The Donation Diaries Episode 4 - Ready, Set, Go
The adventures continue!
So all the tests are finally done. I am psychologically sound, physically fit and ready to kiss half of my well loved and well used liver goodbye. The only thing that the doctors are concerned about is that I am too "active" they're all worried I'm going to sneak out to the gym too early and bust all my internal sutures. Considering the result is an incision hernia, I think I'll pass. Having my digestive tract squishing out of my stomach doesn't sound like a fair trade for hitting the treadmill. That being said, the minute I get the green light I'm back at the gym. There is no way that I'm going to be able to jump into being a DiveMaster if I don't work at slowly getting my strength back. But one step at a time, I need to remind myself that I'm not superwoman and I'm not 27 anymore (even though that's what I tell everyone!)
We had a meeting with my surgeon and the transplant coordinator last week and got the ol' green light in a rather unceremonious "ok good to go, sign on the line" fashion. For some reason I thought it would be a bit more celebratory; disappointingly there were no showers of confetti or helium balloons to mark my passing the most important tests of my life (and I didn't even have to study!!!) Oh well...
After both me and mom signed on the dotted line we were informed that our surgery had been moved up to August 20th in an equally "so we'll see you on August 20th" fashion ...what!!!!...apparently the family that had the August 20th spot booked no longer needed it so we were in. Both me and mom had been mentally preparing ourselves for a 7 week time frame so it was a bit of shock to be told that we now only had less than 4! Ya, it's good for us; the sooner the better, but mentally it's a lot to digest and time wise it puts us under quite a bit of stress to get the things done that we need to do before we're admitted.
For myself, I was hoping to get myself into the best shape possible before the operation, something that given 7 weeks I could have accomplished, now with 3 weeks left until surgery day that doesn't look like it's going to be possible. Of course I will work as hard as I can until then but Canada has a way of making me fat regardless of how many hours I spend in the gym. It is times like these that I long to be back home surrounded by somtam and low calories Thai tasties in normal sized portions instead of being stranded in fat laden suburbia where cheese is more plentiful than green mangoes and pineapple. I have found myself more than once wishing I was on my yearly dive holiday to Bali where the pounds melt off and the bank account remains stable instead of in the land of fat and fiscal depression. I guess all this girl can hope for is a pain free and calorically limiting recovery. It's a given that I'm going to be returning to Thailand white as the virgin Canadian snow, like hell I'm going back white as snow and jiggly as a beluga! Lord knows I don't want to be greeted with "Khun Joe!! You so fat!"...but they will if I show even the slightest hint of a Canadian cushion.
Another unexpected piece of info received in my final meeting with the "liver people" was that I would not be able to dive for 1 year post surgery. This came directly from my surgeon. Considering I had been told by 3 other doctors that 6 months would be a suitable timeline, it was very unwelcome and very upsetting news. Through this whole process I had my diving to look forward come April and all of sudden it was looking like August instead. Being diveless until August has huge repercussions for me mentally, emotionally and financially. After coming home and crying for a day straight I decided to start thinking for alternatives and have since become a bit more settled with the idea. That being said, I have since seen 2 more doctors and both of them have said 6 months maximum. So using the law of averages and the rule that the majority wins I have decided to focus on the 6 month-ish mark and look at heading over to Bali in late April to late May sometime. I told the boys at Blue Season Bali that I was looking at around April and considering how wonderful they've been I'd like to keep my word (although they said to take my time and I'm not going to sacrifice my health to keep to a timeline) but the hope is by the end of May I'll be diving Nusa Penida and drinking Bintangs on Sanur beach.
While seething in my inky cloak of diveless depression I decided that I will be heading back to Thailand in January. All the doctors have said I will be fine to travel by that time although the lifting will be an issue (that's what friends are for when they pick you up at the airport though!) There are a million reasons why heading to Thailand in January makes way more sense than staying here.
1)The weather in Vancouver is shit and I want to spend as little time in it as possible.
2) Vancouver is so expensive I can barely afford to breathe - Thailand is cheap...did I mention I have no income???
3) My lovely little niece Abigail is there waiting for her aunty Joe to come back and snuggle her, I've already missed her first steps and will be missing her first birthday, granted the liver thing is an acceptable excuse but I'd rather be close than far away.
4) My boyfriend is in Koh Tao and I'm in Vancouver. Skype is great but 6 months away from him is enough thank you very much.
5) In Canada I would be recovering in the heart of North American suburbia complete with rain, snow, minivans, fast food restaurants, yoga pants and three wheeled jogging strollers. In Thailand I'll be recovering on a beach in Koh Tao surrounded by crystal clear waters, pina coladas, beaches and palm trees.
6) As long as I kit up in the water and remove all my dive equipment before getting back on the boat, I should be able to get in some fun diving with Big Blue. In beatiful Vancouver...not gonna happen.
Leaving in January will give me time to recoup quite a bit, spend xmas and New Years with my family and then hightail it out just as the snow hits. Perfecto!
So all the tests are finally done. I am psychologically sound, physically fit and ready to kiss half of my well loved and well used liver goodbye. The only thing that the doctors are concerned about is that I am too "active" they're all worried I'm going to sneak out to the gym too early and bust all my internal sutures. Considering the result is an incision hernia, I think I'll pass. Having my digestive tract squishing out of my stomach doesn't sound like a fair trade for hitting the treadmill. That being said, the minute I get the green light I'm back at the gym. There is no way that I'm going to be able to jump into being a DiveMaster if I don't work at slowly getting my strength back. But one step at a time, I need to remind myself that I'm not superwoman and I'm not 27 anymore (even though that's what I tell everyone!)
We had a meeting with my surgeon and the transplant coordinator last week and got the ol' green light in a rather unceremonious "ok good to go, sign on the line" fashion. For some reason I thought it would be a bit more celebratory; disappointingly there were no showers of confetti or helium balloons to mark my passing the most important tests of my life (and I didn't even have to study!!!) Oh well...
After both me and mom signed on the dotted line we were informed that our surgery had been moved up to August 20th in an equally "so we'll see you on August 20th" fashion ...what!!!!...apparently the family that had the August 20th spot booked no longer needed it so we were in. Both me and mom had been mentally preparing ourselves for a 7 week time frame so it was a bit of shock to be told that we now only had less than 4! Ya, it's good for us; the sooner the better, but mentally it's a lot to digest and time wise it puts us under quite a bit of stress to get the things done that we need to do before we're admitted.
 |
| My liver: here one minute, gone the next.... |
For myself, I was hoping to get myself into the best shape possible before the operation, something that given 7 weeks I could have accomplished, now with 3 weeks left until surgery day that doesn't look like it's going to be possible. Of course I will work as hard as I can until then but Canada has a way of making me fat regardless of how many hours I spend in the gym. It is times like these that I long to be back home surrounded by somtam and low calories Thai tasties in normal sized portions instead of being stranded in fat laden suburbia where cheese is more plentiful than green mangoes and pineapple. I have found myself more than once wishing I was on my yearly dive holiday to Bali where the pounds melt off and the bank account remains stable instead of in the land of fat and fiscal depression. I guess all this girl can hope for is a pain free and calorically limiting recovery. It's a given that I'm going to be returning to Thailand white as the virgin Canadian snow, like hell I'm going back white as snow and jiggly as a beluga! Lord knows I don't want to be greeted with "Khun Joe!! You so fat!"...but they will if I show even the slightest hint of a Canadian cushion.
 |
| This will be me in May 2013 - The goal has been set! |
While seething in my inky cloak of diveless depression I decided that I will be heading back to Thailand in January. All the doctors have said I will be fine to travel by that time although the lifting will be an issue (that's what friends are for when they pick you up at the airport though!) There are a million reasons why heading to Thailand in January makes way more sense than staying here.
1)The weather in Vancouver is shit and I want to spend as little time in it as possible.
2) Vancouver is so expensive I can barely afford to breathe - Thailand is cheap...did I mention I have no income???
3) My lovely little niece Abigail is there waiting for her aunty Joe to come back and snuggle her, I've already missed her first steps and will be missing her first birthday, granted the liver thing is an acceptable excuse but I'd rather be close than far away.
4) My boyfriend is in Koh Tao and I'm in Vancouver. Skype is great but 6 months away from him is enough thank you very much.
5) In Canada I would be recovering in the heart of North American suburbia complete with rain, snow, minivans, fast food restaurants, yoga pants and three wheeled jogging strollers. In Thailand I'll be recovering on a beach in Koh Tao surrounded by crystal clear waters, pina coladas, beaches and palm trees.
6) As long as I kit up in the water and remove all my dive equipment before getting back on the boat, I should be able to get in some fun diving with Big Blue. In beatiful Vancouver...not gonna happen.
Leaving in January will give me time to recoup quite a bit, spend xmas and New Years with my family and then hightail it out just as the snow hits. Perfecto!
 |
| BOO!!! |
 |
| YAY!!! |
So here we are with less than three weeks to go. Lots more to post and talk about so I better get my butt in gear and get at 'er. I guess that considering our short time span me and mom's idea to get a combined blog up and running probably won't happen so you'll have to check back here for all the fun updates.
More to come my fearless fans!
Cheers from countdown central
J
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home