Saturday, April 10, 2010

Sale on Fills and Missing My Boys

Fills:
I thought I would post about my second “first” fill. A little summary first. I was banded on February 10th and had 3 cc in my band. I had my first fill on March 9th, when Dr. Doug put it up to 4 cc. On March 22nd, after many days of PBing and vomiting I went sobbing back to his office and he took out fluid (Click here to read about that). Two weeks of letting my stomach heal and I was back for a refill last Wednesday (at 8 weeks post-op). I am now back to 3 cc, the same amount I had at surgery. It sucks. I have a bit of restriction again but am getting hungry every 2-3 hours. So I don’t know if I’ve even had a first fill—I failed my first and gained a couple of pounds—that d*mn gravity pull thing everyone was talking about last week—hex on it.

I am taking it slow. Next time I see him I will ask for just 0.5 cc. I think it best to take it gradual given my problems the last time. Dr. Doug also told me that there are a few who will hit their “sweet spot” with only a few little fills. I will gauge what I need by looking at my weight loss. I have basically been stuck at the same weight for the last two weeks but am down a smidgen of weight (0.4 lbs) today. I’ll see if this refill will help. The good news is Dr. Doug has dropped his fill charge from $75 to $50. A 33% off sale. I love sales. Just so you know, I use a local doctor for my fills as it is a 5 hours drive to the surgical clinic where they are free. I think my doc here is giving me a break because I also see his nurses for nutrition counselling and pay for those visits ($15 every few weeks).

Missing My Boy #1
My son is one of the wonders I created (along with his older sister). I’ll give some credit to DH because I did need his “input” for those few seconds. If you take the “S” off my name, you can guess his name. He’s always been called by this short name unlike my male follower in UAE (did you guess the name yet?—please don’t put it in any comments). Anyway, Little A is now 24 and left for South Africa two weeks ago. He and a friend (who is originally from South Africa) are having a bit of a vacation and doing some mission work in Durban this week so I haven’t heard from him—I’m sure there aren’t many wireless networks around the area. LOL. My son is very involved with the Pentecostal church. In his teens, he began with the youth group and just embraced the church as his second family. Neither my husband nor I attend church so it is a with a bit of amazement that we raised this pretty cool kid.

He was in South Africa three years ago with his youth group for some mission work in Swaziland. They helped a village build a well for clean water and other odd jobs needed by the communities. It wasn’t a “go in and take over” but a “we can help with what you need done with this little bit of money”. They had raised a few thousand dollars from garage sales—I donated a ton of stuff and it helped me clear out my clutter. I felt good that it was going to a good cause but it also de-cluttered my life in the process. Only a few hundred dollars brought clean water to a small village. Suitcases of clothes and some medical supplies were also taken on the trip. My son told me what a great experience Africa was to him. We sometimes forget the size of this world and feel helpless. But it only takes one act of kindness to change a life. The little boy in the first picture smiling from ear to ear. For a few hours he had some visitors who cared and they left him with some warm clothes, food and a few dollars. And a village has clean water to drink. That is what mission work is--there is no bible thumping or sermonizing. It is the simple acts of kindness that people do for each other.

Beautiful smile! This child (about 10 yrs old) was raising his two younger brothers and caring for his sick grandmother. His mother had died of AIDS.

Here are some of the villagers.


Water source for the Village. Villagers would fetch this water, boil it, and then drink it. The animals also drank directly from this pond.
The end result. With a few dollars and help from all the villagers a nice stone path was built to get to the plastic barrel serving as a well to hold filtered spring water and keep it separated.

 To the left is my son with the grandson of the lady where they stayed.

The trip wasn't just work and no play for the group. They also had some fun sightseeing in Kruger National Park and along the southern coast around Capetown. I’ve included these pictures as I think they are beautiful and I am so proud of my little baby. He is making a difference in this world, one tiny bit at a time. He’ll be back home at the end of April but mom’s have the right to miss their babies no matter how old they get.

The coast of South Africa where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean.

Missing My Boy #2
My DH is leaving on Tuesday for a business trip to China and the Philippines. So Boy #2 will be gone for two weeks and I will have no one around to tempt me with lovely dinners. Right, LOL. My DH is much better at pouring wine than he is at cooking. When we first met he made me Coquille St. Jacques (scallops in cream sauce with mashed potatoes). Amazing. It wasn’t until we married that I found out it was his only recipe. Oh well, he’s good in bed!  I’ll miss him too but will sleep like a baby!

So for the next while I’ll have to depend on my blogger friends to keep me company. I mentioned in a comment that reading the blogs is like following a soap opera. I can’t wait to find out what the next episode will be. This past week had many revealing posts and it helped me see further into everyone’s lives and my own. I feel like a voyeur at times. I guess we should all get ready for our summer hiatus and a cliff hanger post (Noooooo!). I also love that I have gotten to know a bit of your lives. But for those who find it hard to post revealing parts of themselves, it doesn’t matter. We are a community that accepts everyone—tell as much or as little as you want. Someone mentioned a worry about being judged—never! You have become my kids, my sisters/brothers but mostly my friends. I hope you let the old lady hang around and enjoy this ride a bit more.

And one more request. If you are following me, please leave me a comment with a link to your blog if you have one. I can't find the link in your profile and would love to follow you.

17 comments:

Darlin1 said...

Hey Sandy, Love the pictures ---Isn't it wonderful having such great kids? My husband travels also---I miss him --but I also like the NO schedules and eating regimes.

Rebekah said...

Aw---we'll keep you company! Those were great pictures!

Barbara said...

Sandy what remarkable things your son has done.. Truly thankful for people like him... Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts.. and don't worry we will all be around to keep your company.. you know that to be true.. we all keep crazy hours.. and send hugs out to you..

♥ Drazil ♥ said...

Awesome on your son! And OMG - we will so keep you busy and we'll be full of sass and drama as usual!

Alison said...

What a fantastic son you have, you must be so proud of him.

Andrew said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Andrew said...

Sandy

sorry just deleted the last comment...didn't read the blog well enough..you must be very proud of Son number 1...

I had my second fill this week...not sure if I like it yet...will post a little later once I make my mind up :-)

Lonicera said...

Nice post Sandy, and thank you for the lovely long comment you left on my blog today (you had inspired me to write it of course).

I have 10ml in my band, and for the last 2 or so I have been going up in quarter ml increments - I can't manage any more at a time, and as you know only too well, overfills are horrendous. When I had an overfill in September or so, it was because the surgeon himself had given me 1.5ml in one go - too much. Now I'm at the same level, but this time I've got there slowly and it's OK.

Sounds like you have a lovely family. Your son's helping in S Africa: a deeply rewarding and enriching experience which is being sought more and more by young people these days, and both sides benefit. How brilliant is that!

From the sublime to the ridiculous: I visited S Africa in 1984 when my parents lived in Johannesburg, and they took me on a trip to Kruger Park, where my closest contact with the wildlife came when I trod on a scorpion. It hurt quite a lot, but the worse bit was that it scared the living daylights out of me and I was convinced I was going to die. It took a sensible ranger to overcome my hysteria when he asked me what colour it was. When I said brown he said "Well you can calm down then, because only the red ones kill you." Oh, OK then...
Caroline

Marie said...

What a wonderful adventure for your son! I'd be so proud too. I'd love to do something like that in my fifties when I don't have to work so hard to support my kids. Nothing like giving back and seeing this big world. God bless those who are doing what your son is doing.
As far as feeling like a voyeur on these blogs I know what you mean! Some are quite entertaining and so open with their lives and feelings. It's wonderful!
You can blog to me anytime you feel like it! I love hearing from you!

Dinnerland said...

What a proud mommy you ought to be! My goal is to raise a wonderful human being too-- congrats.
Anyhow: with the fills, you WILL get there.
It is so much easier to see when it is NOT me... but you WILL get there.
We all get there our own way and on our own path, with whatever 'lumps and bumps' that occur along the way.
Be well-- Vanessa

Marie said...

Sandy -- to get to the pedometer application:

Go to itunes and click on applications and then click on health and fitness. There are a few pedometer applications. Mine just says pedometer. It's great and seems to be pretty accurate. I have an iphone and have to keep it in a pocket for it to work but it hasn't been a problem as long as I have a zipper compartment so it doesn't fall out.

I know what you mean about the hips and soreness. I'm surprised I can walk today!

Band-Babe said...

Sandy, We're all here for you! It seems like no matter what is going on in our lives, someone here has just the perfect advice and compassion to give. And, it is so hard having your kids leave to conquer the world. You must be one super proud momma. My problem was, I was finally starting to really like and enjoy my son as an interesting, smart human being when it was time for him to go out on his own! But, now I'm happy he's a good person and pursuing his life's dreams, because that is honestly all I've wanted for him since the day he was born.

Ali said...

What an awesome you have, Sandy! You should be one proud Mama! Thanks for sharing the pictures with us, those children are just precious!

I hope that all goes well with your new fill. I have one on Thursday, this after a unfill of 1/2 cc two weeks ago. Not sure what I should do at this appt. I hope to get it right one of these days.

Enjoy your time on your own....it will go fast!

Ali said...

OOPS...I meant what an awesome SON you have. Someday I will remember to proofread before I hit send! Geesh.

Maree said...

You must be very proud of your son. Hope your DH's trip goes well, too - and you know we're all out here in blogland if you need to "chat"!

Jess said...

Wow that is sooo touching. Give unto others...how proud you must be!

Amanda Kiska said...

Do you see how behind on blogs I am? I don't know if you will even go back and read this comment, but your son sounds amazing. Good job, Mom!

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