La Madeleine - The Last Meal

As I said in my previous post, I ate La Madeleine for my last meal on Sunday, June 27th. I had to stop eating at noon for surgery the next day. La Madeleine wasn't really what I had in mind but The Original Pancake House had a wait and I was on a time crunch, so Leah, Leigh Ann, and I headed to La Madeleine to scarf some food before I had to quit eating.

I decided on the Chicken Parisien - marinated chicken breast, bacon, melted cheddar, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato on a sourdough roll. I got the Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta Salade as my side, and got the Potato Soup as well. Last meal, remember. Of course I washed it all down with two glasses of Dr. Pepper. I was being very mindful of the time because I didn't want to do anything to compromise my surgery. I wanted to play exactly by the rules. I was trying to eat everything by noon and I guess I wasn't paying attention to how fast I was eating or my lack of chewing. All the sudden I was stuck and my mouth began to fill with saliva. Stuck due to the lap band I still had. Of course right about that time Leah and Leigh Ann direct a question to me. I was so embarrassed. They know my band struggles and knew what was happening. I barely got out the words "Talk amongst yourself" and signaled that I was having issues.

I quickly walked to the bathroom to throw up and of course all the stalls were occupied. I stood there a minute and thought "don't throw-up, don't throw-up, don't-throw up" and then there it came. I could not keep it in. I lunged toward the sink, pulled out the wicker trash can (yes wicker), and threw up. Of course there were two people watching my embarrassing moment. One lady quickly left the bathroom and the girl at the sink putting on her make-up moved over as quickly as possible. Right at that moment a stall cleared up and I bolted. Of course by that time there was nothing left to throw up and I was completely fine so I just hung out in there another minute before exiting. I went to the sink to wash my hands and profusely apologized to the girl still putting her make-up on. She said she felt bad for me and she understood. No, she didn't, but that's okay. Then I was out to rejoin the girls and finish my meal. Oh yes, by throwing up what always got stuck with the lap band you feel fine and can go right back to eating. Yes, I know, not normal.

This incident was perfect by happening at my last meal. It just reiterated that by having surgery the next day I was doing the right thing. I was getting rid of my band and all the issues I'd had with it for the last 4 1/2 years. I would be starting over on the right path. Although pretty embarrassing, throwing up was very symbolic for me. The weeks leading up to surgery did the same thing for me. Little things would happen here and there and I'd just think "yes, having surgery is absolutely the right decision".