My Microbial Colony

Photo Credit: findingtheobvious via Compfight cc

One of the things rarely mentioned about hospitals is that they are a great place to get sick. I walked into the hospital yesterday morning feeling pretty normal and emerged a few hours later having been colonized by an enterprising group of microbes. 24 hours later, this has turned into a full-blown head cold. I am now doing all the usual stuff - filling wastebaskets with used Kleenex, staying as far away from Lor as possible, and mouth-breathing like a landed fish. Joyous.

There really isn't a lot to say about a cold that translates well into "weight-loss blog", but it does raise some interesting questions for what happens after the surgery. Many of my go-to remedies and comfort foods are going to be denied to me after the surgery. For example:

• Orange Juice. Nope, totally off the list. A completely protein-less high carbohydrate liquid. 3 "No"s for the price of one there.
• Chicken Noodle Soup. Again, not enough protein and the part of the soup that makes the ravaged throat feel better (the broth) is the part  that has the lowest nutritional value.
• Ice Cream. My favorite comfort food for head colds is pure sugar and empty calories. Sigh.
• Water. Kinda the opposite problem here, but who wants to drink water while they have a cold? I want something warm, and aromatic. Guess I could drink caffeine-free teas, but 64 ounces of fluid a day fills a LOT of teacups.

Just things to think about to the accompaniment of the tympanic drums that have taken up residence in my head. Considering that I have a barium test on the books for Monday, I am going to need to get over this thing fast. This means all the usual stuff - keep the infected fluids moving out of the body so they can't slide into the lungs, mega-doses of Vitamin C (but not in Orange Juice), don't get dehydrated, etc. Where all I want to do is lie down, burrow under the covers, and wait for my head to fall off. This prepping for gastric sleeve surgery thing is not for the faint of heart.

I'll talk to you all on Monday - here's wishing you all a better weekend than the one I am going to have.

Hosting A Microbe Dance Party,

- Hawkwind