Before I begin my long winded and hopefully comprehensive account of my surgery and experience I have to say a big thank you to all of you guys. The messages of support, encouragement, and concern has been overwhelming. When planning my aftercare it was important to have a strong support group. You guys exceed anything I had hoped for, I only hope I give back half as much.

Thank you! Your kindness is unmatched!

So, the details....are you ready for a long one?

My husband and I arrived at the airport several hours before our shuttle pick up so we took a cab into the city. My husband was born in La Jolla but left at a very early age. His father studied at Scripps Institute of Oceanography and really want us to see it. Our cab driver was so nice, he heard our story and was eager to take us and snap pictures once we got there. His daughter had WLS a few years prior so we connected quickly. He drove us around the waterfront and right back to the airport, but before exchanging numbers with my husband so he could follow up on my surgery. Before I forget, he called 3 times the day after surgery to check on me, once my husband texted him back he responded with relief and said we were the nicest people he had ever met. he was a such a genuine person, I feel so lucky that karma/fate/God had our paths cross.

Back at the airport, at the meeting spot I met one of my friends here on the site and immediately started chatting away. We didn't realize there were two other patients near by until the van pulled up and did roll call.

Once on the van it was instant sharing and bonding! We all shared the basics, where we were from, family, kids, careers, etc. the ride seemed extremely short and crossing the border was a breeze.

We arrived at the hospital for paperwork, blood work, and EKG. The only two notable things about this process was the cardiologist was 77 years old and was so cute I had to get a picture. I could have put him in my pocket. His English was not the best but there was a nurse available to translate any questions. A woman in our group had heart issues previously and requested an Echo cardio gram. She was taken to a separate clinic were she said it was the most thorough Echo she had ever had. The results were printed and given to her on a disk. She was cleared for surgery.

We checked into the hotel, which is very nice! Settled in for the night and were given a time to meet the van the next morning for surgery. There were a total of 9 on my day. Four of us went at 6 am, I went with 2 others at 8:45am, and the others must have come later.

The surgery process is like a German train station. By the time we got there one person was done, one was in the operating room, one was on deck and the fourth was chatting with us until it was her turn. Our group went the same. While I was "on deck" I could hear them cleaning the OR and was comforted. Soon the next person arrived and was behind a certain next to me, just as I got a little scared she asked about NSV I was looking for, and just like that my mind was refocused.

Then it was my turn, I was wheeled back into the OR, I remember the anesthesiologist talking to me (he has braces), I asked if this is was the part where I said goodnight, he said "almost". I remember just a couple minutes beyond that, then it was lights out. The next thing I remember is the nurses helping me into the wheelchair to head back down to my room. My husband got a drunk picture of me coming off the elevator. He will get payback for that!

I remember trying to walk to soon, my husband said I wasn't steady enough just yet. But as soon as I was able I began to walk, oh and take a gas x strip. I walked a little at a time but got it done. We all visited together until visiting hours were over, then the night set in. I'll have to be honest, I got very little sleep. I had no nausea but the uncomfortableness was significant. I had a little cough and boy did that hurt my tummy. One roommate was pretty nauseous and had a rough night dry heaving. The other had nausea, no dry heaving but elevated blood pressure which was concerning. So between the three of us we were a hot mess. Just when one of us would get comfortable the next person would get restless, and so on.

We were all glad to go to the hospital the early the next morning.

To be continued (don't worry, no problems to report)....