passerpat

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Ok, so it has been just over 6 weeks and I'm doing great! I am down by (drumroll please) 53 pounds!! I've bought some new clothes already and have NO regrets. There have been some rough spots along the way. 2 weeks ago after my 1 month consult with my surgeon, he started me on solid food, meaning a little soft meat, eggs, etc. Well, let me tell you that while I was really pleased, my body was NOT! I liken that week to surgically-induced bulimea! I really didn't keep much down at ALL. Eat too fast? Back it comes. Eat 1 micron beyond full? Back it comes. Eat because it's mealtime, though you're not hungry? Back it comes. Don't chew enough? That's right, you got it, folks and all together now: back it comes! That all said, I've only regurgitated once in the last week. I can tell I've lost a lot of muscle tone. I feel soft. The upside to ANY phyiscal activity is the seemingly instantaneous results. Forinstance, I weighed in 2 days ago, Friday morning, and am down 53 pounds! I'll try to post more often here. I SO appreciate the support and prayers of my friends and family. Blessings, PasserPat

I had surgery 1 week ago. It went really well, just an hour & 10 minutes. Recovery room was sorta rough, with a lot of pain until they got the morphine figured out. The nurses were angels. Ice chips satisfied the dry mouth. I was up & walking in a couple of hours. I came home on Monday morning and with the help of a comfy recliner, occasional doses of Lortab, Direct TV, daily naps, the love of my dear wife and the Good Lord above . . . have lost 20 pounds in 1 week and and am feling better every day.

I have my first major case of the jitters this morning. I've been a pastor and worship leader for some 25 years and rarely get nervous any more before addressing a crowd of any size. If I do, though, it will be a few days beforehand. Someone asked me last night at church If I would reconsider the surgery and join him instead in Nutrisystem. I asked him how much he wanted to loose. He said, "30 pounds." I told him that to be where the charts say I should be for a man my height that I needed to loose TWO HUNDRED pounds! I think he better understands the medical necessity of this surgery. I just love my wife and our daughter so VERY MUCH that it kind of freaks me out to consider some of the potentially horrible consequences of this major surgery. I enjoy being strong for my ladies, being a leader and loving husband and father. I find profound fulfillment in being both husband and daddy. The thought of not being there for them or perhaps being permanently crippled somehow just sort of freaked me out this morning. The truth is that I've completeely failed at maintaining permanent weight loss through every diet I've undertaken. So, a week from tomorrow I'll be in the operating room. The nerves pass with considered reasoning. My surgeon has performed this surgery well in excess of four THOUSAND times over TWENTY SIX years. That is about as long as my career. If you need a pastor or music minister, I'm your guy. I'm at the top of my game and nothing surprises me anymore. My bariatric surgeon has performed, on average, 157 of these surgeries a year. It is about on par with how many services and rehearsals I lead per year. I've found a professional and I'm as safe as I can be under his knife and under his care. Add to that the watch-care of the good Lord above, and I'm in good shape, though still a little freaked-out this morning. I'm taking my ladies out for ice cream this afternoon after they get done with work & daycare respectively. I've never had a case of nerves so bad that a little ice cream can't handle. You know what they say, "One man's Prozac is another man's Pot Tart!" In the future I'll still take them out for some Baskin Robbins therapy, I'll feel better by NOT eating! Scattered thoughts: maybe it's time for a new super hero. Try these on for size; they kinda' roll off the tongue well: Patrick Bariatric! Gastro-Pastor! More later, PasserPat

10 days to go before my LAP RNY. As a person of faith, I've drawn strength and support from my church family and close friends. Even greater is the calm that comes from His Word, the Bible. As a pastor and minister of music it seems there is always some song going through my head that brings strength and calm. It has been tough being a quasi-public person (in front of a congrgation of 300+) every week and letting them know that I'll be out of the saddle for a time because of the surgery. I've found it somewhat difficult to expalin the necessity for this surgery and my journey to this point. It probably won't come as a galloping shock if I were to say to you that the church smiles on those who appear constantly victorious. Excess in anything (but giving) is usually frowned upon. I feel something of a failure to be at this point, but I'm heavier now than anytime in my life. There is a Scripture passage that has been rolling around in my mind these past few weeks. Matthew 5:30 reads, "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Jesus is speaking in the context of sin and is using this discriptive metaphor to address the issue of allowing sin to hamstring His children; that sin needs to be addressed and dealt with, not compensated for and tolerated. I believe that Jesus wants people to deal with root causes. So often we take a swipe at the spiderweb but don't squish the spider. Truth be told, I've sinned against my body, my wife and child, my church family, and the Lord by overeating. My somach offendeth me. I'm gonna' cut it off! I've overeaten enough for 2 lifetimes. I've consumed enough food to sustain entire third-world communities! I want my life back, my energy back, and let someone else have my Chili's babyback ribs! I'm hoping to use this experience and my blog posts as the seedbed of perhaps a book I'll write. There isn't - to my knowledge - a book from a Christian/Pastoral perspective on Weight Loss Surgery. More later, To God Be The Glory.