Somebody Get Me A Doctor

"Diamond" Dave and the boys from Van Halen are lending a hand for my title today...

FIrst and foremost, thank you for all the continued prayers and love through this ordeal. I am eternally grateful for your support. Now, on to the blog!

What a day. Of course, my day started late last night- around 8pm in fact. After Jen made a fantastic roast beef and mashed potato dinner, my mind kept echoing the words of the nurse I saw yesterday: "Nothing to eat or drink after midnight." Therefore I started making plans for what I called, "second dinner." I thought of heating up the leftovers of stuffed shells that Jen had made the night before, until I mentioned I would like some no-bake cookies before I went into surgery. After all, it has been over 6 weeks since my last taste of chocolate and I could count the number of desserts I had eaten during that time on a chicken's foot. Once refrigerated, I consumed about 5 of them immediately. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to cheat on my diet a little during this downtime from running. 

I went upstairs to watch TV around 9:30 and ended up falling asleep on my fantastic leather couch that Jen abhors. When I woke up, there was a tense horror at the pit of my stomach. Looking at my phone, I had done the unthinkable: I slept right through second dinner and into the morning of my surgery- my fast had started in my sleep. With a sense of dread, I walked downstairs and climbed into bed. 

This morning started off great: I got the rare chance to get Jacob out of bed and hold him while he drank his morning milk. Before I knew it, we were in the car to head to the surgicenter. Thankfully, I was not hungry, so missing second dinner was not as big as I had thought. Since I had a second gallbladder attack Sunday afternoon, I was elated to get this foul thing called a gallbladder out once and for all. For as calm and relaxed as I was, Jen was concerned and worried. I love that about her- she worries for me because I don't have sense to do it myself. I have never been good at worrying about myself, so it nice to have someone who loves me enough to do so.

Dr. Beaird did an amazing job with my gallbladder removal. The surgery only lasted for about an hour and Jen was allowed back into the recovery room about 45 minutes afterward. I felt like a groggy mess from the anesthesia when I saw her. I could tell she was worried, but felt pretty good by the time I was ready to leave. Once I got home, I took a quick nap and and was able to finally see my little boy again. Of course, he was excited to see me, but I had to do a lot of hand-checking to keep him off of my abdomen. 

Overall, I feel pretty freaking good considering I had a small procedure today. [As I wrote that sentence, my mind went immediately to Billy Crystal in "City Slickers" he explains to the classroom of children about what to expect in getting old: "Your 50's, you'll have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, (shrugging shoulders) but it's a surgery."] Well, I am not in my 50's, but I did it a procedure. Later this week, I will be evaluate when I will return to work. The doctor says no running for 2 weeks. Between me and you, that is the most painful thing about the past few days.

Thanks for reading. Much love to all-

Urgent

Well, this Foreigner song puts this post into perspective...

From my previous blog, you are aware that I have set a goal to run through the HealthRally website. The goal was to run 14 times for more than 40 miles. Currently I am at 11 runs and over 34 miles, with a 6 mile run to be completed today. I thought to myself that I was going to crush that goal of 40 miles and easily complete my 14 runs by September 30. But events transpired on Monday this past week which changed the course of future events.

I started getting a very uneasy feeling in my upper abdomen late Sunday evening. Of course, I took some Pepto-Bismol and went to bed thinking I just had an upset stomach. I woke up for my Monday morning run still having this bizarre feeling. Nevertheless, I completed my 5K (3.1mi) run and went to work. Strangely, the feeling was a little worse, so I purchased some other anti-acid liquid that I thought would work better. Unfortunately, I did not get any relief. Tuesday morning, a 4mi run, work, and home with the family, the uneasiness in my stomach with me for the day. I picked up a bottle of Prilosec to help with the pain. Wednesday: a stationary bike ride and a gym workout, work, play drums for church worship, and bed. Again, pain came along for the ride. Thursday: another 5K run, work and home with the kids and hung out with the pain all day. Friday: a full rested morning. On my way to get a water refill at work and I felt a pain along the right side that felt like I threw my back out. It took my breath and almost sent me to the floor. It was such a piercing and intense pain, all I could do was laugh about it. I sat in a chair and tried to push the back of my chair into the location of the pain in order to allow the muscle to release and did not get any relief. After consideration, Jen and I went to the ER to figure out what was happening. The doctor confirmed Jen's diagnosis all along: gallbladder. I was sent home with the gallbladder surgery set to take place on Monday morning.

After discussing the diagnosis with the doctor, he confirmed my thoughts about the cause for the gallbladder issue. In August, I drastically changed my diet. I no longer eat ANY fast food or drink anything but water or milk. I stopped eating anything that is fried, fatty, or any sweets. Whenever I need to eat something on the go, I find a Subway or Jersey Mike's and eat a turkey sandwich. After about 8 weeks on an extreme diet/lifestyle change, my body no longer knew what to do with all of the fluids that are located within the gallbladder. Therefore, it began to cause a problem for the bile duct into my stomach.

All of this to say that I am not happy about this right now. I have been running faithfully 4 times per week for 3 weeks and worked my way up to 15 miles per week. Of course after the surgery, I will have to take some time off my training regimen. At my age, my main concern is my ability to bounce back without having to completely restart my program. I guess only time will tell. I hope to be back out on the road by Saturday next week. More to follow in the coming days. I am hoping to write another blog post-surgery to review the day's events. Until then...

Run, Run, Run - Week 1

A song by The Who will describe this and future new blog posts...

I have really slacked off in writing. Although there are many excuses for not doing so, there is no excuse for my hiatus. With as many great things that has happened in our family over the past several months, I simply never felt inspired to write. For anyone who reads (or cares to read) this blog, I commit to writing more often. Even if there are shorter ones here and there, at least I am putting something out for consumption. Here goes:

For the first few months of 2011, I was in great shape. I was down to around 200lbs and was feeling my leanest in several years. Working out before work gave me the ability to drop and keep the weight off. In May, I started another position in my company, which replaced my gym mornings for overtime. Of course that also lead to not eating so well and the body started hoarding the sugar, fat, and empty carbs. I ended up right back at 225lbs. I had to do something. First, I decided to give up all sodas an only drink water. I also gave up sweets once again. After a few runs, I decided on a quest: to run a half-marathon by Spring 2012.

I started running again in late August- a couple of miles on the so-called "dreadmill" at the gym, a short body workout starting at 6am. It was about a week before finally taking my treks outside in the elements. I knew running on treadmills wasn't the same as outdoors, but I was not expecting such a pounding on my legs. They hurt for 3 days after the first run on pavement.

Starting September 2, I set a goal of running 14 times by September 30 (4 weeks). So far, I have 4 runs under my belt- all outdoors. Three runs in my neighborhood, and one run at the Barfield Park trail. That trail is a monster. The initial hill is at least a 12 degree incline. Overall the run was 2.75mi- not bad for the 3rd run. Tomorrow will be my 5th and I'm planning for a morning on the Greenway in Murfreesboro.

I have also set up a challenge located at HealthRally which allows for people to help me donate $50 to the Blanca's Friends Charity if I meet my initial goal of 14 runs in 4 weeks. Some additional motivation for a good cause. I encourage you to check it out!

I will post more in the coming weeks about my initial run challenge and more about the other great things that have been happening in our lives in the near future.

God Bless-