I got approved

Me and Missy have been working towards getting approved for Gastric bypass, Roux en-Y surgery for the past 4 months. There is so much to it than what I new before I started all this and I know I'm ready for it. We've went through this journey at the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical Weight Loss, and though it wasn't my first choice, I'm very happy that we did as they know what they are doing and have our interest at heart, not the money they will get from the surgery.

For those who know nothing about this surgery, please educate yourself here. There is so much preparation for this surgery and for how I will live my life afterwards (for the rest of my life). I know there are some ignorant people who will think that I'm taking the easy way out. For those people who say it or think it (and haven't had to live a day in my shoes) think about this. After surgery I'll have a stomach the size of your thumb, I'll have to eat slowly and hope I don't eat more than the 2 to 3 TBS that my stomach can hold (overtime this will increase to a normal amount, if I do I'll enjoy much discomfort and eventually vomit. If I eat something with more than 5 grams of sugar or fat (which isn't much if you look at nutritional facts) I'll go through dumping, which will include symptoms of weakness, bloating, cramping, dizziness, diarrhea and vomiting.  I have to drink 64 oz of water a day, but I can't drink 30 minutes before a meal, 45 minutes after a meal or during a meal and because of the size of my stomach, I'll only be able to sip water, all day long. I'll have to take supplements for the rest of my life, Calcium Citrate w/ Vitamin D (1500 mg) a day, but in 500mg increments, at least 2 hours apart, B12 & a B complex, a Multivitamin (that can't be taken at the same time as the Calcium, as they compete for absorption) and protein (which must be the first part of every meal, and must be 70 g a day), for the rest of my life. And for the rest of my life I will have to see my doctor and nutritionist once a year. So still think it's the easy way out? And this is just a tool, I still have to exercise 5 days a week and fix how I got this way. So this will be a long hard, life long journey, but I'm happy about it.

Missy has already had surgery (she had surgery on 12/29/08) and i recuperating fine. I was just approved last Thursday for my surgery and once I receive the paperwork from the insurance company, my surgery will be scheduled. We'll see what happens.

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Home Renovations Part 1

So this weekend continued the renovations that were started well over a month ago. The plan was that my wife wanted the wall opened up (with a half wall and bar counter) between the living room and dining room. 

While this for surely will not be the most difficult thing she ever asks me to do, it is very involved for a guy who does nothing less than perfect or nearly perfect. This wall is of course a load bearing wall, which doesn't make this impossible, just more difficult. 

I've done the demolition work of removing all the drywall. I'm glad I removed all the drywall on this wall as it uncovered the dirty secrets that the previous owner left for me. He decided to close up one doorway (no problem) and widen another (also no problem, if done right). Of course, like every other thing I've found that this guy did, it was done half-assed. He did not remove the previous header and add a new header for the new doorway size (going from 3 ft to 5 ft), he simply cut the king & jack studs in the way of the new doorway size he wanted and put trim up around it to hide his dirty secret. With the drywall off, it was very obvious and I could see where the header along with what was left of the header's king stud was starting to bow (not good at all). So now, instead of one header that I need to add, I now have 1 header to add for my hole and a header to replace for the previous owner's f@*k up (if this guy wasn't dead, I'd kick his ass, and I've thought about digging him up to kick his ass, but the jail time isn't worth it).

Fast forward 2 weeks and that is all done now, all the electric rerouted around the hole, support walls raised and the hole cut and header put up  and half wall for counter finished, along with the header removed from the widened door and the correct header put up. That was so much of work and all I can say is that the Dewalt reciprocating saw that I bought is the most awesome and scariest tool I've ever used. The wood and metal cutting blades were well used (and some well bent) to removed studs and to cut through all the nails that were in the way of me removing those studs and the header.

This weekend's work was starting the drywalling. I was really dreading this since Missy's been laid up from her GB surgery. The 4' x 8' sheets of drywall, while not all that heavy, are very awkward to handle, especially when putting the top ones in. I've gotten 2/3's of this finished and I've found the most difficult part to be cutting the holes for the outlets and switches. I've done one but I have 2 more to go. The Dremel I used, I found could very quickly get away from you. I'll post some pics on here soon.

I'll see what I get done this week & this coming weekend, though I've got very little time before my GB surgery that is up coming. Here's my list of things to still work on, in no particular order.

• Install new dishwasher
• Finish installing drywall in living room
• Drywall column in Family room
• Install edging for drywall in both areas
• Mud drywall in both rooms
• Install new door knobs for bathrooms and closets in house
• Replace old outlets and switches in living room
• Install GFCI outlets in kitchen
• Replace light switch in main bathroom

Looks like I've got no time to sit around and watch TV.

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