The Last Supper

The real fun begins tomorrow.  The liquid diet begins.  As the funny pharmacy tech engaged me about all this craziness, I had to tell her unfortunately that doesn't mean milkshakes.  She told me she was horrified for me, but she was good to suggest that tequila is a clear liquid!

In truth, it's a high protein liquid diet that I'm to follow for these two weeks prior to surgery.  No carbonated beverages and nothing with more than 20g total carbohydrates.  And no food whatsoever.  I spent an hour or so recently at GNC buying Isopure protein drinks and whey protein powder for mixing in milk.  I went to the store and bought a variety of boxes of jello and a bunch of sugar-free popsicles and fudge pops.  I also found some Muscle Milk light and low-carb SlimFast (I'm guessing regular SlimFast is creme broulee compared to the low-carb stuff!). And I have sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast that I'm to mix with skim milk fortified with powdered milk.  I'm to do all this because apparently the weight loss caused by the liquid diet lowers surgical risk.  I've taken inventory and I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

And so, tonight was the proverbial "last supper".  Fittingly, it was a normal night around here.  We cooked a flank steak over the weekend and tonight enjoyed the leftovers alongside baked potatoes and a nice salad.  I cannot confirm that there might have been a carbonated "grown-up drink" alongside.  Much later this evening, a bit of our favorite holiday peppermint ice cream was the last thing I ate, alongside the last diet root beer in the fridge.

Of course, what I ate tonight I'll eventually get to eat again, though I'm sure only a fraction next time.  Slowly I'll get to reintroduce food in the weeks post-surgery.  But drinking will forever be different.  Nothing carbonated, ever.  I'll be able to drink tea and coffee again in weeks ahead, but no longer with a straw, and not within 30 minutes either side of eating food.  Inasmuch as there was nothing out of the norm about the night, the present and the future couldn't feel any further apart to me -- and tomorrow is the next big step into this wild, new beginning.  I don't expect these next two weeks to be a piece of cake (no pun intended).  But not to put too fine a point on it, darkness comes after the last supper.  And while I don't yet know the whole story, I know the One who does.