 Good morning my beautiful internet friends. So almost five months ago now I stood about right here with two feet and told you guys that in 24 hours I was gonna have amputation surgery. Hey everybody It's Joe. It is now one day before my ankle amputation. We are headed up to Denver tonight to Get everything prepared and at 7 30 tomorrow morning. I will have my right lower leg Chopped off amputated taking off today. I am telling you that right now as you are watching this I'm actually scheduled it to go live the minute that my surgery is starting I am having surgery as we speak and I wanted to share this video with you guys today It is how I get ready for surgeries Everyone gets ready for surgeries different ways, but since I've had a couple I thought I would kind of walk you guys through some of my thought process some of the things I try to remember to do and get ready for and all of that so one just really quick thing before we dive in Override anything I say here with medical advice. I am not a doctor anything I say here is just my recommendation from my experience, but talk to your doctor about literally everything Talk to your medical team about literally everything and this is just my two cents today is a very busy day And I wanted to take you guys along with me. First of all, does this shirt make me look like a clown? You decide so it is t-minus two days until surgery and Actually when you see this it will probably be the day before or the day of surgery and first of all I will be taking guys with me to surgery, but along with that I wanted to show you guys how I get ready for surgery I would not call myself a professional at going through surgeries, but this will be in my 12th. So 12th 11th Something like that have gone through a few so here are a few things to keep in mind when you are heading into surgery It's surgery. It's scary It can be concerning and be nice if one could just show up and be done with it But I think it's really important to prepare your house prepare schedule prepare all of that So that your mind can be as at rest as possible. And so today I am taking care of Computer stuff in a perfect world where I am not an adult with adult responsibilities I would just show up to surgery and be done but there are things that I need to take care of to be able to take additional time really off and Not being able to take care of the house not being able to take care of things I use Evernote to make lists of everything that needs to be taken care of before I actually head to the hospital So on my list today are things like calling the pre-anesthesia department because at UC health, which is the hospital system I am a part of here. They require you to meet with Like a nurse and the anesthesia team beforehand But I did that before my last surgery and because I've been out of town I don't think I'm gonna have time to so I'm hoping that we can just get that done over the phone Generally there is gonna be pre-op stuff that you're gonna go through either on the phone or in person before you go To surgery so you want to make sure that you check in with your doctor's office or the hospital to make sure that you have that Taking care of and you know exactly what you need to bring Secondly, I am taking today to catch up on all emails Everything work and life related and let people know that I will not be available for at least two weeks Now it's not like I'm gonna be dead for two weeks I will probably be capable of communication and responding to emails as we all know but I Don't want to commit myself to anything that I'm not gonna be okay with I don't know how I'm gonna feel after surgery I don't know what the recovery is gonna be like Entirely and so I like to give myself kind of buffer time and so if that is something you can do I know not everyone has that ability. It is something that I'd recommend doing I tend to overestimate the time that I need to recover just so that I don't Let people down as far as response time goes or time getting back to work or events things like that I also have things on my list like making sure all bills are paid Getting all laundry done and my favorite part buying snacks. I have this Ottoman basically right here and inside is a treasure trove of snacks of varying kinds I have found that applesauce is really really helpful for me to have around after surgery Which is why I have that fridge there things that calm my stomach are helpful because I tend to feel sick and queasy After anesthesia and so applesauce is really good. Also super boring saltine and club crackers are general things I have on him I would definitely recommend having snacks like within reaching distance so that you don't go hungry so that you can eat with any Medication and things like that which brings me to my next point Refilling medications make sure that all medications are refilled if your doctor has prescribed any for post-surgery to do with pain or Antibiotics or anything like that Make sure that you have those filled before surgery. So you don't have to think about that after so you're not stuck at home without any Kind of pain management after surgery drugs wear off and you have a big spike in pain anything like that You definitely want to avoid that I'm here doing laundry and I was horrified by what I saw in the viewfinder because I was like dear god Joe you are Washed out. That's what I realized if you have my eye makeup for the day You just let me know if you see the difference because I do hold on one sec Oh Success kind of my eyeliner lines go in the wrong directions because I didn't make the match But I also don't care enough to fix it I'm literally being drowned by laundry, but it's actually quite warm Hi, Tiffany, I was calling about your surgery coming up. Yes It's a good time for you. Absolutely. Let's do that. Okay, so that was a super well-timed phone call And also I dug my way out of the pile of laundry That was my pre anesthesia team calling to ask me a bunch of medical questions Basically, what they're gonna ask you is all about your medical history They're gonna ask you what medications you're taking if anyone in your immediate family is at a heart attack or blood clot You've left the country recently and I've never ever gotten to say yes before but I was like yes I traveled to Ireland and I hope that isn't an issue and it wasn't in that phone call They might give you details about your surgery for instance I now know that my surgery is taking place at 8 30 in the morning and I should be there at 6 30 They'll give you instructions about what to do and what not to do for instance. I am to shower for the three days Before surgery for the record, I do shower But the reason they tell you to do this is to shower with antibacterial soap for three days straight before surgery To help prevent infection. Also, they're going to want to know if you've had surgery before if you've had any issues with anesthesia now I have I've had surgery before and I've had issues with anesthesia Thankfully it has never been anything like life-threatening, but I was diagnosed with PTSD seven years ago And I have the unfortunate habit of waking up from anesthesia in a full-blown panic attack Not knowing where I am hyperventilating and terrified of everyone and everything around me Not a great way to wake up from surgery Especially not being able to breathe not being able to communicate what's going on because I literally can't speak and so I have learned To let them know about that. I used to kind of be ashamed about it. I didn't want to say hey I have PTSD Something's not normal about my brain and you need to understand that this might happen when I was able to do that It actually got better because they were prepared for it to happen They knew they should probably bring in my husband if that happened because he's able to calm me down a lot faster And they can be a lot more helpful and compassionate and understanding because they actually know what's going on So if you have specific concerns if you have medical issues that you feel uncomfortable talking about or mental Conditions illnesses anything like that. I know it's not easy to talk about like I really know it's not easy to talk about But if you have concerns definitely definitely bring them up. It's necessary. It's good for them to know It's helpful and it can help save your life in some situations. So with that very important phone call out of the way Knowing that I am actually confirmed for surgery I am going to go ahead and run a couple errands to continue getting my household and my life ready for surgery so that I can Actually focus I have found it really really really really helpful to have everything taken care of for days after surgery I know I said that before I'll probably say it again But it is so important to be able to actually rest and focus on your recovery to all of the workaholics out there I'm talking to you guys especially. I know that it can be Tempting to want to rush back to work to want to rush back to whatever to not focus on your recovery But you recover a lot faster if you just recover if you just take a couple days or however long your doctor tells you But you just take those days especially Initially after surgery to really focus on your body healing to really focus on recovery and to not worry about everything else happening in your life So whatever you can do to make sure that that happens whether it's cleaning your house whether it's Rescheduling anything that needs to be rescheduled whether it's making work phone calls in advance whether it's running errands now Which is what I'm about to do do those things so that your life can be as simple and has prepared and is quiet in the days after Surgery so you can just heal because I promise you you heal faster if your life is prepared for it Let's talk about pet care with my little Sadie bear here So depending on what kind of pets you have this may not be an issue at all But it's definitely something you want to take into consideration if you are the primary caregiver for your pet Are you going to be capable of giving them all the care they need for instance? I have three big dogs this is just one of them and I know after my ankle surgeries and now amputation Surgeries that I am not capable of giving them the kind of care that they need because they're all big dogs For weeks after surgery and so they go up to my parents how if you don't feel like you're gonna be capable of having the brain power or the physical power or the You know movement capability mobility issues to take care of your pets See if you can have someone watch over them or if you have a friend or family member who can do that We got to make sure our babies are taken care of Yes The quick and shameless plug for Amazon Prime for anybody who's like stuck at home for extended periods of time I have ordered basically everything our household runs on aside from fresh groceries off of Amazon It has been such a lifesaver not to have to walk into stores to get things and with the two-day shipping It's really helpful. I obviously don't get anything because I don't think Amazon pays anyone to advertise for them because they don't need it But Amazon Prime Definitely is a great investment if you are stuck at home all the time the time money energy Brain power savings of just being able to order things instead of having to go out and get them and find a way to carry them So on and so forth has really been helpful So if you are homebound for a while after surgery or whatever illness or anything you're dealing with I definitely recommend getting a prime subscription One thing I forgot It's good idea to get some frozen meals too People will probably bring you food if you're having surgery if you have friends or family around But having some quick meals in the freezer is definitely a handy thing to have Snack You are a toaster snack Morning again friends. It is now the day before surgery and I realized I forgot to talk yesterday about good nutrition super important really really a good idea to have Really solid nutrition you know And then days leading up to surgery Which I commonly practice in all seriousness It is a really good idea to stock your house and your body with good food, but I also Tend to kind of throw caution to the wind the day before surgery and eat whatever the heck I want because I can't eat the next day Really and it helps me feel better. I'll just be honest So now we have made it to the point where most practical things are taken care of I've run all the errands I need to take care of I've almost responded to all the emails and phone calls that I need to do to make sure everything Is done and I want to talk about what I think one of the most important things is which is kind of the Emotional side of things for some people. I think it's probably very small percentage of people surgery is literally no big deal at all Whatever who cares for most people? It's very nerve-wracking for some people. It is petrifying terrifying horrifying I am in the category of I'm not a fan of surgery. I don't like it It frightens me, but I can do it with that being said I like to take the day beforehand to kind of center myself as much as I can and that usually consists of just doing kind of Whatever I need to do. So what does that usually look like? I think you can probably insert any self-care activities into the sentence, but for me It's gonna be things like journaling or sitting outside or playing fetch with my dog standing outside my doorway or Drinking tea or talking to a friend or just anything that helps me relax Later this evening we actually just decided to get a hotel room up in Denver because where I'm having surgery is almost two Hours from our house. I have to be there at 6 30 in the morning Meaning that we would have to leave the house by 4 30 and oftentimes there are traffic and accidents and being late to surgery And the possibility of missing it are very nerve-wracking to me So we decided to spend the money to stay up there to minimize any anxiety and while we're up there We decided to go see a car show because that's something that we both really enjoy doing well Mostly Brian enjoys doing it, but I really enjoy his company So it is something to do to relax to kind of take our minds off of things Maybe get some dinner and then just have a quiet night in and get to bed at a decent time to get some good rest Like I said, everyone's gonna feel differently about surgeries and procedures. You're gonna feel different than I'm gonna feel So whatever you need to do to get ready for it do that These are just some suggestions, but I would definitely definitely recommend doing whatever you need to do to take care of Your emotional state your emotional well-being because that's really important heading into this if you have fears or concerns Talk to someone call a friend call a family member make sure that you journal about it or do whatever is helpful to you To help process that before you get there because there will be things to process after as well And it's helpful to just make sure that you're paying attention to yourself to your body to your mind to your emotions To your spirit to all of it. Alright guys, that is my very abbreviated guide to how I get ready for surgery I'm sure there are many things I left out and forgot But basically do what your doctor tells you and do whatever you need to feel comfortable and get to the hospital On time I am now going to go do those things that I told you about about taking care of myself and Click off on the camera. I love you guys. I'll be thinking of you I will keep you updated real quick note If you want to stay updated quicker follow me on Instagram at Footless Joe I update there and Brian can update there a lot faster than I can upload any videos or anything like that So if you're interested in quicker updates on how surgery went or how things in life in general going Posting a photo and an update to Instagram is a lot faster and easier than editing a whole video and getting on YouTube So quicker updates are there if you are interested wherever you guys are in the world I hope you were having a wonderful day and taking care of yourselves And I cannot thank you enough for all of your support over the past couple days, which have been a little emotionally rough I am feeling a lot more easy and prepared to head into surgery right now So I'm really grateful for that and I can't wait to tell you guys how it went. I'll talk to you soon Down the river high tide goes around