Surviving Winter

We arrived back in Pennsylvania early January, just in time for the deep freeze. We haven’t had to deal with cold winter temperatures for a few years, so waking up to -20 degree below zero wind chills was a shock to our bodies. I have to say having the condo to stay in was quite comfortable so it was a good thing that we had purchased it in the fall. Definitely good to have a home base in Pittsburgh.

After getting back, we discovered that many in the family had the flu, so we couldn’t really get together with anyone at first. I decided to hibernate and stay healthy since I did not want to risk anything delaying my surgery. In January, I only went out for pre-op doctor’s appointments for surgical clearance and surgical prep information. I had the surgery to repair my hiatal hernia on January 27th.

The big snowstorm where we got over a foot of snow happened on the Sunday and Monday before my surgery. I had to be at the hospital by 6 am on Tuesday morning and luckily the roads were cleared and we had no issues driving in. Surgery went well and I was kept overnight for observation. It was the first time that I had a laproscopic procedure and I didn’t realize that they filled you up with air so they can see and work around your organs. That air caused the only pain I had to deal with. I guess in some people, it floats up to your shoulders and neck which unfortunately happened to me. I had a good bit of pain there until it dissipated. Other than that, I recovered fairly easily with minimal abdominal pain.

The biggest adjustment was the diet that I had to follow. For 4 days prior to surgery and 8 days after surgery, I was on a liquid diet. Then I started a soft diet for 6 weeks with very limited amounts of food to start. Surprisingly, eating only 4 ounces of cottage cheese filled me up. I wasn’t really hungry for more food until the last week or so. I am still on the soft diet for 2 more weeks, but I am at the point where I can add a few more foods. Needless to say, I continued to lose weight. Right now, I am down 52 lbs. since my first visit with the surgeon in August.

When he told me to lose 50 lbs. before surgery, I never thought I could do it on my own. Now I am hoping to lose just a little more and then keep it off for the rest of my life. Hopefully, I have made all of the right changes and made this healthy diet a lifestyle habit. What is most amazing to me is that I am down to a size 10 in pants. I never thought I would wear that size again. I am quite proud of myself.

Around the time of my surgery, our custom built Amish furniture arrived. I really like what we bought and it fits well in the apartment. After we got that in place, there were still a few empty places that I wanted to put bookcases. I found a style that I liked on Wayfair and purchased them during the President’s day sale. Katie came over and helped to put them together and now all we have left is to anchor those in place and fill them up. We also need to get some art on the walls. That will be a summer project for when we get back home.

Our dining room set; this is the smallest room so we went with a 42 in round table. fits perfectly!

living room with the new bookcases

bedroom set up with the new nightstands and dresser

Yes, back home. We are hoping the doctor will give me the go ahead for travel at my appointment this Friday. The weather got better recently, well at least warmer, and it is making me antsy to travel. Our plans are to head back to Florida, but take a longer way to get there and visit the 2 southern states we haven’t made it to yet: Arkansas and Louisiana. Hopefully we will be able to leave this weekend for the trip.

In the meantime, as I recuperated, we were able to see some family and friends. Some made it over here to see our new place and the rest we met out for lunch or dinner. It was a little difficult to find something on the menu I could eat but I managed. Now that we have a place in Pittsburgh, I am sure we will be seeing everyone more often. I anticipate that we will be spending about 5-6 months here every year, hopefully during warmer weather!

family get together in indiana, pa. john and randy got a little hidden in the back. we will have to get a better picture next time.

kim and greg came in for a visit last weekend and we got to have the family together for a nice lunch. unfortunately rosie had to miss it. hopefully we can do it again this summer.