Esophagogastroduodenoscopy or for those demanding fewer keystrokes - EGD. It's an examination of the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and upper duodenum with a small camera (flexible endoscope) which is inserted down the throat. Dr. Kermode decided I should have one of these since I saw him on the 11th and I am still having these problems eating and then getting sick and throwing up. He thinks it might be a stricture or a closing up of a flap in the opening where my small intestine was reattached to my little stomach. What happens in this case is, the food gets in the stomach, but won't pass through into the intestine, hence the making you sick part. The good news is, this hasn't happened to me since I saw the Dr. ('natch), but I'm still going to have the procedure!

So anyways, Dr. Kermode and I talked about the whole fainting thing also so he sent me to an internist in Grinnell named Doctor Gonduwe (GAWN-doo-way). He's South African and has beautiful skin and a very cool English accent. So he did a bunch of tests to see if there was some other underlying condition causing the fainting symptoms. I went to MMSC Saturday morning where they took 3 of my 5 pints of blood (ugh) and then I had something called a Holter Monitor hooked up to me. This is basically a heart monitor that you have to wear for 24 hours and the little iPod thingy you wear on a belt records all your heartbeats and stuff. It was kind of cool... at first. Then along about bedtime I got really tired of it. But I survived and I had it removed this morning. Anyway he is going to let me know what he finds out. Hopefully after this whole thing on Tuesday I will be good to go for a while... I hope.

A week ago Saturday (Dec. 9), my great niece Katie (remember her from the last post) came to stay with my sister Anita. Saturday they came over and Katie wanted to go bowling. Really? Bowling? So I called Totem Bowl and they were having Cosmic Bowling from 1 to 3. So I made a reservation.
We went over there and had lunch first and then they turn on the black lights and disco balls and we bowled with fluorescent pink balls and they played loud music. It was a BLAST! I got alot of exercize and I had so much fun! Until I pulled a hammy... that's right. So I had to limp around for a little bit, but remember I haven't been able to do much physically for a while now. But this was really freeing! I think it's my new sport. (Like I had a sport before - well, watching TV) The photos are not actually at Totem Bowl but it looks just like that. I think when everyone gets home for Christmas, we should go do this. Like I said, it's a BLAST!

So today I got the rest of my presents wrapped and things straightened up. Eric is seeing a surgeon on Wednesday. He has an "intermittent small intestinal blockage" so we don't know if he's going to have surgery or not. This has just been a weird couple of weeks. I will keep all posted. If I don't talk to you soon, I will see all y'all at Christmas!

net

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas...

Okay, so I'm a little confused this year. I have my decorations up, all my presents wrapped, my Christmas menus all planned... it's only December 7! That's okay. I'm just so stress-free this year that I guess I feel more like doing things. Here is a photo of the afore-mentioned tree. It looks a little rougher today than it did a few days ago when this photo was taken. Totoro likes to climb and chew on the branches.


In more news - I won't know about my job until next week because they have to present it to their board and the board has to approve it. Gabe (my job broker) told me that they really liked me. Then he asked me some weird questions about how I handle conflict. I told him that I usually try to be diplomatic, but if it's too bad, I remove myself from the situation and then go back and talk to that person. He said it wasn't because there are alot of "hotheads" there, but he said "You just were so sweet sitting there in your sweater and you were so nice..." Hmmm, he don't know me vewy well, do he? I told him I had been working for a LOOONG time and have had many opportunities to hone my conflict-resolution skills. I don't take crap and I'm diplomatic. Skills I learned at MICA, thanks to my friend and former boss Dave. I appreciated Gabe's concern, but he's probably 26 or 28 and never had any conflicts at work before. In any case, the job probably won't start until January which is fine with me! I have the rest of December to kick it and celebrate with family and friends!

On the home front, Totoro has developed a new strategy regarding the food dish. She puts her toys inside the food dish so the other kitties won't eat too much of her food. It's interesting but annoying to the other kitties.

Anita and I went to our grand-niece Katie's Christmas concert Tuesday night at BCLUW. It was delightful! It's been a long time since I had been to a school concert. The kids were great and the music directors were so proud of them! I had a great time and Katie was SO CUTE in here velvet jacket! She plays trumpet in the band and is in the choir. She reminds me so much of Wendy when she was little (GAWD, I'm OLD!)





Isn't she the cutest thing?



So in conclusion, I hope all your days are merry and bright and all your Christmases are white. Have a Happy!