Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria - a gorgeous city surrounded by snow-capped Alps, the capital of the state of Tyrol, a superb cultural center! The Inn river flowing throughout the center of the city provides the most awesome breezes and scenes in addition to relaxing settings. I LOVE IT!


Innsbruck was inhabited by the time of the early Stone Age and populated continuously since pre-Roman times. It's on the earliest and easiest route through the Alps which today is known as the Brenner Pass. It's pretty safe to assume that the Brenner Pass is one of the most breathtaking scenic train rides on our planet! In fact, I'd venture to say that it's pretty dang hard to take a bad picture here. You'd have to really work at it! :-)

Emperor Maximilian the 1st lived in Innsbruck in the end of the1400's. I'm not a history buff, AT ALL, but I like that because he surrounded himself with scholars and artists and therefore the city has become a lasting cultural center filled with art, architecture, and musical tradition! There is an Alten musick (early music) series, a Promenadenkonzerte (main palace square and promenade concert) series, a Tanzsommer festival, an organ master concert series, several festivals (including a New Orleans Festival that begins tonight!) and so much more! Schloss Ambras (castle Ambras) was built by Ferdinand II the archduke of Austria and that is where the early music series is held.

To the right is the beautiful and somewhat curious Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof). Built in 1500 by Maximilian I, it's decorated with 2657 fire-gilded copper-plated tiles. Now, it's a landmark where people get married!


Aside from the historical notes, a cool thing about Innsbruck is the lovely Inn river itself! The color is unusual and I have not seen any rivers or lakes this color except for here (see below).

What I've learned is that the color is due to glacial flouring (or rock flouring). That is when fine, fiiiiiiiiiiine particles of rocks are coming from glacial erosion and the grinding of bedrock. These particulates get into the water and end up being suspended, unable to settle into sedimentary layers right away. Sometimes, the water appears cloudy (glacial milk) and sometimes it's very clear, but turquoise, blue-green, or light green! ROCKS ARE COOL!  Another interesting tidbit our tour guide mentioned (few weeks ago) is that there are different flowers on either bank of the Inn river due to the northern and southern Alps differing in material. To the north, they are composed of limestone and to the south, they are mostly granite based.

Here is a link to my Facebook album of Innsbruck pictures - so far!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100341925929517.1073741827.2613080&type=1&l=e1f0b32cfe

I am teaching for the UNO - University of New Orleans Innsbruck Program, a stellar program in its 39th year with tons of class offerings, students from several universities, and a reputation for excellence! We partner with UGA in the program and faculty are from both UNO, UGA, and can be from other universities as well! It is one of our several fantastic opportunities for students and faculty to explore the world!

VSG Experimental Eating and Eating While Abroad

Hello Everybody! :-)
I am writing from Innsbruck, Austria where I've just had a nice weekend after having finished teaching one week in the University of New Orleans Innsbruck program! I'll be here another five weeks!
I will write more about Innsbruck soon and add lots of pictures, but I wanted to give an update concerning my living with VSG while abroad! I must say here that I've been on solid foods now for a little over three weeks. I consider myself one of the VERY LUCKY VSGers because I really have not had any huge problems with any foods! I have also NOT thrown up anything!

The foods that have been the hardest include:
- Chicken (nuggets were fine...I assume because they're processed and softer?)
- Salad with sunflower seeds and chicken and broccoli. That's a lot of hard stuff to digest.

What?! Only two items?
Yep. That's about it.......so far!

I'm feeling pretty awesome about that because having read that some people could not ever have rice, pasta, or beef again or that it was a hard experience for them made me a little worried. I admit, I have been somewhat conservative about amounts that I am eating and also I chew it until I can chew no more. I'm sure that helps some.

Experiments

Ok, I admit this too.....while driving 10 hours to Columbia, SC one week and while driving 12 to Charleston the next week, I decided that I wanted to experiment with some foods just to see what would happen and what they would taste like.......

So, my first week on solid foods, I tried the following:

- a BK burger with bacon, no bun
- a soft serve ice cream cone
- bread with butter
- orange juice
- spinach
- baked fish with rice and broccoli
- grilled chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A

Conclusions: The burger was AWFUL. I could only eat half of it anyway. I'd found the amounts of protein online. The initial taste of the bacony burger goodness was all but destroyed by my having to chew it so dang much. I had a wonderful realization that I DIDN'T WANT IT anymore, woohoo! That was accompanied by the "what the hell do we put in our mouths?!" gasp. I tried one spoon full of rice, no issues. Same for everything else. I THINK the ice cream might have given me an upset stomach and I couldn't finish the cone anyway.

The following week, I tried:

- pizza from Andonlini's (*hey, no judging....it's the BEST)
- grits
- yoghurt with actual fruit pieces in it
- whoppers
- iced tea
- a Taco Bell taco

Now, I can hear some of you saying "OH, I get it, THIS is how she got fat in the first place....by eating crap like this" and you would be WRONG-O (that's more than just wrong).
Think what you like....as I said, these were experiments. I was going through a phase that included the following feelings, however jumbled up:

- YAY!  I can eat again! (+ I want everything)
- Oh gosh, will I ever be able to eat __________ again?
- Can I still have some things that are "bad" for me in moderation?

So, the pizza was AWESOME and I ate exactly half a slice, mostly toppings, before I was stuffed. Grits were fine and I ate about four spoonfuls. The whoppers were cool and I had five of them. Iced tea - I'm from the south so OF COURSE THAT WAS GOOD.
The taco was THE most wonderful thing I had tried so far. Why? Well, I pulled off a tiny bit of the shell and pulled out a couple of lettuce pieces, but other than that - I ATE THE WHOLE THING and that alone made me feel awesome. The rest was that it was super terrific to CRUNCH and the shell was good for that :-)

DRINKS

Ok, here is where some of us differ - not only in opinion, but in attitude. These drinks listed here are not always on VSGers' lists after surgery and for good reason: calories! Part of me just wanted to test it out to see what would happen because you read and hear so much about what people go through.

I have tried the following drinks and had NO PROBLEMS

- orange juice......If I drink too much of this, I burp the juice and that's when I know to STOP
- iced tea.....with and without sugar. I definitely like sugarfree better, as usual
- Coke on the transatlantic flight with lots of ice.....was ok, but I only took a few sips the size of which was the equivalent of sticking my tongue in (I was fearful it would go badly)
- apple juice......fine
- Wine
-Coke here in Innsbruck, no ice, just chilled. Absolutely fine

EATING WHILE IN AUSTRIA

This has been way more difficult that I previously thought so I am extra glad that I brought some items with me such as protein bars, Crystal Lite mixes, tea, Equal, granola bars, and some mini cans of soup. Yes, it made my suitcase heavy, but I am on a rather severe budget here at the moment and the food is rather expensive.
The Innsbruck program gives us a marvelous lunch every day and after the first faculty lunch together, I asked for a container to bring home leftovers and the restaurant was happy to oblige. I have since used that container several times! The first cafeteria lunch was Wiener schnitzel made of chicken (and breaded) plus French fries. So, I took a few chicken bites, tearing off the breading and then had two fries (that makes me laugh!) Since then, I've been getting goulash or spaghetti sauce over a minute amount of noodles and avoiding the other foods. They have fruits and I always get the watermelon! I also get a bottle of water with each meal.

What's the problem? Well, I know I'm not getting all my protein in and I've been too tired to think about it. I've also been too sleepy and almost running late every morning so I've been forgetting my vitamins. Ok, let me pause and actually take them NOW at 8:47 p.m. because I'm guilty again...

Ok. Whew!

So, I have only bought two meals out and I've been here nine days. That will change, but so far the food has either been free or I've been just finishing my leftovers :-)

That's about it! I will do some Innsbruck and travel posts pretty soon. Good luck to everyone out there and for those of you who have emailed, please continue to ask me questions! I'm here if you need me :-)

***** UPDATE***** I completely forgot to mention that I did not bring my scale to Austria and the Nurse's office for the Innsbruck Program does not have a scale. They recommended that I buy one, but I'm too cheap.......and so I have no idea whether or not I'm still losing, if I'm maintaining....or the unthinkable!

Life is Short

This has long been one of my absolute favorite adapted quotes. Our XI Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, Morris Thompson, says it as part of his Benediction and I finally took the time to find it online to post here with a photo [detail from portion of the stained glass window behind our Baptismal font at St. Paul's Episcopal.]

 

My friends,
Life is short, and we do not have
much time to gladden the hearts of
those who travel with us, so be quick to
love and make haste to be kind.
And may the blessing of the One who
... made us, and the One who loves us, and
the One who travels with us, be with
you and those you love this day and always.
AMEN.

Adapted from Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)

 

 

VSG Journey Update 3 Weeks Out from Surgery

My current status as of Wednesday, June 5th:  I am three weeks and a day out from surgery!

From discharge day (Thurs., May 16) I did one week clear liquids and two weeks full liquids. Clear liquids were pretty dang hard and I felt weak much of the time. I also failed miserably at getting all my water and all my protein in each day. Full liquids made me immediately feel better although I must admit that I grew SICK of protein shakes and also failed at getting my protein or all my water in each day. I did a lot better, but still had trouble. One evening after Jefferson Chorale, we all went to TGI Friday's afterwards. I sampled their dark French onion soup (without the toppings or eating any onions.....plus I hate onions) and their broccoli cheese soup. I had never in my life had broccoli cheese soup. The Fr. onion was ok and I was able to get in a couple of spoonfuls. Then....THEN....the BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP was from HEAVEN. Yes, it truly was. It made my stomach very grumbly, but it went and stayed down just fine. I took the rest home and had it for two more days. Later, I read somewhere that fibrous veggies like broccoli are to be avoided, but I feel like it was pretty ground up and avoided all chunks anyway :-)

Now, I am MORE THAN READY to begin soft foods. Some people call this stage "the mushies", but to me that just sounds gross. I can't do pureed foods unless it's something that is actually supposed to be pureed. Last Friday, I tried a tiny bit of lean, very thinly-sliced deli turkey and it went down and stayed down just fine. I was OVERJOYED! I had it with half a Babybel soft cheese. I've been doing that once a day since Saturday. I also tried scrambled eggs with cheese. Never in my life had I ever had eggs with cheese, but it tasted good. I ate about 1/3 of one egg and it felt like a brick in my stomach for several hours. I did not feel ill, just heavy. I decided to wait a bit before having more of that.

Tomorrow, I begin soft foods and I think I'm supposed to introduce one new food a day. If anything doesn't settle well, I am to go back to protein shakes or something mild that did work well. I'll continue the deli turkey & Babybel cheese. The first new things I will try will be soft, baked fish, refried beans & grated cheddar, chili, and maybe scrambled eggs again. I'd love grits, but am not sure yet about them. I might make some more egg custard. I actually went and bought ramekins, learned how to make egg custard and made it, sugarfree. I didn't like it so much, but it was ok. I can use the little bowls though...

I really would like to try the "meats pressure cooked to tenderize", but in my head, those are more solid so I am a bit shy of that just yet.

Even though I will not have to be on a strict vitamin regimen, I am taking Biotin, Thiamine, a multi (gummy), Omega 3 (gummy), B-12 & D + Calcium (sublingual tabs).

I'm feeling pretty back to normal most of the time although I get easily tired out. I am used to having an extremely high level of energy so that kind of stinks, but I know it will get back up there. Everyone seemed so surprised that I was back at church, back in the singing groups, going to work, etc. I was not on pain meds for more than a day and a half at the hospital and once I stopped the IV, the pain was manageable. The nausea went away after two-three days and I have not thrown up at all. Many MANY people have. I hate throwing up so I am trying to be super cautious about when to STOP eating. My little stomach is now exactly 4 (FOUR) ounces. Anything I've eaten was only one or two and then I feel full. It's still healing. I'll prob have to eat little small meals several times a day eventually. Today, I had my protein shakes and vitamins first and then took an applesauce, a pudding, a cheese stick, and some turkey with me for the rest of the day until I can have some veggie soup tonight after choir. Before you judge, we are SUPPOSED to be having snacks and those (applesauce, cheese, pudding) are on the list!

Here is a before picture and then a picture from a week and a half a go. I cannot tell too much difference yet. My 3X clothes are now loose and I've lost 35 lbs so far. This weekend, I'll post some more pictures of before and after. I'll try to make a collage of sorts. The cool thing is that I am wearing a dress I haven't been able to wear in years and now I'm at the weight that I was when I moved to NOLA eight years ago! My starting weight was 270. I don't mind sharing that. My current weight is 235. Cool! No amount of exercise or fad or legit dieting was ever able to get me this kind of change.......and I've been trying off and on for 30 years. Some part of me says "wow, I could have just stayed on a liquid diet for a long time" and the other parts of me remind myself "I already did that and it ALL came back the minute that diet session stopped." This time, it is not a diet. It's a continuation of my mostly healthy lifestyle, PLUS the surgical help of restricted portions. Oh, and surgery is N O T the "easy way out". Think what you want, but if you say that to me, you might want to know I can throw a pretty solid punch. ;-)

Night bef surgery: 257                                             In this picture: 248







My VSG Journey - Discharge Day!

After two nignts in the hospital, it was time to leave Endobariatric and Piedras Negras and head back to San Antonio.

The morning of discharge, the nighttime doctor and Dr. Rosales and Dr. Alvarez came to see me as did the nurses.

I must say, they gave me everything I needed: paperwork for my doctor here, vitamin/mineral panel recommendations, pain meds, acid reflux meds, antibiotics, instructions, a copy of Dr. A's helpful VSG book, a backpack and folder in which to keep everything, and personal contacts in case there were any issues or questions.

Here's a picture of me with Dr. A right before I got on the van. I am so happy that I chose to come to Mexico for my surgery. Down with any naysayers and all the skeptics! I received better care here than most of the US medical experiences I have had in my whole life combined. In addition, the doctors are extremely skilled, very caring, and concerned with your well-being. They took the time out to talk to me, answer questions, make me comfortable, and explain procedures. I have also been able to ask Dr. Alvarez my questions (via Twitter as well) and he gave me quick answers and asked me how I was doing!



They signed my pillow :-) (the Endobariatric signature stomach pillow, LOL). The pillow made me laugh, but I sincerely needed the support for the two-hour return trip which was BUMPY BUMPY BUMPY!

After crossing the border, we dropped off the other patient at the Holiday Inn and then got on the road. halfway through, we stopped at a convenience store for some water. I was sipping, sipping, sipping. It seemed like I sipped constantly, but the level didn't go down that much. When we got to the La Quinta airport, we went down by the pool for some sun and rest and SIPPING WATER. Then, in the room, I took a nap. It was HOT. I checked my Weather Channel app and saw that it was 106 in Piedras Negras! Yikes! Later, in the early evening, I was feeling less nauseous so we went to the mall to walk around and I did some mini-shopping and had some apple juice!

The next morning, we had a SUPER EARLY set of flights back to NOLA, but that was ok b/c we were back by 10:30 a.m. and I was back in my apartment by around 11:30. Kudos to Meg for being such a trooper on this whole journey and for taking such great care of me. Her husband picked us up at the airport and then drove me to my car. I stopped by GNC on the way home to see what a protein bullet was and to buy an Isopure drink to try it out. Sasha kitty was so glad to see me and she was LIKE GLUE, stuck by my side for the next three days!

I slept most of Friday and tried to sip water. Tthe next day, I tried the protein bullets and they were WAAAY too sweet. I tried apple juice and that was much better, though also sweet. One week clear liquids, Ugh! I failed in attempts to get my water in and to finish the protein bullets every time I tried one. Blech! Sunday, I decided I needed to go to church....not just to be there for my job, but I really needed to be there. I also needed some fellowship and normalcy. Everyone was so nice! It helped a great deal and I was able to also attend the NOVA rehearsal that evening. That was a lot harder than church and I sat down for most of it, but I wanted to see how it was to sing! That was also hard, but I figured that it would help. In between these activities and naps, those first few days involved reading various ObesityHelp.com  forums and Sleevetalk forums, and watching several movies. I took myself to watch the new Star Trek Into Darkness movie, t'was great! "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" My next post will be an update as to where I am along the path now. I leave you with another picture of my dear Sasha kitty :-) 

My VSG Journey to Endobariatric

Wow, I'm a pretty terrible blogger with such giant gaps between happenings, but....oh well and Le Sigh on that. Finally, here is the 411 on my trip to Endobariatric for my VSG surgery! :-) There are lots of pictures so it may be a lengthy post, but you can handle it. Oh maybe I might split it up....who knows.

April 30 - May 13  Two-week pre-op diet -  I did pretty well, lost 14 lbs and cheated twice. One was a tiny cheat and one was huge. I basically got too hungry and couldn't stand it anymore. I made sure the last four days before surgery were fluids only, not even any puddings etc.

May 13 - My dear friend Meg and I left NOLA and flew to San Antonio. Check it out. We had more "legroom"....(LOL at United Airlines, but it is actually a word). We took a fast & free shuttle from the airport to the La Quinta hotel and waited there until our driver Rosy (Rosantina) arrived. She had just come into the area so needed a break before heading back for another two-hour ride! She was so nice and has been driving the route for about eight years, meeting tons of hopeful WLS patients.

I was greatly relieved to see that the van no longer had a picture on its side of a woman holding up a giant pair of pants.

The ride was SO EXTREMELY BUMPY, OMG. I had to take two motion sickness pills and by the time I got to Eagle Pass, I was EXHAUSTED. There, we checked into the Holiday Inn and went out a little bit later for some dinner. I had egg drop soup at the nearby Chinese restaurant and it was DELICIOUS! Funny feeling like it was a last meal even though it obviously wasn't! Then, we went down the precaiously-placed sidewalk filled with gigantic scary ants until it ran out and picked up some gatorade etc. from the gas station store. It was quite a happening place. Eagle Pass, TX appeared vast, dry and largely empty. Whole new-looking apt complexes looked deserted even tough they weren't.

Amazingly, it was getting ready to rain. I got the feelling this doesn't happen that often. It helped in cooling the place down though and that was a nice benefit. Meg and I went out to the pool area where there was a great breeze and we played Scramble and other ipad/iphone games. This really helped me be less nervous. We also met up with Fabienne, a patient who was going to have her surgery the same day. We had met via email and been in communication a bit so it was super nice to get to know each other a little. This also helped me be less anxious for the next day!

THE MORNING OF SURGERY

Wow, it was really time. After months of waiting and years of thinking about it, here I am about to be picked up for the long-awaited VSG. I was both excited and nervous.

 
We drove through the rest of Eagle Pass
(larger than I expected) and across the border.
I had forgotten that we would actually cross the
Rio Grande in the process so that was cool.
The drive to Piedras Negras and the
Endobariatric clinic did not take very long and
before I realized it, we were there! It was very
early so the parking lot was empty. The clinic
is attached to a hospital, but I guess their
parking was around the other side because
they seemed to have more action going on.

Once inside Dr. Alvarez's office, Dr. Rosales, another surgeon came out to greet us and said we would meet Dr. A in a few minutes. Then, Fabienne and I decided to take a picture. Just as we were smiling, Dr. A came up behind us and got in the picture! :-) That was great!

While they met inside his office, I saw a sign that said "Let us know if you check in using Foursquare and receive a gift" heheh so I checked in, of course! When I met with Dr. A, I told him that and he gave me a very nice, fancy water bottle! Cool :-)


I weighed, met the anesthesiologist (very happy about that), and talked a bit about the procedure, how long it would take, recovery, bougie size used, etc. I was very impressed that Dr. A suggested on his own that they use a pediatric intubation tube because
I'm a singer! I was going to suggest it and Meg was there and had mentioned that I suggest it, but I was happy I didn't need to.

So, now we were excorted to take a pre-surgery photo for records and then taken to our room. We entered the hospital and it was shiny, clean and well-built. The room was in the clinic side of the hospital. Outside our doors was an area of tile that was under construction. This was kind fo sketchy, but not bothersome. The room itself was next two a nurses's room and two patient rooms. It was VERY NICE! Huge actually. It had its own shower, window, air conditioning unit, TV, sofa (large, folded down to make a full bed), a refridgerator, and a big sturdy leather chair on the opposite side of the room. The shower had an enclosed bathroom as well. Here is a panorama shot of the room.

Certainly better than some of the hospital rooms I have stayed in.
Within 15 minutes, nurses were coming in and one took me downstairs for blood tests and a chest X-ray. Then, I came back upstairs, started my IV and chilled out until they were ready for me to go into surgery. I hate that important IVs have always gone into my hand. IT HURTS. I also hate that IVs cannot be butterfly needles as that is the size I need. It was nice to talk with two sisters from Canada who were being discharged that same day and to find they had a good experience and were feeling good. Soon, they came and told me to slide from my hospital bed onto a gurney and said something about giving me "happy juice". I actually do not remember ANYTHING after that moment. So funny that I aparently started saying "I love you guys" to everyone! When I had my wisdom teeth out, I remember seeing the lights go dim. I remember when I had a cyst out, the IV infiltrated and I was awake in the OR as they were getting ready and the surgeon said "get her to sleep, use the other arm" and that was it, LOL.

ALL DONE
So, THAT WAS QUICK! I woke up with an Oxygen mask on and within a few minutes (it seemed) someone removed it and I remember being super groggy and somewhat nauseous after a while. No water was allowed that first day and I mostly stayed in bed.

I do vaquely remember them trying to make me walk laps down the hall and back and that after one lap, I had to sit down from being dizzy and nauseous. I thought I was going to throw up,but I didn't and they gave me a shot "where the sun don't shine" so I felt better. Here I am trying to walk.

I also recall that the night was full of nurse and doctor visits. I think the assisting surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and Dr. Alvarez came to see me that day and in the night, all the nurses, one or two doctors etc. came every hour. I just wanted to sleep.

Tthe second day was much better and I was fully alert, though still nauseous when I tried to do much walking. Today, I was allowed ice chips (YAY!) and walked a lot. I even went with Meg to the neighboring coffee shop, in my pajamas, and sat there to eat my ice chips for a while. In the room, we had just been reading and doing emails....maybe watching a little TV - the "Border channel" (view of the Rio Grande bridge border and traffic) because it had music. It felt great to be "out and about" and Meg was awesome in taking care of me. I'll end this post with a picture of the tweet I wrote about the day :-)

Memorial Day Thoughts 2013

Every Memorial Day, I always think a lot about my Dad, Ashmead Courtenay Carson, who was a Bomber pilot in WWII, a fantastic artist, and a smart, kind, & gentle man who loved choral music. I also think about the day in context of humanity and those from all ages and across the planet who have given and are giving their time & lives for the pursuit of peace. This picture collage is made from my Innsbruck trip in 2010 when I visited the Italian Tyrol town of Rovereto. The Campana della pace is made from the cannons of WWI, WWII, and other wars. There are flags from EVERY country in the world and a continuing flame burning in remembrance to the fallen. It took me many hours to hike there: up two peaks and through a dense forest (without signage except that first sign), but it was one of the most "worth it" experiences of my whole trip.

A Day & and Half.....

Well......ONE DAY AND A HALF to go before VSG surgery!

Yikes! I'm super excited for all the lifestyle and healthy living changes ahead, but also have a case of pre-surgery jitters. I suppose that is understandable considering general anesthesia is involved. It was awesome to be able to communicate with the doctor about antibiotics (explain my bad reaction to Cipro after the Haiti trip last summer) and anesthesia. Made me feel more confident overall.

Everyone's been extremely supportive and I truly appreciate that. I also appreciate the kind words about my posts and the prayers. I received several notes after my FB post and I am greatly moved by them. We are all in this life together!

I've lost 14 lbs on my liquid diet  so far.....which makes me think....."hmmm. do I REALLY have to go through with actual surgery?......or can I simply do a longer liquid diet etc.?"

I know the answer and it is "yes" I need to go ahead with surgery. It's a longer lasting change than a fad diet and I would know because I have tried most of them and the weight came back on....plus a few lbs. Tired of yo-yos with the same pounds. So, all hail to the new stomach...er....sleeve that I will have. I hope it's not too picky and that it will tolerate most foods and I hope my capacity will not be impossible to deal with.

Here is my itinerary for the trip to Endobariatric in Piedras Negras, Mexico:

- Flights to San Antonio, shuttle to La Quinta hotel where Rosy, the driver will pick us up.
- Two-hour drive to Eagle Pass, TX where we'll send one night
- Tuesday: morning pickup, cross border, meet Dr. Alvarez, do tests, have SURGERY
- Be in recovery (we're hoping, LOL) and then will probably be walking and sleeping
- Wednesday: at the hospital, leak test, may graduate to ice chips, REST
- Thursday: discharge, Rosy drives us back to Eagle Pass, spend night
- Friday: Flights back to New Orleans and alternate between resting and walking
- Saturday: REST / WALK / sip on water
- Sunday: I am hoping to be back at the church on Sunday, but we shall see......

Wish me luck! :-)

NASA Social ISS - Post 2 - MISSION CONTROL

Post # 2 NASA Social ISS event at Johnson Space Center in Houston!

My previous ISS post reviewed the day's events with a few details on the visit to the ISS Training Facility mockup. This one will cover our visit to Building 30 (M & S)

~ ~ MISSION CONTROL ~ ~

After the tour with Astro Rick Masstracchio, our group moved to Building 30 which houses the historic Apollo Mission Control Room and the current MISSION CONTROL. I must add here that I have always wanted to visit this building! Why do I keep all-capping MISSION CONTROL?  BECAUSE EXTREME COOLNESS - that's why :-)

As our shuttle pulled up to the building, excitement was evident because we all got off of our phones, our attention now drawn to getting off the bus and to the building as fast as possible!
Once inside, we saw the lobby elevators leading up to the main room.

Our guides talked to us about the building itself and how Christopher C. Kraft, for whom the place is named, was a NASA engineer who helped establish the location dedicated to monitoring America's space flight. Its callsign is HOUSTON.

The Mission Control Center Houston was first used in 1965 for the Gemini IV mission, the 10th manned American spaceflight.

Soon, we walked around a hallway to an area where there were steps leading up into the viewer's room overlooking Mission Control! Here we met Royce Renfrew, flight director.
"A flight director leads and orchestrates planning and integration activities with flight controllers, payload customers, station partners and others. All of the recently selected flight directors have previously served as flight controllers in Mission Control and will begin training as International Space Station flight directors."

Here is a NASA Factsheet on Mission Control:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/160406main_mission_control_fact_sheet.pdf 

My panorama of this most awesome of rooms!

Mr. Renfrew directed us to our seats in the viewing area overlooking the action and introduced an engineering class from Indiana University that was also visiting. He talked to us about the functions of Mission Control as well as what & who we were seeing through the window in front of us.

On the left two screens, there are live feeds from different sections of the ISS showing astronauts working on the station. It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but there is someone currently working center / rear. It's amazing that so much work gets done without accidents - you can see how crowded the "hallways" are!

This next image shows the current position of the ISS above the Earth in real time. Directors can see how much comm time they have and can predict exact flyovers. I get ISS updates via Twitter that tell me if the station will fly over my area that night and exactly when and where to look up. There area tons of ways to looks this info up, but here is one you can try: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

The next image shows unix/linux feed (not sure which, sorry!) of comm data and cmd prompts of what is happening around the ISS in real time.

Mr. Renfrew explained to us that sometimes, it will be in red for something urgent - such as a failed fire testing event that had happened the night before! You can see where it says smoke detector failure. Scary!

The little "GO" in green is for comm (communications) time left and that it is clear. Mr. Renfrew mentioned that they try to preserve five hours of sleep time for the astronauts and that it should be uninterrupted if at all possible.

The screen on the farthest right is another live feed of astronauts working. Here, you can see someone in his sock feet working and as we were listening, he must have turned upside down two or three times, concentrating on something he had in his hands, but not paying much attention to his rotation - funny!

It was so interesting to see people working at their computer stations, ready to communicate with the astronauts if needed. The current flight director is below. Each desk area was somewhat personalized and some had flags showing the country of the technician. Each of the 15 to 20 flight controllers who sits at a console has the help of other engineers and flight controllers monitoring and analyzing data in nearby staff support rooms.

I cannot imagine being here, or in any control room for that matter, or viewing seats when an event such as the MSL Curiosity landing last August. I know that my own excitement and hope, yet stress and uncertainty at the "Seven Minutes of Terror" was enough - I cannot fathom what I would experience if I had spent more than ten years of my life on the project - the apprehension would have been insane!

The only question we asked at the end of the presentation was "Do we have to leave now?" :-)

Our next room to visit was the historic Apollo Mission Control Room!

This famous room was the flight control room for Apollo 11, the first manned Moon mission.

IT WAS AWESOME JUST TO BE IN HERE!

The first step on the Moon was July 20, 9:56:15 p.m. (EST), 1969.

"HOUSTON, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" 

These were the first words transmitted to Earth from the surface of the Moon! 

Now, this room is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and in the U.S. Register of National Historic Places. The room was used until 1992 and then converted back to its Apollo style configuration for history.

Mr.Renfrew was a great guide - here he is talking to the #spacetweeps:

Here is the plaque commemorating the Moon landing:

Here is a good article by Lee Hutchinson on the Apollo Mission Control and what it was like to "Go Boldly":

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/10/going-boldly-what-it-was-like-to-be-an-apollo-flight-controller/

Decked with flags and plaques commemorating missions and people, the room also still has the red phone that had a direct line to the President! Here I am explaining that NASA needs MORE funding, NOT LESS and next to that - now I am the flight director, HAHA! 

Here is a great explanation of every console in the room: http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/10/apollo-flight-controller-101-every-console-explained/

It is interesting to ponder both sides of the spaceflight coin - those that are in flight and those on the ground who are additionally responsible for the lives of those in mission. There is such a delicate balance of factors that ensure safety of person and mission and such a spirit of selflessness from those undertaking spaceflight for the benefit of humanity.

Here is a plaque in honor of Apollo I command pilot 'Gus' Grissom, pilot Roger Chaffee, and senior pilot Edward White who perished in a fire that swept through their command module during a pre-flight test.

"If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program.

The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."
-Gus Grissom

My next NASA Social ISS post will be about the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility.

Springy Goodness!

I'm feeling awesome today! First, it's a lovely spring day here in NOLA and I'm feeling caught up on my grading stuff (so far). I'm super happy that I found some interesting material on the life of St. Peter to look at as a result of my first spiritual advising meeting. Seems ole Pete and I may have a few things in common :-) I want to find a nice blanket of clover in City Park and just go read. Unfortunately, I can't do that until at least May 23/24l, but I WILL go do that!

It's also been exactly a week since I began the two-week required pre-op liquid diet and I am down ten pounds! I'm happy that my liver will hopefully be in mint condition for the procedure. Part of me says "Hmmm, if you're suddenly losing so well, then why go through with the procedure at all? Why not just stick to this liquid thing for an extended period of time and then all will be well and you won't have to be without a normal stomach." Then, the other part of my psyche reminds me that "I've tried this before, perhaps not so severely....but.....
been there, done that......and then it all came back on plus more over time".

My recent annual check-up was ridiculously good.....BP 118/65, blood sugar perfect and all that jazz. I just have the feeling that it will catch up with me at some point because I am so far past the point of caring about dieting. Two years ago I had officially given up after six months trying the Aspen Clinic program, my "last resort". When I say gave up......I mean GAVE UP and from that point onward, I stopped caring, measuring, reading labels, exercising more than a day or two each week, and started enjoying eating more. That's a slippery slope I tell you!
I digress.....The recent check-up was another excuse to ask myself "Why I am I doing this again?"

I'd say I have a minor case of the pre-surgery jitters - even on this day full of springy goodness :-)

I will say that I do feel really supported by friends, church staff friends, family, and colleagues. That's a nice feeling :-)

My Choice for VSG Surgery: ENDOBARIATRIC

An Easy Decision

I am going to have my VSG surgery at the Endobariatric clinic with Dr. Guillermo Alvarez in Piedras Negras, Mexico. It was an easy decision to make after months of research and literally years of insurance issues etc. and I am fully confident that this is the right place for me. The more I see, the more I feel this way.

The very first reaction of many of my friends and colleagues, however, includes:

1. Facial contortion with raised eyebrows
2. A gasp
3. The questions: Is it safe? Are you sure about this? Have you looked into this place?

Really?
AS IF to imply that I haven't researched this or that somehow they have insights into the clinic they've never heard of. It's interesting how some are open-minded about it and how others absolutely feel they know more than I do. Now, I totally do understand that they mean well, but seriously.... I even asked one person who was acting as if I were crazy, if he had ever been to Mexico or if he knew what kinds of medical instruments the clinic used. "No" on both accounts. I am grateful that folks worry about my safety, but I will be fine! It's a FANTASTIC clinic with a world-reknowned doctor at the helm.

We've all experienced naysayers throughout our lives at one point or another. I have two things to say about that:

1. The last thing we need when making giant decisions and lifestyle changes is people undermining the validity of our choices. Be more supportive and less critical instead! They often do not realize the shoes we wear or how difficult our paths may be. It happened when I went for my MM, my DMA, and when I made the decision to take a job in Milledgeville, GA and happened a LOT from TONS of people when I decided to move to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Moving here has actually proved to be one of the absolute best decisions of my life. Some folks went as fars as to say that New Orleans was a worthless city and that I'd be throwing my career away if I moved here. BREAKING: They were wrong.

2. “When someone tells me "no," it doesn't mean I can't do it, it simply means I can't do it with them.”  - Karen E. Quinones Miller

A couple of years ago when googling VSG and other types of bariatric surgery, I found tons of helpful blogs, YouTube videos, and forums. One such forum was the VSG SleeveTalk site. It didn't take long to see Dr. Alvarez's name popping up along with mentions of surgery in Mexico and whole discussions of medical tourism. I visited hs website and was immediately impressed. In addition to that, it was the tons of positive testimonials (written and in video) from real people who had undergone VSG surgery with Endobariatric.

One of my reasons for choosing Endobariatric is that VSG surgery is not covered by my insurance company. I did research into this for several months and talked about it to state level and national level company employees about how to file a petition or how to file an appeal.
I did not want to do either. I was one of the first people to apply for the office of group benefits Head's Up program with Pennington Biomedical Research Center and OGB Partnership Benefitting Louisiana (which is an awesome start for state-level study of bariatric surgery and its effects). This program consists of a lottery and they will do 400+ surgeries over a period of several years. So far, I have not been chosen for the bariatric lottery and frankly, I am tired of waiting.

I took nutrition classes at a bariatric clinic and then paid $350 out of pocket to have a consultation with the surgeon directly. He basically gave me eight minutes of his time and was nice, but very busy, shuffling papers and the like. I noticed he gave me little eye contact. I FREAKED OUT and decided that I was NOT going to try and raise or borrow the 17-18,000 $ needed for this clinic. Instead, I'd save for a trip to Mexico!

SAVING. WAS.  HARD.
This past year, I chopped my paycheck by about $1,000 per month and had to move to reduce my rent etc. Worth. It. Now, I have the $8700 for the whole surgery package which includes two nights in hotels and transportation (two hours each way), and the care and concern of a staff that has already proven several times to be excellent and on top of things.

My doc here in NOLA will do any follow-up and she has had several patients go through bariatric surgery. One of them also went to Mexico.

Y A Y !  I'm excited Y'all :-)

I Almost Ate My Desk

I wanted to eat my desk.

Ravenous was exactly what I was yesterday. Being the first day of my two-week pre-op liquid diet, I did sort of expect this to happen. Talk about a reality call that surgery day is getting CLOSE! Tons of things going through my head: Excitement at FINALLY reaching this point, fear of the unknown and known lifestyle changes, relief, nervousness, etc.

It's not like I haven't done a liquid diet before. This time though, it comes after a year and a half of having given up on dieting - period. I have put forth many years of willpower in dieting and

When I go through a normal day, I hardly feel real hunger - even if I have eaten very little, but this was ridiculous and my inability to stop thinking about it was not helping. Also not helping was the fact that the one protein shake I drank....or tried to....was within four days of expiration. That was just plain sad as I know those boxes of shake bottles and cans sit on shelves for several years before expiration. To think that had been in my fridge for a year and a half....wow, just wow. 

Today is day # 2 and MUCH BETTER already. I attribute that to last night's Kmart run for protein shake powder, vitamin gummies, Crystal Light, and a new scale. I even found Omega-3 gummies and they do not taste fishy. When I got home, I made popsicles out of the Crystal Light and drank a real shake. I also turned my focus to reading my liquid options and found that my doctor allows broths and that some folks made soup and simply didn't eat the noodles. So, I had some soup as well and went to bed feeling full.

I FINALLY bought those little colorful popsicle thingies.

I admit, I had actually wanted them years ago, but YOWZA am I glad to have them now!

I tried Crystal Light, but I have a strong feeling that fruit juice is going to win this one for the taste and the texture.

Having communicated with my surgeon's office this morning about vitamins and more, I have  also been told I can add non-fat soups and have skim milk in my coffee so YAY! They even sent me some great recipes to try out for vegetable soup!

I plan to do a video blog in a few days. Yesterday, I also took some before and after pictures

Surgery in 14 days - wish me luck! :-)