Simplejaxgirl and wndrfullife....
I'm 11 days post-op. Based on my post-op life so far...here are my thoughts.
Am I making the right decisions? Yes, you are doing what's right for you and your future health, which in the long-run is the best decision(s) you can make.
Am I loosing enough weight pre-op? Yes....The dr. only wants you to reduce the size of your liver. Losing weight is the best way to do this. It will make the surgery less likely to have issues from possibly knicking your liver. Plus, I was told, that your liver can get so enlarged that it can take 2 people with retractors to hold it back for the surgeon to work. Losing weight makes the liver light and fluffy and easy for one person to simply push out of the way.
Will the surgeon say no if I do not loose enough weight? (No # was given) If you are losing ANY weight and following the pre-op diet as prescribed, he will not cance/reschedule on you.
What if there are complications? He/She is a trained surgeon. I had NO compications....you will do fine and your hospital staff is specially trained to take good care of you no matter what happens.
Will I be able to take care of my son and house after surgery? (I will only have support for maybe a day or two) Yes, you will not have a problem here. The only thing you will not be able to do is lift him up. So have him climb up in the chair/sofa with you to cuddle instead of picking him up. He may have to help out by picking his toys up instead of you, but everything else you will be able to do just fine. Be sure to rest as much as possible and keep sipping your beverages.
What will life after surgery be like? It will be WONDERFUL! In 3 - 4 months you be able to play with your son longer and do more things with him that you would be able to if you had not had the surgery. You will be celbrating your future with him and able to participate so much more in his growing up.
YOU WILL DO GREAT!! Start telling yourself that. You cannot control the unknown. All you can do is control how you approach it. Be as positive as you can and everything will be fine.
I'm sure you think I'm being Pollyanna, and perhaps I am, but all I can do is answer from my vantage point, and so far, I've had an amazing recovery. I had never had surgery before and thought it would be FAR worse than this, and have been SO blessed....I'm sure you will be too.
Good luck!!
