1. 2nd Lap Band Fill
On August 13th, I had an appointment at True Results Aftercare to get my second fill for my lap band. A fill consists of a doctor taking my weight and vitals before discussing how i'm feeling about the band, how i've been eating, and what I want to do. Then, I lay back and the doctor pushes down on my stomach, about 2 inches below my biggest incision to find my port (my port is a little piece of hard and soft plastic that has been sewn into the muscle of my stomach and is used to put in or take out saline) before putting a big (I mean, really big) needle in there. The stick is uncomfortable, as all needle sticks are, but it is not very painful and is over quickly so I just breathe. When the needle has gone through the soft plastic of my port, the doctor pulls a little saline out to make sure they are in the right spot, then injects more saline in to make my band tighter. This will hopefully help keep me full longer, allowing my to lose weight and eat about 2-3 times a day without being hungry in between meals.
Anyway, I got another .5 ccs added to my band, bringing it up to 4.6 ccs out of 11 that the band can hold. I am very pleased with it and am super excited. I wont lie, even though I had surgery and i'm eating right and doing what I can to lose weight, I still expect the scale to go up when I step on it. I still expect to be disappointed at having gained weight, because that is what I am so used to after my year of injury. However, today I stepped on and lost another 2 lbs. I'm feeling great and now I have lost a total of 32.8 lbs since August! I can't believe it!
My Second Fill
My photo from August 13, 2014
It can be found here: My fitblr
2. Girls' Day
My roommate Amber took me for a girls' day that consisted of shopping for practicum/work clothes, getting our hair cut, and getting our nails done before coming home to hang out for a while before heading to the hookah bar just the two of us. It was great to get out of the house and spend time with Amber; she's not just my roommate, she's my best friend and we spent a lot of our summer apart. So, we had a good time doing girly things and increasing our confidence by improving our outward appearance. It's crazy what a $7.99 (we had coupons) hair cut can do. We talked a lot and played with Lily which was nice; and it had been so long since we'd visited the hookah bar that we were received with big hugs by the owner. It was a great way to help us feel prepared for the semester by taking a mental health/relaxation day together.
Amber at the Hookah Bar
My photo from August 2014
Hookah Bar Selfie
My photo from August 2014
3. Practicum Training
So, this semester I am doing a 300 hour, unpaid practicum at Calm Waters in OKC. Calm Waters is an amazing non-profit group that holds support groups for families dealing with grief, specifically death and divorce. The people there are great and the service they provide is so important. Knowing this, I knew my practicum would be interesting, but I was a little peeved that I would have to spend so much gas money to go work for free at an agency that's 45 minutes away in North OKC. However, I had training Friday and Saturday where I learned what group facilitation will be like, what to expect, how to cope with things, etc and now I am so excited about the work I will be doing and the huge amounts of experience I will gain. I really think it is going to be a great experience!!
Here's the website in case you want to check Calm Waters out. They run almost entirely on volunteers... just sayin'.. Calm Waters
Congratulations on the lap band! That must be really exciting to be seeing such results and finally becoming healthy. I need to get back into my healthy habits. I fell out of them during dead week last semester and it’s been really difficult getting back into it. I really love the hookah bar in Norman. It’s such a chill place. Have you been to Bell’s Mystical Beginning or Sage and Sandalwood (I believe that’s what it’s called). They’re a couple of amazing shops on Main Street you might like!
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