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Icon23 I hope you are ok. I have been checking forum all day to see how you are doing. My friend said you are probably shopping lol. I hope so. Hope everything is going well for you.

I'm fine. I did go shopping for a little while yesterday and I did go to Walmart (close to the hotel) earlier today for some juice and Gatorade, but I spent a good deal of yesterday and today sleeping, actually. The fatigue that I have felt the past 2 days is one of my biggest signs that my body has gone through a trauma. I have also had some pain--feels like you've done 1000s of sit ups, as others have described it--and I do take the pain meds they sent with me (Toradol is the American name) when I need it (about every 10-12 hrs), but overall I feel okay. The fatigue isn't overwhelming and I could probably stay awake if I needed to, but since the body does a great deal of healing while you're asleep, I figure I should allow myself to do it as much as possible while I can.

Thanks again for the well-wishes!

Be sure to tip the wheel chair folks! They make a pittance. They will also arrange for that little cart to zip you to your gate . . .lots of tips! I had to do this when I had to travel with a badly broken ankle.

Good advice! Thanks!

I didnt realize you where from Seattle. I live in Vancouver,BC and was just literally in Bellingham,Wa yesterday evening shopping for post-op stuff. I thought I would be able to find some of the vitamins/supplements we can not get up here in Canada, but no such luck. Guess I am gong to have to order all my supplements online.

May I ask what your plans are post-op vitamin/supplement wise as soon as you get home from surgery.

I have a chewable children's Multivitamin which I will take a double dose of. I also have chewable Calcium, sublingual B12, and the most delicious tasting chewable Iron (peach flavored). I don't have them with me, so I don't remember the brand names or the dosages, but I can fill you in later. I bought them all online. The Iron isn't required, but I read that it (and zinc, which I also have, come to think of it) can help prevent hair loss, so I'm going to give it a shot. My surgeon said that I don't have to continue taking these supplements once I'm getting all of my Protein from food, but I probably will at least continue a Multivitamin because I have always taken one.

Thank you for your detailed info... I am leaving Monday morning for Mi hospital with Garcia on Tuesday.

Wish you a speedy recovery and looking forward to some details about your flight home. Where are you traveling from?

Thank you. I am traveling home to Seattle on Monday afternoon and I'll be happy to post the details about how that goes. It should be interesting because I requested wheelchair service (as suggested by ALM) and it will be the first time I've ever had that type of assistance at the airport. I guess it means I get to be one of the first to board the plane, though, so that's a plus.

Thank you so much for some much detail. It's nice to know what to expect when it's our turn. Do you have any suggestions on what to pack and what not to waste our time on packing that we think we might need. LOL

I highly suggest bringing some packets of powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup flavor and a food thermometer so you don't curdle the Protein with too hot water--this helped me survive the airport on the way here because I was hungry and there were delicious-looking restaurants everywhere. If you're on clear liquids like I was, you coud bring a different Protein powder packet that can be mixed clear with water--I just really liked the broth style because it made me feel like I was having a delicious, filling Soup. I also suggest bringing some Crystal Light packets (or something similar) because so many people say that they can't tolerate the taste of Water post-op. Gas-X strips are not a bad idea, but since they don't work on the type of gas that they pump into you to perform the surgery, I haven't actually needed them yet, although I did feel some gas in my stomach as I drank my first clear liquids today--better safe than sorry.

If you're traveling alone (or even if you're not), definitely bring a tablet, smartphone, or laptop--some way to communicate with people back home to let them know that you are safe when you arrive and when you make it through surgery successfully.

As far as clothing, bring a pair of slippers (mine are fuzzy and warm, which was nice when I was in cold rooms) for walking around the hospital. Also bring loose clothing, including pants with pockets. For women, I suggest a no-underwire bra, as described above. Don't pack too heavy! I also brought a heating pad, but I haven't used it yet. Some people swear by them (I think it helps to dissipate the gas, but I'm pretty sure I've walked mine out).

Depending on how much shopping you might want to do, including purchasing additional meds from a pharmacy, be sure to bring some cash. I brought $200 in $5s and $10s and I plan to go shopping tomorrow and have some left for tipping the driver and the maids at the hotel. Be sure to haggle when you shop--it is expected.

A lot of toiletries are provided in the hotel and hospital, but you should bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste and deodorant and anything else you feel very attached to (like makeup for me). Again, don't pack too heavy! If you forget anything, there is a Walmart really close to the Marriott. Even though it seems like I brought a lot, my bag is still light enough for me to pick up on my own post-op. I think that's about it. Oh yeah--passport!

Thanks to everyone for all of your support and well-wishes! Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that I am on the same floor here at Mi Doctor as 3 other VST-ers. It's been nice to put faces and real names with the usernames and avatars. I think I am the only one of us that travelled here alone, but I haven't really felt alone with all of the attention from the ALM people (by the way, Abraham and Eduardo give you numbers to reach them anytime day or night and they mean it), the hospital staff, and my fellow sleevers, plus being able to communicate with my bf back home. The internet has not been good for me at Mi Doctor (they think it's because of the location of my room), so we haven't been able to use Facetime like we can when I'm at the Marriott, but he has used the toll-free number to the hospital provided by ALM and we've talked on the phone a couple of times.

Here's how today has gone: I woke up around 5am, I think, and they were supposed to do my blue liquid test at 7am, so I posted on VST for a little while then went back to sleep. They still hadn't come to give me the blue liquid close to 8am, so I went to the nurses' station (which is basically right outside my door) and asked someone and they gave it to me right then. The blue liquid didn't taste good, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. No blue liquid showed up in my drain--so far, so good. Shortly after that, a couple of nurses came in and took my vitals and told me that they were going to close off my IV and detach it so that I could take a shower. I had seen one of my fellow sleevers (room next door) wearing his regular clothes, so I asked if I could put on my regular clothes after the shower and they said yes, as long as they were loose, like sweatpants, which is exactly what I brought. They provided soap, Shampoo, and shaving gel in the bathroom (in my room, not shared) and the shower felt great. I just kind of held my drain while I showered. By the way, the drain doesn't hurt or anything--it's just kind of there. My hospital gown had a pocket for it on the chest (I wouldn't have known if a nurse hadn't put it there for me on my first walk--you kind of have to thread it through the gown to get it in the pocket) and when I put on my sweats, I put it in the left pocket--definitely make sure to have a pocket to put the drain in so it doesn't get in the way while walking. Shortly after my shower, they came to take me downstairs to do the leak test in front of the x-ray. I had put on a bra (I brought a front-hook bra with no underwires, which I would recommend--or a sports bra with no hooks or wires) and since it has metal hooks, I had to remove it before the x-ray. For the x-ray, I had to drink this clear liquid, which also tasted bad, but not as bad as I'd feared from some descriptions (I think part of the trick is that I kind of held my breath while drinking to minimize tasting it). It was well more than an ounce of liquid (maybe 2?) and the x-ray technician told me to drink it pretty quickly, which was kind of weird since I've been told that I should only be sipping an ounce at a time these first few days, but it went down fine. It was kind of neat to see my new stomach and they'll be sending me home with a CD of the x-ray as well as all of my lab work, EKG, etc. Dr. Ortiz had told me yesterday that it would take a few hours after the leak tests for them to get the official results and only after then would they allow me to start on Clear liquids and bring me juice and such, but it actually wound up taking nearly 5 hours, so that is my biggest complaint so far (which isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things since I could still have ice chips). During the 5 hour wait and throughout the whole stay really, nurses have come in regularly to take my vitals or give me injections in the IV (antibiotics, anti-nausea, and pain--the pain med is not a narcotic, but it does make me drowsy and I need that, so I've let them give it to me even though I'm really not in pain). At one point, a nurse came in and gave me an injection in my stomach to prevent blood clots--she told me it wouldn't hurt and it didn't. Eduardo came to check on me and answer questions and let me know that Dr. Ortiz would be coming to check on me in a couple of hours.

I just got done seeing Dr. Ortiz and he told me that I am a good patient and all the nurses like me because I'm always smiling :-) He brought me a bottle of apple juice, which is nice. He gave me a lot of the same information that he gave me yesterday about what will be happening in the next few days and also what to expect as far as weight loss and so on in the next few months and he told me that he will be repeating a lot of this information to me before I go, which I appreciate because it is a lot to remember and also, I'm sure, some patients are maybe out of it at some points when he comes to talk to them. He answered my questions (again, I didn't have many because he is so thorough)--my biggest one was when I would get broth because I was under the impression that I would have broth and juice here at the hospital, but I was wrong--no broth until I get back to the Marriott. I can't wait to go and have the delicious broth (your choice of beef or chicken) with Abraham tomorrow. We will also go shopping. Overall, today has been pretty uneventful compared to yesterday, but that's a good thing. I'm just trying to take advantage of this time to rest instead of feeling bored. On that note, I think I'll take a nap now.

I just read your post from yesterday! You are my unofficial poster child! I am strongly considering Dr. Ortiz. Thanks for the inspiration! I hope you are feeling well!

I am doing great, just waiting on some juice, broth, and Water, which should be coming any time now...Dr. Ortiz will also be visiting again soon.

I'm currently in MX, had surgery yesterday and 2 leak tests earlier today (in addition to the one they did during surgery). It is my understanding that it is still possible to develop a leak further out, which is why it's important to follow the post-op diet and other instructions about not over-exerting yourself. I don't know what happens for sure if they do find a leak because I don't have a leak, but I would assume that they would take you back to surgery to fix it right away. And yes, for the x-ray you swallow a clear liquid that doesn't taste very good (but it's not as horrible as I'd imagined).

Best of luck to you!

I had surgery yesterday and I'm doing great--hardly any pain. The best advice I was given is to get up and start walking as soon as you can after surgery. It helps the anesthesia wear off and the anesthesia can cause nausea if it stays in your system too long. Walking also helps get rid of the gas that they pump in to your abdomen to perform the surgery (which was my greatest source of discomfort, so I walked a lot and don't feel it at all anymore) and helps prevent blood clots.

Do you know if your insurance will cover complications even though they don't cover the surgery? Some do, so it's worth checking into.

As you know, I'm currently in MX and had surgery yesterday and couldn't be doing better, but it's best to be prepared for all possibilities.

Surgery was yesterday--it went smoothly and I'm doing great! Hardly any pain, walking lots. Just wanted to check in.

Surgery was yesterday--it went smoothly and I'm doing great! Hardly any pain, walking lots. Just wanted to check in.

Surgery was yesterday--it went smoothly and I'm doing great! Hardly any pain, walking lots. Just wanted to check in.

I have a cook and a maid.

But my wife gives me the silent treatment when I call her that!

LOL

I am sorry that your anxiety about this is so high. I was just sleeved yesterday and my recovery has been pretty easy and nearly pain-free so far. If you'd like to read about my experience, it is here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/65606-my-experience-so-farnow-with-details/ -- it's pretty long and detailed because I was also letting people know about the Mexico experience, but I broke it into paragraphs and it should be pretty easy to skip to the surgery and post-op parts.

I, too, am sorry this has been difficult for you. Like others have said, it really is more common for recovery to be mild. I was just sleeved yesterday and it has been mostly easy and virtually pain-free. I was advised before surgery to get up and walk as soon as possible after surgery to help the anesthesia wear off--the anesthesia can cause nausea and vomiting if it stays in your system too long. Even though I got up and walked as soon as I was brought back to my room, they had kept me in the recovery room for 2 hours already and I wound up feeling nauseous after walking back and forth in the hallway about 15 times--I did not vomit, though, and I felt better when I laid back down. They also gave me something in my IV to help with the nausea.

Many of you know that I had my surgery earlier today--sometime around noon--at Mi Doctor with Dr. Elias Ortiz. My coordinators are Ronda and Janese with A Lighter Me (ALM). Before I tell more about how surgery went, I'd like to back up a little to give a more complete picture of the experience. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but between feeling tired after surgery and also dealing with spotty Wi-Fi for a while here at Mi Doctor (not sure if that is normal or if there was just a random problem earlier), it has taken me a while to be able to have the time to do this.

First of all, my experience with ALM has been great--Ronda and Janese were both very responsive and helpful every step of the way leading up to my trip here. Abraham, the driver, called me the day before I was flying into San Diego to confirm my flight and tell me where he would pick me up (it was a general location, so I wound up calling him after I arrived to tell him where I was specifically and he was there within a matter of minutes). Abraham is really nice and polite--I was his only pickup yesterday (and the only surgery with Dr. Ortiz today!). On the way to the border (and ultimately the hotel), he asked me some questions about myself, but there were also times of silence--basically, it seems that he is willing to follow your lead of whether you'd like to chat or ride in peace--I like that, especially because I tend to be somewhere in between. He also won me over when he asked me seriously if I'm 22 (I'll be 38 next month) :-) and he seemed willing to answer any questions I had. He took me to the Marriott and handled check-in for me--they did ask to see my ID and they asked for a credit card, just in case I incurred any room charges, like ordering a movie, but I didn't do or use anything I needed to pay for, as there is so much included with the room, at least through ALM.

The Marriott does not automatically provide free Wi-Fi, but they do for ALM patients (I don't know if this is also the case with r4ac or any other services that use the Marriott--I am only speaking from my experience and knowledge). As far as food, the Marriott provides ALM patients with 3 bowls of broth, 2 popsicles, and 2 bottles of Water each day for free. They also give a 15% discount on any additional food you buy from room service (good to know if you're traveling with someone--I came alone). By the time I got to the hotel, I was pretty hungry, so I ordered 2 bowls of broth, 1 popsicle, and 1 bottle of Water. The broth was decent, but not spectacular--Abraham had already told me in the van that after surgery at some point he will be taking me out to a restaurant for broth that is delicious and he said, "better than the broth at the Marriott", so I didn't have high expectations, but it was good enough, especially since I was hungry. The popsicle appeared to be homemade and it was lime-flavored. I expected it to be sugar-free, but it turns out that it was free of any sweeteners AT ALL. It was pretty tart and I really was really looking forward to a sweeter flavor, so I came up with a solution from things I'd packed for the trip. Since so many people mention that they aren't able to tolerate regular water post-op, I brought an assortment of half a dozen packets of Crystal Light with me. They came out with a line of flavors that mimic alcoholic drinks and I figured that mojito would taste really good with this tart lime. I grabbed a coffee cup off the table (the room had a coffee maker with complimentary coffee in it), put the popsicle in it, then poured some water over it to get the popsicle to melt. Once the popsicle melted, I poured the tart liquid back into the water bottle (because I needed more water than fits in a coffee cup to make the Crystal Light) and added the Crystal Light. It was delicious! In addition to the coffee maker and coffee, I also realized later that the room came stocked with a bottle of water, next to the bathroom sink (presumably for swishing, but it could be used for drinking). There was also a mini-fridge, which was useless to me (I never use the mini-fridge in a hotel--way too expensive). I should also mention that when I first got into the room, I tried to turn on every single light and none of them worked, so I called the front desk. It turns out that there is a device mounted on the wall by the door that you put your card key in and that makes the lights in the room work--some sort of energy-saving device. If it weren't so dark, I might have actually been able to read the directions on it without calling the front desk, lol. There is also a thermostat in the room and I was a little chilly, so I turned it on and turned it up. After I drank my dinner and did Facetime (basically Apple's version of Skype, in case you don't know) with my bf, I decided to watch some TV. There are quite a few options in English, but you will find some American programs dubbed into Spanish and some in English with Spanish subtitles--sometimes the language of the programming changes from show to show on the same channel. There is a San Diego station that is all English, no subtitles. There are also 5 different HBO stations and some are in English (and, again, it can vary from show to show, or movie to movie). I got tired around 11, so I started winding down for bed--there is an alarm clock in the room that I was able to set to be sure to be ready for my pickup time in the morning.

***FAIR WARNING: I may have to cut this post short and continue in the morning because the nurse just came in and gave me something for sleep and I don't know how soon it will kick in.

I wound up waking up in the middle of the night for about an hour last night, so when the alarm went off at 6am, I wound up snoozing a few times. Pickup time was 7:45--I always set alarms extra early so I have time to snooze. I got up in plenty of time to shower, do makeup, watch the morning news (thank you, San Diego channel) and make sure that I didn't leave anything behind in the room. I checked out around 7:35 (it was quick, basically just returned the card keys) and Eduardo (the patient coordinator here in TJ) and Abraham showed up right on time, maybe even a couple of minutes early; Eduardo actually drove.

When we got to Mi Doctor, I was a little shocked by how small it is. Everyone says it is small, but I guess I was thinking small for a hospital (and most American hospitals I've seen are pretty huge). I think there are only 4 floors here and it's not very wide. We came inside and I was given paperwork to fill out. Most of the forms are bilingual, but there were a couple that were Spanish only--you can ask Abraham to translate. While I was filling out paperwork, Abraham told me that there is a safe in the room with instructions on how to program it (just like the safe in the hotel room, which I forgot to mention) and that I could leave anything that didn't fit in the safe with the front desk if I wanted--I know I've read other threads where people said there are no safes, so I'm not sure why--I've been in 2 different rooms today and they definitely both have safes. After I filled out the paperwork, they brought me up to my pre-op room (I don't think that you usually get a different room for pre-op and post-op, but when I got here, all of the rooms on the floor where they normally keep us were full, waiting for some people to be discharged). A note about the room safes: you will probably need to get someone to open it for you when you first get into the room because it has to be open in order to program it with your own passcode. Because of my weird pre-op/post-op room situation, I opted not to use the safe in the first room and instead to just lock everything inside my carry-on bag because they told me that they were just going to have Abraham bring my stuff to my new room after I got out of surgery, which is what happened--everything was safe and sound. Almost forgot--before they took me up to the pre-op room, they weighed me and took my height. Then they took me up to the room. When we first got there, a nurse brought me a hospital gown and a pair of compression stockings to put on. For some reason, there is a hole (on purpose) in the bottom of each stocking, so I asked if I could put my slippers on over them while I was waiting. The room was freeing when I first got there, but Abraham turned up the heat for me. He left when it was time for me to change and told me that he would see me after surgery. After I changed, a nurse came to take my temp (they do it in your armpit) and my blood pressure. Next, a technician came to take my blood. My veins are notoriously hard to find and he was still at it when more nurses came to insert the IV and do the EKG, so they wound up helping him. Actually, one of the nurses had to resort to getting this special light that is designed to illuminate your veins under the skin's surface to find it and that worked. I want to take a moment out to say something about the nurses: I have seen a couple of threads where people say that the nurses here do not wash their hands and you have to ask them to do so, but 1) I have seen a nurse voluntarily wash her hands since I've been here and there is a giant bottle of hand sanitizer at the nurses' station (which is close to empty, so it's being used), 2) they do use latex gloves when drawing blood, and 3) it occurred to me that I never really *see* American nurses wash their hands either (I trust they do, but in my memory, it's doctors who visibly wash their hands in front of the patients). After my blood was drawn, IV started, and EKG done, I was left to wait while the labs were done and I believe it was Eduardo who came in and told me that a variety of doctors, including the anesthesiologist and Dr. Ortiz, would be coming to visit me and to be ready with any questions I had for them. The order of those visits is a little hazy because I started feeling sleepy again (naturally--they didn't put anything but saline in my IV at that time, although I am told that they would give you something to calm you down if needed) and I did doze off a bit. All of them asked me about any previous surgeries and other relevant questions like whether I have any drug allergies and told me what to expect. I didn't really have any questions for the anesthesiologist, but he was very informative and reassuring. Dr. Ortiz is awesome! Seriously, I know a lot of people prefer to choose Dr. Lopez instead of Ortiz because Lopez has more experience, but Ortiz has quite a lot of experience himself and Lopez taught him. If you're still deciding on a doctor and especially if you're using ALM, I highly recommend Elias Ortiz (not to be confused with Alejandro). If your surgery is during a time that Dr. Lopez is in TJ, he will assist Dr. Ortiz so you would have both of them anyway and even if Dr. Lopez isn't in town, Dr. Ortiz is very competent and capable. Plus, you save $200 ($250?) by going with Ortiz--that was not my reason for choosing Ortiz, but it is a nice bonus. When Dr. Ortiz came to talk to me, he gave me a lot of information, so I didn't have many questions for him either. He did mention that I would be allowed to have all the ice chips I wanted today, which surprised me because I thought that absolutely no liquids were allowed and that I would be dying from dry mouth. I did ask him whether it would be possible to know how much the removed part of my stomach weighed and he said that he would actually show it to me after surgery, which he did (but I was still groggy from the anesthesia, so it was a little blurry, but that's probably better, lol). I was also visited by another doctor before the anesthesiologist and Ortiz, but I don't remember who he was or what he had to say that was different from the other 2. When Ortiz came to see me, he told me that they were preparing the OR and I would be taken to surgery soon. I don't know what time it was when he said that and I dozed off again after he left so I don't know how long the wait was, but it didn't seem long before they came to wheel me away.

In the OR, a nurse helped the anesthesiologist get me ready for the anesthesia. I have to say, even after they got my hospital gown ready to be removed for surgery (had to get the gown over the IV bags to be able to be completely removed), they left me covered up since I didn't have to be naked for their purposes. It was nice to be completely covered when I went to sleep and when I woke up--nice to keep some dignity. When I woke up, it didn't seem like any time had passed, so I was surprised when they told me the surgery was over. I was also surprised because I wasn't in a lot of pain. As I became more awake and alert, I did feel some pain--nothing terrible, but enough to ask for something--so a nurse came and gave me something in the IV. Somewhere around there is when Dr. Ortiz showed me my stomach. It didn't seem like it took me very long to feel awake and alert, but they kept me in the recovery room for about 2 hours. I had already been advised by another sleever to get up and start walking as soon as possible after surgery because, in addition to all of the other reasons you probably already know (get the surgery gas out, prevent blood clots), it helps the anesthesia to wear off and you want to do that as soon as possible because the anesthesia can make you nauseous and/or vomit if it's in your system too long. I think they might have kept me in recovery a little too long because even though I got up and started walking as soon as they brought me to my [post-op] room, I did start to get nauseous after walking back and forth in the hallway about 15 times. I went to the bathroom to vomit, but every time I bent over, the nausea went away. Since I only felt it when I stood up, I decided to lay down then and I've felt much better since then. I can't remember if they gave me an IV injection for nausea right then (because I did tell the nurses how I felt), but they definitely did few hours later, according to schedule. They also gave me another injection for pain at that time, but I didn't necessarily need it--I passed on the following doses of pain medication and nausea medication because I really do feel much better. I've gone through lots of ice chips and done quite a bit of walking since then.

At some point, Eduardo came to visit and told me that Dr. Ortiz would be coming to check on me in a few hours. When he arrived, Dr. Ortiz reiterated what he had told me earlier about the order of things tomorrow--swallow test with blue liquid, x-ray with white liquid, waiting on lab results, then released to have fluids--then he told me about how the surgery went. He said the surgery itself was about 1 hour and 20 minutes, but it was about 2 hours total in the OR including being put to sleep and waking up. He asked me if I remembered seeing my stomach and commented that I was awake and alert faster than most patients. He said that I am doing really well overall and based on my vitals and the appearance of my drain and all of my behaviors since surgery, including being vigilant about walking, he does not anticipate any problems or complications. He told me what will happen over the next few days, including when he will come to my hotel room to remove the drain, and asked if I had questions. I asked if I could take his picture and he let me. He told me that the nurses would come in at 11 to give me something to help me sleep, which did happen, but it's after 12:30 now and I'm still not sleepy. I'm sure it's not that they didn't give me something that usually works, I'm just a really bad insomniac and sleeping pills often don't work on me (Ambien usually only keeps me asleep for 1-2 hours). I am going to go to the nurses' station now to see if there's anything else we can do now. Even though I feel pretty great, my body did just have a major trauma and I need rest. With that, I bid you good night. I tried to be thorough in my description, but I'm totally willing to answer questions. Also, I will post more tomorrow so you can know the details of how the post-op tests go and so on.

Thanks for sharing that awesome tip. Good luck tomorrow. I'm sure everything will go great for u.

I was sleeved today, actually. Surgery was successful with no issues and I'm doing well. I've walked the halls a few times, burped a bit, and don't feel much pain at all--gas or otherwise. I'll be writing up a more detailed account of the experience later.

I'm out of surgery, which was successful with no issues. I have walked the halls. I'm really sleepy now, so I'll write more later.

Best of luck to you! My surgery is today too! Leaving for the hospital in an hour.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers! I just woke up from sleeping for about 4 hours, but hopefully I'll be able to get a little more sleep before I get picked up to go to the hospital in 4 hours. I'll definitely be posting about how I'm doing and how things went as soon as I can after surgery.

Good luck to you. I'll be there Monday morning but you'll prob be gone by then.

Is there Wifi there?

Yeah, I'm flying home Monday. Best of luck to you too!

There is wi-fi at the hotel and in the hospital.

I flew to TJ today. I'm currently on only Clear Liquids, surgery tomorrow. My saving grace to get through the clear liquid stage has been Isopure, btw. I bought the ready-to-drink 20 oz bottles, which have 40 grams of Protein each. They keep me sated for about 4 hours (for me, every 10 grams of whey protein seems to keep me satisfied for an hour). They are expensive and I know a lot of people don't like the taste, but I have found that some flavors are better than others. The cheapest place that I have found them is luckyvitamin.com and they sell a flavor assortment--a dozen bottles, 6 flavors. Anyway, I went to school before I went to the airport, so it had been more than 4 hours since my Isopure by the time I got to the airport and I was STARVING, especially as I started to pass all the restaurants. And, of course, my departing gate was directly across from a Burger King. It turns out I was prepared, though. I actually bought Unjury chicken Soup flavor in packets for this very purpose. I brought 4 with me so that I would have enough for the airport coming and going. I also brought a food thermometer so that I could make sure that the Water is the proper temperature for the Unjury. I went to Starbucks and bought a 16 oz cup of hot water (they charged me 30 cents), which is enough for 2 packets of Unjury--like I said, I was STARVING--then I went to a table and pulled out the thermometer and the Unjury. The water was way too hot, but luckily, I had also bought a bottle of cold water before I got to Starbucks and, also luckily, they gave me 2 cups. I was too impatient to wait for the water to cool down on its own, so I poured half of the hot water into one of the cups then added cold until it got to the right temp (then poured some back so that it was back to 8 oz), added the Unjury and I was in heaven. I then repeated the process for the rest of the water and consumed the 2nd packet, for a total of 42 grams of protein. It helped me to survive the temptations at the airport and on the airplane (they came around with pretzels and they were selling food) and make the hour long car trip from the airport to the hotel. So, if you think that you might be hungry at the airport or during your flight or soon after and you're on clear liquids, I highly suggest bringing something like the Unjury chicken soup packets with you.

Thank you!

Do you know how long you would have to wait for the new insurance to cover your surgery? How long it would take to get approved? Ultimately, the decision is up to you, but having insurance that will cover your surgery and your after care is pretty nice.