Bumps in the road...

So I haven't updated this in quite a while...I thought I should check in and share some thoughts.

Things are still going well, I am still focused on getting healthy and changing my ways...however I think the path I take might end up being a little different.

Soon after getting out of the hospital we got news that my aunt (dad's oldest sister) died.  Plans were made for a funeral/memorial service in Texas and initially I decided I wasn't going to go.  However after thinking about it and soon learning that ALL of my cousins from that side would be there, I made the decision to go.

So I planned to drive my sisters car and follow my dad and sisters in the other car and our plan was to alternate drivers and drive straight through without stopping at a hotel.  If you are familiar road trips, you know how easy it is to pig out on sodas, fast food, and other junk food every time you stop to gas up or just take a break.  Suprisingly though, I tried my best to stick to water and tea instead of soda and not get the sugariest chocolatiest junk food when I was hungry.

Once we got to Texas though, I kind of lost that focus, haha.  But I had a good time, and it was good to see everyone in the family.
I had planned to leave on Monday come home, staying in a hotel on the way home...but my sisters convinced me to stay a few extra days...so I ended up leaving Kingsville on Thursday, making it to Demin, NM by night, and then making the rest of the journey home the next day.  On the way I had another stumble and bought a pack of cigarettes (stupid i know).

So I had been home a while...and was still having issues with my left leg swelling up throughout the day.  I kept looking it up online wondering what it could be, hoping not a blood clot...but in the hospital they looked at it and asked mea few questions and said good, iI wasn't showing any signs of it being a clot...so I was stumped.

Being in Texas I had to push back my original doctor's appointment with my primary care doctor, and that finally happened yesterday...sort of.  I ended up at the wrong clinic, so I had to be a walk in at this one.  ANYWAYS, the doctor saw my leg and said yeah...you need to go to the ER again, that definitely looks like you could have DVT.  So...AGAIN we go to the ER, ugh.

SO I spent all day at the ER yesterday and the ultrasound test came back negative...no blood clot.  So it looks like its more like a skin infection/cellulitis....which makes sense because I often end up with weird cuts on my legs that I don't remember how I got...so that's how that could have happened.

Now...about the surgery.  At this point...I'm not 100% sure I'm going to go down that path.  When I originally started investigating bariatric surgery, I admit I was in the worst shape of my life...plus on top of smoking...I could barely get around and was looking for something fool proof.
But as I started thinking about things, I realized there are other possible steps that I have NEVER taken before.  For instance, I've never met with a personal trainer, or someone who is going to make sure I get my workouts in.  I've also never met with a nutritionist or dietician, someone who can give me useful advice and reminders about what to eat, cook, or whatever.  These are a couple things I think I want to try out...and see how much progress I can make doing that.
Since my original post on this blog I have lost some weight and have much more energy than I did.  I actually can sleep laying down in my bed at night and sleep well.  Hopefully once this leg condition improves, I plan on taking walks down at the park every day, eventually moving on to maybe Lake Murray and then Cowles Mountain...but I don't wanna get to ahead of myself.

The idea of the gastric bypass just seems so final.  The whole process just seemed very overwhelming and daunting once I started really looking into it.

I could still end up doing the surgery, I'm not sure.  But while I have this time in between in which I'm supposed to be staying cigarette free...I thought why not look into some other options and see how much I can accomplish.

So anyways, those are my thoughts...if you have any input or ideas, please let me know.  I appreciate everybody's support and input on this deal.