Thursday 29th January 2009
Orientation day at Tafe had to fall on the hottest day of the year, it reached 45.5c. I arrived at 8.45 am just in case I got lost but I was able to find the auditorium without any trouble. I took a seat in the second row, and waited, the minutes ticked by slowly, the room was already stifling.
Finally 9 am arrived and the introduction began, we were handed our timetable which is full on, starting at 9 am, 1 hour for lunch then 1 till 4pm 5 days a week, we have Tuesday mornings off but we work through to 8pm.
We were split up into 2 groups of 13 & 15, 9 of us are mature aged, 10 are international students and 1 male the rest are young girls.
We were taken on a tour of the class rooms, & Lab, we were shown our uniform which consists of navy blue trousers & either a pale blue polo shirt or shirt. We then proceeded to the library for a talk on the computers & books etc, then the bookshop to purchase our text books. There are 7 in all totalling $541, and weigh a ton.
I carried the bags of books back to the car just as the news came on it was already 41c.
I picked Bec & Paige up from her house & came home to find the aircon not working properly, by now it was 43c. We watched some more ER then checked the weather it had reached 45.5c...Hottest day on record!
We sweltered....
Dave came home at 6.30 all hot & bothered the aircon in his truck had broken down & he was driving in Melbourne. We turned off the aircon to give it a break & clean the filters..what we found is that it had iced up.
So we are sitting here waiting for it to thaw it shouldn't take too long.
January 29, 2009
January 25, 2009
Dear Diary
Friday 23rd January
Feeling fairly sore, the swelling in my stomach has gone down considerably and the bruising is starting to come out. Had a yoghurt & coffee for breakfast, got dressed and went and picked Bec & Paige up and went to Corio shops. I had a hair appointment at 2pm. We started looking at long pants for me to wear to Tafe, I was after long black trousers. We went into Autograph, I found a lovely pair of pants so I instinctivly grabbed a 24, went into the change room & tried them on, they fell off, so I asked Bec to grab me a 22, they were loose, so I tried on a 20 they were comfortable, even with my swollen stomach. So I grabbed a 22 & 20 just for the comfort side of things. They were on sale reduced from $59.95 to $24.95. We went to Millers next I found a pair of black/grey denim jeans for $30.
We had a look through Kmart but they had nothing interesting, it was time for my haircut.
I went in and gave Sam free range, I wanted a new look, something easy to look after. Chocoate colour with copper highlights.
Sam cut off all my perm and gave me a bob type of style, at first I didn't like it but once she blow waved it I was over the moon.
When Dave arrived home he was carrying flowers, which he gave to me with a big smirk on his face, he just shook his head and said "Gday Geraldine". He walked off laughing, I went up to him and asked if there was something onmy face or was my bum sticking out or something. He just said "No, you look like the Vicar of Dibley" and proceeded to crack up again. I threatened him with me cutting it all off with the clippers but he called my bluff knowing I wouldnt do that just before Tafe stated. So now his pet nickname for me is Geraldine...
Saturday 24th January
Bec, Paige & I went to the Beckley market to buy my 3/4 sleeve shirts, they had them there for $12 so I bought 3, I got a discount & only paid $32 for them. I got 2 x 22 & 1 x 20. Blue, white & white/stripe.
Visited Daryl, Fe &the kids
Spent a quiet afternoon at home.
Sunday 25th January
Bec, Paige & myself went to the showgrounds market in Geelong just to get out & do some walking. We got some cheap fruit, bananas $2 kg as was the grapes & nectarines. I bought a nursing book for $2 and Bec got some shoes for $35.
Came home & rested.
Monday 26th January
Went to the Corio shops, found some comfortable black enclosed shoes for Tafe & will be suitable for nursing as well, theyre from Homyped $129 so have ordered them as they had none in my size was a surprise Im a 10 1/2. Will hopefully arrive next week.
Tuesday 27th January
Drove to Bendigo in the Nissan as we needed the aircon as the temp up there was over 40c. Got there at 1pm, had lunch at the hospital & went & waited for my breast ultrasound. At 2.20 pm I was taken in & screened. Everything appeared ok.
Wandered around the shops waiting for the traffic to go and for it to cool down a bit, we left at 5.30 arriving just about 7.40pm.
Wednesday 28 th January
Spent the day at home watching season 1 of ER had the aircon on full as the temp was 43c, Paige slept on the couch till 8.30 pm then stayed up until 12pm little sod...
Feeling fairly sore, the swelling in my stomach has gone down considerably and the bruising is starting to come out. Had a yoghurt & coffee for breakfast, got dressed and went and picked Bec & Paige up and went to Corio shops. I had a hair appointment at 2pm. We started looking at long pants for me to wear to Tafe, I was after long black trousers. We went into Autograph, I found a lovely pair of pants so I instinctivly grabbed a 24, went into the change room & tried them on, they fell off, so I asked Bec to grab me a 22, they were loose, so I tried on a 20 they were comfortable, even with my swollen stomach. So I grabbed a 22 & 20 just for the comfort side of things. They were on sale reduced from $59.95 to $24.95. We went to Millers next I found a pair of black/grey denim jeans for $30.
We had a look through Kmart but they had nothing interesting, it was time for my haircut.
I went in and gave Sam free range, I wanted a new look, something easy to look after. Chocoate colour with copper highlights.
Sam cut off all my perm and gave me a bob type of style, at first I didn't like it but once she blow waved it I was over the moon.
When Dave arrived home he was carrying flowers, which he gave to me with a big smirk on his face, he just shook his head and said "Gday Geraldine". He walked off laughing, I went up to him and asked if there was something onmy face or was my bum sticking out or something. He just said "No, you look like the Vicar of Dibley" and proceeded to crack up again. I threatened him with me cutting it all off with the clippers but he called my bluff knowing I wouldnt do that just before Tafe stated. So now his pet nickname for me is Geraldine...
Saturday 24th January
Bec, Paige & I went to the Beckley market to buy my 3/4 sleeve shirts, they had them there for $12 so I bought 3, I got a discount & only paid $32 for them. I got 2 x 22 & 1 x 20. Blue, white & white/stripe.
Visited Daryl, Fe &the kids
Spent a quiet afternoon at home.
Sunday 25th January
Bec, Paige & myself went to the showgrounds market in Geelong just to get out & do some walking. We got some cheap fruit, bananas $2 kg as was the grapes & nectarines. I bought a nursing book for $2 and Bec got some shoes for $35.
Came home & rested.
Monday 26th January
Went to the Corio shops, found some comfortable black enclosed shoes for Tafe & will be suitable for nursing as well, theyre from Homyped $129 so have ordered them as they had none in my size was a surprise Im a 10 1/2. Will hopefully arrive next week.
Tuesday 27th January
Drove to Bendigo in the Nissan as we needed the aircon as the temp up there was over 40c. Got there at 1pm, had lunch at the hospital & went & waited for my breast ultrasound. At 2.20 pm I was taken in & screened. Everything appeared ok.
Wandered around the shops waiting for the traffic to go and for it to cool down a bit, we left at 5.30 arriving just about 7.40pm.
Wednesday 28 th January
Spent the day at home watching season 1 of ER had the aircon on full as the temp was 43c, Paige slept on the couch till 8.30 pm then stayed up until 12pm little sod...
January 22, 2009
Surgery
Tuesday the 20th of January came along with a heat wave, I was up at 6.30 am so I could have my last optislim & coffee before fasting. I played on the computer for a couple of hours, packed my bag, had a shower, got dressed & checked the train timetable again just in case there was any changes due to the heat.
I walked over to the bus stop at 11.27am and caught the 11.30am bus to the train station, I had thought about walking but it was already hot & humid. It only cost $1 and I got a timestable for the start of the school year. Bought my train ticket to Footscray $3.30 and waited outside as it was cooler. The train arrived at 11.46am and was packed at least I managed a seat. The train arrived in Footscray at 12.24am, I started to walk to the hospital as it was only 4km, I got about 10 minutes down the road before I could feel I was getting dehydrated due to no water, I saw a cab waiting at the lights & yelled out to him "Are you free?" "Yes " he replied so I ran across the raod and jumped in, he was wearing a jumper, he was from Africa and didnt feel the heat. On the temperature monitor in the car the outside temp was 42c. He dropped me off at the Western Hospital, my first thought was my god and this is private it was a dump. I went to information to find out where admissions were, I went upstairs and introduced myself, the clerk said " your not on my list, take a seat & I'll find out what is happening" I sat down and thought about where I was, I went up & asked if there was another admissions area. she said "Are you private or public?" I said "private" She replied "you need to go across the road to the Western Private Hospital". So I followed her instructions on how to get there and got lost, by this time it was 12.55pm & I had to be at admissions by 1pm. I was hot & bothered my pulse was racing & my blood pressure was up, my face was red & sweaty. I finally found an exit where I went down a ramp out onto a street & across the road was a lovely new hospital. I went in and sat down waiting to see the admissions clerk.
I was taken upstairs to the ward where I had a room with another patient with a ensuite, our own tv.
I was put into my gown, had an ECG done & finger blood test to check my glucose level which was 4.9. My pulse was fast & blood pressure was high but soon came down. I laid down and watched tv waiting, I was the last on the list which made me feel uncomfortable.
Finally at 7.22pm they came and took me to theatre, I was given a nebuliser & antibiotics before being operated on around 8.15pm. Jason came in before hand and saw me and calmed me down.
I woke up back in the ward around 10.30pm and was up out of bed by 11.30pm then every hour I got up and went walking to help move the gas in my chest. At 4.30am I asked for some pain relief the nurse brought in 2 Panadol which did nothing, another nusre came in afterwards and could see I was still in pain and brought me back an Endone. I managed to sleep for an hour which was good. Breakfast came at 8.45am I was given a glass of apple juice & black tea, I left it on the tray, Jason came in to check on me and asked if i was hungry I said
"yeah starving", he asked why I didnt have what's on the tray, I told him I cant drink apple juice it makes me vomit & I need a little skim milk in my tea, and when I asked the kitchen staff for some milk she snapped at me saying your on clear liquids. He turned to the nurse and asked her to get me a glasss of orange juice & some milk. He was happy with my fluid intake as I had already drunk 2 litres and kept it down and as I was walking around the ward I could go home. I had a shower after breakfast & was ready & waiting by 9.45am, I was escorted downstairs at 9.55am and John was waiting for me in the foyer, he had brought the Nissan to make it easier for me to get in & out of.
We arrived home at 10.45 am, I changed into a nightie and made myself a cup of tea, took an Endone, rang Bec to let her know I was okay then spoke to Dave, went to bed for a couple of hours then sat up & watched some tv. Dave rang wanting to know if I needed anything from the shop, so I asked for some custard, Codalgin & a pill cutter.
He came home around 6.30pm, I had 1 cup of warm runny custard for tea, it was lovely.
Watched tv in bed till Dave came in wanting to sleep so I watched ER out in the lounge, then played on the coputer till 2.30am, went to bed and slept till 6.45am, got up took some pills ,had a drink and went back to bed till 8.30.I got up and got dressed, I'm feeling worse today, all the bruising is comming out and the gas is still trapped under my ribs & between the breat bone feels like really bad heartburn. Sometimes it hurts to breathe.
For breakfast I had a Sanitarium Up & Go breakfast drink which took half an hour to get down, I then had an Optislim for lunch. At 3.30pm I went over to Bec's for a cup of tea & to get out of the house. I stayed for 1 hour then came home. Poor Paige wanted to get onto my lap for a cuddle and she couldnt, she was so upset which upset me in turn.
Tonight I'm having 1 cup of chicken soup for tea & I'm looking forward to it.
I have to stay on this liquid diet for the next 2 weeks.
I walked over to the bus stop at 11.27am and caught the 11.30am bus to the train station, I had thought about walking but it was already hot & humid. It only cost $1 and I got a timestable for the start of the school year. Bought my train ticket to Footscray $3.30 and waited outside as it was cooler. The train arrived at 11.46am and was packed at least I managed a seat. The train arrived in Footscray at 12.24am, I started to walk to the hospital as it was only 4km, I got about 10 minutes down the road before I could feel I was getting dehydrated due to no water, I saw a cab waiting at the lights & yelled out to him "Are you free?" "Yes " he replied so I ran across the raod and jumped in, he was wearing a jumper, he was from Africa and didnt feel the heat. On the temperature monitor in the car the outside temp was 42c. He dropped me off at the Western Hospital, my first thought was my god and this is private it was a dump. I went to information to find out where admissions were, I went upstairs and introduced myself, the clerk said " your not on my list, take a seat & I'll find out what is happening" I sat down and thought about where I was, I went up & asked if there was another admissions area. she said "Are you private or public?" I said "private" She replied "you need to go across the road to the Western Private Hospital". So I followed her instructions on how to get there and got lost, by this time it was 12.55pm & I had to be at admissions by 1pm. I was hot & bothered my pulse was racing & my blood pressure was up, my face was red & sweaty. I finally found an exit where I went down a ramp out onto a street & across the road was a lovely new hospital. I went in and sat down waiting to see the admissions clerk.
I was taken upstairs to the ward where I had a room with another patient with a ensuite, our own tv.
I was put into my gown, had an ECG done & finger blood test to check my glucose level which was 4.9. My pulse was fast & blood pressure was high but soon came down. I laid down and watched tv waiting, I was the last on the list which made me feel uncomfortable.
Finally at 7.22pm they came and took me to theatre, I was given a nebuliser & antibiotics before being operated on around 8.15pm. Jason came in before hand and saw me and calmed me down.
I woke up back in the ward around 10.30pm and was up out of bed by 11.30pm then every hour I got up and went walking to help move the gas in my chest. At 4.30am I asked for some pain relief the nurse brought in 2 Panadol which did nothing, another nusre came in afterwards and could see I was still in pain and brought me back an Endone. I managed to sleep for an hour which was good. Breakfast came at 8.45am I was given a glass of apple juice & black tea, I left it on the tray, Jason came in to check on me and asked if i was hungry I said
"yeah starving", he asked why I didnt have what's on the tray, I told him I cant drink apple juice it makes me vomit & I need a little skim milk in my tea, and when I asked the kitchen staff for some milk she snapped at me saying your on clear liquids. He turned to the nurse and asked her to get me a glasss of orange juice & some milk. He was happy with my fluid intake as I had already drunk 2 litres and kept it down and as I was walking around the ward I could go home. I had a shower after breakfast & was ready & waiting by 9.45am, I was escorted downstairs at 9.55am and John was waiting for me in the foyer, he had brought the Nissan to make it easier for me to get in & out of.
We arrived home at 10.45 am, I changed into a nightie and made myself a cup of tea, took an Endone, rang Bec to let her know I was okay then spoke to Dave, went to bed for a couple of hours then sat up & watched some tv. Dave rang wanting to know if I needed anything from the shop, so I asked for some custard, Codalgin & a pill cutter.
He came home around 6.30pm, I had 1 cup of warm runny custard for tea, it was lovely.
Watched tv in bed till Dave came in wanting to sleep so I watched ER out in the lounge, then played on the coputer till 2.30am, went to bed and slept till 6.45am, got up took some pills ,had a drink and went back to bed till 8.30.I got up and got dressed, I'm feeling worse today, all the bruising is comming out and the gas is still trapped under my ribs & between the breat bone feels like really bad heartburn. Sometimes it hurts to breathe.
For breakfast I had a Sanitarium Up & Go breakfast drink which took half an hour to get down, I then had an Optislim for lunch. At 3.30pm I went over to Bec's for a cup of tea & to get out of the house. I stayed for 1 hour then came home. Poor Paige wanted to get onto my lap for a cuddle and she couldnt, she was so upset which upset me in turn.
Tonight I'm having 1 cup of chicken soup for tea & I'm looking forward to it.
I have to stay on this liquid diet for the next 2 weeks.
January 18, 2009
An update on my weight loss
Its been almost 2 weeks of nothing but Optislim & vegetables, somedays have been harder than others, easpecially when I have to go down to the shops for some fresh vegetables, all I can smell is the fresh baked bread & cooked chickens..I walk along practically drooling over the glass counter where the chickens are kept. Everything smells so good, even the fish...
I am getting very nervous about the proceedure as its a permanent thing, not something I can change my mind when I want to eat a big piece of steak, its life changing. I know health wise its the best thing to do but Im still scared. All my other surgeries have been neccessary this one is totally elective. Although Ive already started planning my surgery for when Ive lost all my weight, I want to have a tummy tuck & breast lift, apparently they can do the proceedure in one go to lessen any problems
The pain doesnt worry me its the vomiting afterwards with the band in.
I will have a weigh-in in the morning & see if Ive lost anything since I started.
Today is Monday the 19th January Ive lost 2.1 kg I now weigh 114.3 kg...one day to go
I am getting very nervous about the proceedure as its a permanent thing, not something I can change my mind when I want to eat a big piece of steak, its life changing. I know health wise its the best thing to do but Im still scared. All my other surgeries have been neccessary this one is totally elective. Although Ive already started planning my surgery for when Ive lost all my weight, I want to have a tummy tuck & breast lift, apparently they can do the proceedure in one go to lessen any problems
The pain doesnt worry me its the vomiting afterwards with the band in.
I will have a weigh-in in the morning & see if Ive lost anything since I started.
Today is Monday the 19th January Ive lost 2.1 kg I now weigh 114.3 kg...one day to go
January 06, 2009
My weight loss journey
This is the first day of the rest of my life.....
My weight loss journey started many years ago with fad diets then other weight loss plans, such as Atkins, CSIRO, Pritkins then in 2000 I went on Jenny Craig. In 8 months I lost over 43kg, I used to walk 8km every morning then do 1 hour of low impact aerobics, I kept the weight off for 6 months then became ill & the weight came back on and then some. I ended up over the 120kg, I ignored it as much as possible. Then my knees gave out, developed high cholesterol but still I kept my head in the sand, not looking at mirrors just buying even larger clothing, tents I should say. My belly ended bigger than my boobs, even trying to cut my toenails was an effort. Towards the end of 2007 I attended a seminar in Melbourne regarding lap band surgery, I decided that was for me, but I had to wait till my private health cover kicked in as the proceedure was over $12,000 if not insured.
In January 2008 I weighed myself and was absolutly horrified I weighed 136.6kg but still did nothing about it. Mid 2008 I attended another seminar this time in Werribee, afterwards I met the surgeon Mr Jason Winnett and felt comfortable with him so the following week I saw my GP and got a referral.
In October I saw Mr Winnett, was weighed (by now I was 125.3kg), measured and we discussed the proceedure, was then referred to a dietician & respiratory physician. A follow up appointment was made with Mr Winnett to book my surgery, which is set for the 20th January.
Meanwhile I saw my GP for blood test results which indicated that I had developed Type 2 Diabetes, I was in shock for days invisioning daily injections. I stopped using sugar replacing it with splenda and cutting my meal portions down, I also cut my coffee intake.
I weighed myself again on the 2nd January and was 118.1kg even over xmas I managed to lose weight, so in 1 year I had managed to lose 18.5kg, with no exercise or real diet plan.
On Tuesday the 6th January I started on Optislim replacing all 3 meals, I have to do this for 14 days before surgery to help shrink and reduce some of the fatty deposits around the stomach & liver. On the box it says great taste yeah right might be for someone who has no taste buds, I gag trying to drink it. So I weighed myself & my start weight prior to surgery is 116.4kg. I also have to have 2 cups a day of either broccoli, spinach, beans or brussel sprouts, to help with fibre intake.
Have paid the surgeon $3200 & $1200 for the anaethatist. So that leaves $500 for the hospital which is the excess. So I'm counting down the days......
My weight loss journey started many years ago with fad diets then other weight loss plans, such as Atkins, CSIRO, Pritkins then in 2000 I went on Jenny Craig. In 8 months I lost over 43kg, I used to walk 8km every morning then do 1 hour of low impact aerobics, I kept the weight off for 6 months then became ill & the weight came back on and then some. I ended up over the 120kg, I ignored it as much as possible. Then my knees gave out, developed high cholesterol but still I kept my head in the sand, not looking at mirrors just buying even larger clothing, tents I should say. My belly ended bigger than my boobs, even trying to cut my toenails was an effort. Towards the end of 2007 I attended a seminar in Melbourne regarding lap band surgery, I decided that was for me, but I had to wait till my private health cover kicked in as the proceedure was over $12,000 if not insured.
In January 2008 I weighed myself and was absolutly horrified I weighed 136.6kg but still did nothing about it. Mid 2008 I attended another seminar this time in Werribee, afterwards I met the surgeon Mr Jason Winnett and felt comfortable with him so the following week I saw my GP and got a referral.
In October I saw Mr Winnett, was weighed (by now I was 125.3kg), measured and we discussed the proceedure, was then referred to a dietician & respiratory physician. A follow up appointment was made with Mr Winnett to book my surgery, which is set for the 20th January.
Meanwhile I saw my GP for blood test results which indicated that I had developed Type 2 Diabetes, I was in shock for days invisioning daily injections. I stopped using sugar replacing it with splenda and cutting my meal portions down, I also cut my coffee intake.
I weighed myself again on the 2nd January and was 118.1kg even over xmas I managed to lose weight, so in 1 year I had managed to lose 18.5kg, with no exercise or real diet plan.
On Tuesday the 6th January I started on Optislim replacing all 3 meals, I have to do this for 14 days before surgery to help shrink and reduce some of the fatty deposits around the stomach & liver. On the box it says great taste yeah right might be for someone who has no taste buds, I gag trying to drink it. So I weighed myself & my start weight prior to surgery is 116.4kg. I also have to have 2 cups a day of either broccoli, spinach, beans or brussel sprouts, to help with fibre intake.
Have paid the surgeon $3200 & $1200 for the anaethatist. So that leaves $500 for the hospital which is the excess. So I'm counting down the days......
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