How many doctors did it take?

Today was a long day, and I was moody during most of it. I blame the pain killers. The time I spent in bed with my cats was fine and dandy, and probably if I had stayed there, I would have been fine. However, I had to go out to the transplant center to learn exactly how much fluid I have to get off my body. That would be approximatesly 35 pounds. I am not looking forward to doing this.

I had pushed to the back of my mind that the last time I was transplanted, I stayed on the seventh floor at Fairfax hospital almost three times as long, considering that I bounced back in on day two out. So I was on IV pain killers, which work better. I didn't have the post-op pain at home, and by the time I left I had minor pain that Percocet would take care of. I had also lost most of the post-op fluids and managed to achieve fluid balance.

So right this second I feel like signing up for the Muu-muu of the month club at Sears. I hear that housecoats in size XXL are all the rage. I was trying to ask in a PC fashion, how do fat people do this. Because I didn't want to be thinking like that!

And then I reminded myself that "fat people" are not physicallly ill and most of them have not just been through major surgery. I also reminded myself that well people have clothes in the size that fits them, for the most part.

I do still have a few things that fit, unfortunately most of them are cut out of lovely silks and linens, which won't do me much good if I go outside. So I'm hanging out in cat-printed sleep shirts, big fleece slippers and... whatever bathrobe is clean at the moment.

The one bonus is that I look much younger. There's just not a wrinkle to be found on my face. "Hey, mom, I look about 16 again!" I said. "Maybe a chubby 16..."

Which is just what I need to hear. Honestly, if this weight gain were real I would probably need to go on suicide watch, but I mean it in the way that it would be this particular weight; this drastic, circumstantial fluid retention that causes most of my body to hurt. The size wouldn't do me in, but the pain would.

I want to be able to ear something other than soup, herbal tea and fruit juice... it's been long enough! Tomorrow I will go out in search of Pho, which is close enough to soup, but still resembles food.

Woohoo! I've said before that I really thought I looked OK as a size 6, and I'd like to get back there as a healthy person. I could, if I could make my body cooperate.

before - after