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Damon C. Concord, NC, USA Surgery date scheduled - BMI: 52.0 Surgery Type: RNY - distal Member ID: C1114294021 Web Site: http://photobucket.com/albums/b259/DamoninNC/ Surgeon: Roc Bauman, M.D. |
Click here for Damon's surgery support page Click here for the 12/2005 Reunion Page Click here to print Damon's cards (You can print your own cards, and if you're good at it, you can help print cards for your friends as well!) |
  Free Site Counters   Hi Everyone, Thank you for stopping by my profile, I started my WLS Journey on September 2, 2004, My 40th Birthday. I thought enough is enough. I had my first meeting with DOC ROC (Dr. Roc Bauman, 1988 Graduate University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill ) at "Carolina Weight Loss Surgery" here in Concord, NC on September 21st, 2004 I went through the 1st consult with them, watched a video on the procedure, the cons and the pros and was very impressed that he wasn't trying to "sell" the idea, actually it was more like he was trying to talk you out of it in a way, Next step that day was to meet with the nutritionist and had a very informative session on what to expect post-op, then I met with the Doc, he was very professional and discussed a lot of options that I may or may not be interested in. He also made no bones about the fact that he was very strict as far as compliance goes and absolutely NO SMOKING 2 months prior, he said why should I help you with the number 2 killer in America and your still doing the number 1...that made a lot of sence. He spent a long time with me maybe 45 minutes or so, I've never had a Doc spend so much time with me during a visit and believe me I have seen my share of Doc's. Under that layer of professionalism was a very real sence of understanding of the plight of morbidly Obese people and a very real sence of caring, it's hard to put into words, I guess you would call it a gut feeling that this is a man I could really trust with my life under a knife. Then Kim his Office manager sat down with me and went over what all I need to do for pre-op medical and psychiatric clearance and made an appt. with Dr. Kelling's office (Harvard Med School Graduate) and get the pre-op clearance ball got rolling. In between my initial consult with Doc Roc's office and Dr. Kelling's I took a 10 day "STOP SMOKING" Trip to Biloxi Ms. It worked and i have been cigarette free ever since.wooohooo (hardest thing I've ever had to do, but well worth it, even though I did add an extra 25 lbs in the process) Dr. Kelling's office would of had all my testing ordered and done in less than a week, but I stretched it out in order to have more time to come up with the cash needed to pay for everything, and to have some things done at the VA for free. I wanted to pay for everything As I went along without dipping into my surgery/hospital fund already started, I finished all my testing last week(some of which I had done at the VA and they are not the speediest ppl in the world) Now on to the personal stuff about me. Not a lot to say about myself, except that I am 40 yrs young, 6'1, 394. I've had WL issues all my life and even "cheated" to get into the Army Where I gained weight (more than likely muscle weight) but after an accident that crushed both legs (fell to the ground after my repelling line from a Chinook malfunctioned) Then I had to spend 2 yrs learning to walk again and live life as a Service-connected Disabled Veteran... and the pounds really added up, Like most of you I have battled this weight thing for yrs and have tried every Diet you can think of, and some I made up myself like the "Coffee only diet", and the "eat every other day diet" and the only one that ever worked for me the "over the counter psudo-ephedrine HLC, the little white crosses, "SPEED" (I was taking 15-20, 25mg tabs or more a day for a year diet)" I lost over a 100 pounds on that one, (Thank God I had no heart damage) you can see the result in my wedding photo below, but when I stopped (DETOX) I put 150 back on. So WLS seems to be my last hope and I am committed with all my heart and soul to making it work. I've finished all the pre-op testing and just waiting on my next appt. with my surgeon, Dr. Bauman, to get a surgery date. I'm looking forward to a new life because at 394 lbs all I have is an existence. I'm looking forward to the day I can walk all the way through a mall and maybe even purchase clothing off the rack, something that I have never been able to do. I had the testing and medical clearance work done through Dr. Kelling's office and they are just great especially Dr. Danski, PA. I couldn't believe the amount of time she took with me explaining all the test results and what they mean. Now I'm waiting for all the results to be forwarded to Dr. Bauman and get scheduled for a surgery date. This may take some time though since I'm self-pay (I have Medicare, but it wont guarantee to pay for the surgery, so I'm saving the money (not quite there yet) and paying myself). I like to call it "using my life savings to save my life :-). At 394 lbs with several co-morbidities this is a last resort effort, like most of the people that read this I have tried every diet and exercise plan out there, 2 steps forward, 3 steps back, you know what I mean. Well, I guess thats about it, Good luck everyone and thank you in advance for your prayers. ~DAMON~ Well folks I finally got my medical clearance and My surgeon's office e-mailed me today that they are ready to schedule the surgery any time I am. As I mentioned earlier I am self-pay and don't quite have all the money I need yet. The surgeon is 4875.00 and the Hospital is 16,000. I have About 12,000 now. I am going in the morning to the Social Services office here in Cabarrus County to fine out if I can get Medicaid to Help with this, I am Disabled and Have Medicare, So all my hopes are pinned on them right now. Otherwise it'll take me another 6-8 months to save the other 9,000. that I need, which is very hard to do on disability. This has been a bittersweet day for me, on one hand I passed a Big hurdle (clearance)just to be stopped by a big wall, I am a strong willed person and I believe that this Wall is not unsurmountable. All things are possible through Prayer and I thank you all for yours. I'll update again as soon as I find out something new. Till next time. ~DAMON~ Well, so much for plan B, Medicaid wont pay because I make too much money on Disability(SS and VA combined). So I'm back to plan A, again, Saving the Money and self-paying. I have a plan C, Trying to get the VA to do the Surgery or at least help me pay for what I dont have saved yet, but I'm a realist and am not holding out out too much hope of getting that done. I have to get an appointment with my PCP at the VA hospital I go to, and am going to ask him for a referral to a VA facility that does the Surgery (There are a few). So I'll update again when I have more news. Thank you for all the wonderful comments. ~DAMON~ Finally got an appt. with the VA PCP today, it'll be June 3rd before I can see him to ask about a referral to a surgeon in the VA system that does WLS So until then I'm on hold. Until the next update. Take care. ~DAMON~  Just thought I'd stop by the ole' update page since i haven't posted for a couple of weeks......still on hold...LOL. Well, just wanted to say thanx to all the ppl who have been sending me support e-mails, you know who you are :~}}. Well, thats about it, and again Thanx to everyone the support is very much appreciated. Thought I'd list all my co-morbidities while I'm here: 1. Diabetes type II 2. Hypertension 3. Dyslipidemia 4. Major recurrent Depression, PTSD (military) 5. Sleep Apnea 6. Arthritis A. With Chondromalicia of the patella bilaterally, 7. History of multiple bilateral lower extremity stress fractures 8. History of recurrent bilateral lower extremity cellulitis (Several Hospitalizations to combat infections) 9. Edema 2+ pitted bilateral lower extremity 10. Acid Relux / GERD 11. Recurrent Vericose Veins (Already removed surgically once) 12. Use of cane for stability And Maybe I should list all my meds too :~} Enalapril Maleate 10mg Nifedipine(Adalat CC) 90mg Furosimide 40mg Omeprazole 20mg Niacin 500mg Lovastatin Fluoxetine HCL (Prozac)20mg Trazodone HCL 50mg Hydroxyzine Pamoate 50mg Alprazolam 1mg Codeine 30/Acetaminophen 300mg Aspirin 81mg chewable Vitamin D 50,000 1 @ mo One-a-day weight smart Vitamin I hope to mark a few of these off of both list's after surgery. ~DAMON~  Well, yesterday I went to the hospital and set up a pre-pay acct with 4000. and also pre-paid the anesthesia 1152. I have an appt with my PCP at the VA next week like I said before, but I don't think I'm gonna try to push the VA doing the WLS. They are great when it comes to Primary care and Meds but I think I'd rather pay and have it done by someone I really trust like Dr. Bauman and NEMC (Northeast Medical Center) He's done over 800 successful Lap RNY's and that speaks volumes to me. So if anyone is thinking Self-pay here is the bottom line. Pre-op testing 1st Visit to Dr. Kelling...........140.00 Blood tests*.........................1629.00 Stress test**........................1911.00 Upper GI (done at VA)...........FREE Final Exam for Clearence....120.00 Sub Total......................................................3800.00 Psychiatrist Clearance Have had a personal one at the VA for years..........................................FREE Surgeon Fees !st Consult fee........................225.00 Surgery Fee.........................4875.00 Sub Total.....................................................5100.00 Dietitian(1 yr) Deposit due at 1st consult....100.00 Balance due with next year...400.00 Sub Total for Nutr..........................................500.00 Anesthesia..................................................1152.00 Hospital(2 days)......................................16,000.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Total..........................................................26,552.00 *Your blood test cost may be much less since I had a couple of liver fuction test abnomallities and had to re-test several times. **Stress test cost are cheaper if you can use a Treadmill, i had to have the chemical induced stresstest.  I'll update further when I have more news, Thank you everyone for your support. ~DAMON~ Well, I just got back from seeing my PCP at the VA and He said if I wanted the VA to the WLS there is a 3 to 4 yrs waiting list. I take that as a "Sign" to just stick with Dr. Bauman and NEMC. Also, I have developed a hernia right next to my belly button (I understand that is one of the places the Laproscopic surgery uses as an entry point for equiptment, so maybe he can take care of it during my WLS as well) but my diabetes has stabilized through the diet I am on, He had me go give another 5 vials of blood to test thyroid and other things. I just had all that done to get medical clearance for surgery with Dr. Kelling in Concord, but he wanted to double check the findings. I guess it couldn't hurt to be sure of somethings, I think he will be taking good care of me after my surgery he spent a while discussing all the post-op care I would need, so I think things will be just fine. I have a great deal of confidence in Dr. Bauman(surgeon) and Dr. Armour(VA PCP). So back to saving money and lets hope by Christmas I can get to the LOSING side. Will update more as time passes. Thanx for the kind e-mails. ~DAMON~ Getting closer and closer. yippeee, I went yesterday and added another 1500, so just 10,500 more and I can get a Date..I get more phyic'd up about this everyday...I can't wait until my postings are weight loss updates instead of money updates. One day at a time. Oh yea when I went to add to my pre-pay acct at the hospital, the lady that has been so helpful to me, Debra Dobson NEMC, was surprised when I told her that I have Medicare(hospital part), I guess I had forgotten to mention it to her since I had already exhausted all those avenues, well at least I thought I had. She says that she will check into the possibility of getting Medicare to approve this surgery for me. If that happens then I should get all my money back that I have paid the hospital and can get scheduled for surg immediately. Wouldn't that be great. I'm not banking on it, but hope is still alive. But given that is remote at best, I'm still on my path to self-pay. Added up everything so far I have already invested 16,052.00 and Have 10,500 left to go, wish me luck and God bless everyone for the very supportive and helpful e-mails. OH members are the best. ~DAMON~ Well Debra at NEMC just called and just like everyone else....I have to pay for everything upfront then they can do the Surgery THEN we can file with Medicare and if they approve I get my money back. You think they would with a BMI of 52 and 10 Co morbidities. Well more when I hear more...~DAMON~ Well folks this has nothing to do with WLS, but i wanted to get it in here so that in the future when i re-read this I'll remember when this took place. Let me preface my remarks by giving a little personal history. My mother purchased a Restaurant in 1990 and made me Manager since I had a great deal of restaurant experience she saw to the books and I saw to the day to day running of the place and employees. Everything went fine and over the years my disabilities incurred in the Army became worse and worse, she worked around those disabilities, she was more than my business partner and mother, she was my best friend too. I was married in 1998, in 1999 I purchased a nice little piece of land in the country and put a very nice house on it for my new bride. In 2000 I found out my wife was cheating on me, of course I forgave her and thought we had moved past it. Then one day I came home and she was gone, along with everything in the house, including my dog that I had before we married, the one in my pics...she had taken my dog and gave it to a neighbor on her way out of town...I found this out 6 months later and ended up in jail (twice) once for telling them I would burn their house down and once for trying to run them off the road, who knew that was illegal...oh well I got out of both charges not guilty and they eventually gave me my dog back cause I would ride past their house and just stare at them (not illegal, since it was on the way to my house) I guess the big fat man thing payed off that once. Well, later that year my mother died, and by some fluke of legality my stepfather ended up with everything, Fired me (said he could no longer pay me and work around my disabilities) So I lost my house, my acura, my Honda passport, and all my credit cards. and ended up homeless. Folks if you don't think that you can have it all and lose it all in one year boy are you mistaken. I got my VA Disability up'd and found a cheap place to live. It took me 2 years to get SS Disability and about a year and a half to get my VA up'd to 100%. Now I have a comfortable living in a nice house (rented)and Me and my step-father have resumed a very nice relationship, but my credit was in the toilet. When I started this WLS journey I checked into a loan (yea right) for this surgery, the lady at my bank (with whom I have had nothing but good credit dealings for many years told me my best bet would be bankruptcy (Chapter 7) well yesterday 6/29/05 I had my 341 meeting with the trustee and creditor (none showed up) so I got my bankruptcy and 198,000 in debt is going to be wiped clean off my credit record and I'll a fresh start in that regards. Granted a bankruptcy stays on your credit for 10 yrs but all that debt is gone...My attorney told me that in a couple of months I could get credit just about anywhere, that lenders don't care that much about it anymore..he said who would you rather lend money to someone that has a butt load of debt or some one who has no debt and legally can't file for bankruptcy for at least 6 more yrs. I feel really good about this, that huge burden has been lifted and I have a Fresh start credit wise, now the next step is WLS and having a fresh start with my health. Life has a funny way of working out huh? Well, I should have another update soon, since it's about the 1st of the month and I can add to my prepay acct at the hospital. ~DAMON~  Howdy Y'all, I went today and added another 1500.00 to my Pre-pay acct. at the Hospital. I have a new lady that I am dealing with, Donna Penniger, They had some moving around in personnel since last month. Actually, Donna was there before and left for a short while and Debra Dobson was filling in for her during her leave. Well, Bottom line is I have paid the Hospital a total of 7,000.00 so far on the 16,000 needed in order to go ahead with Surgery. Only 9,000 left to go....wwwwoooooohhhhooooo. They had me sign a paper that said if Medicare would not pay the Hospital bill after the Surg. Then I will be responsible for the Bill. Duh, How stupid a thing is that, I'm already paying for it in advance, so they know they will get their money, If Medicare does pay, that money will come to me as a reimbursement not to them, unless it's more than 16,000 then they get the overage. sometimes things just don't add up, huh. I do often wonder each month when I take them all that cash if what I am doing is the right thing, I know I will be healthier, thinner, able to do things I haven't done in years, but, it's a lot of money, at least it is to me, But this long drawn out process really takes it's toll on my very positive(most of the time) attitude. I have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, so far the angel is winning. This evening a friend of mine (josh) and I went to see "War of the Worlds" at the movie house (that's southern for theater), My review...keep your money and wait for it on cable. I had one of those oh crap moments, When I went to sit in my seat and I just barely fit, It was a very tight 2 hrs. Next year I just hope I can look back on this Journal and just Laugh, laugh, laugh.... Other than that, I'm doing great, I have already started doing protein shakes for Breakfast and Lunch, then a small dinner. The healthier I am when my time comes the faster I may heal. Also, I'm drinking large amounts of h20, For my skin and to keep waste flushed from my system. Well here are the running totals....17,552.00 Paid...9,000.00 to go. wish me luck, more to come...~Damon~ I'm kinda down right now, I don't know if it's all worth it or not, I hear so many stories about revisions, and complications and people gaining back after their 2nd year post-op. Is this really all worth it or am I just setting myself up for another fall, one in which I will have to live with the rest of my life, however long that may be. It doesn't help that I spent all of last weekend on the Memorial pages and the regrets forums. It's very hard to live on a shoe-string and pay this 1500 a month. It has had the unexpected side-effect of making me a prisoner of this house, I am already a prisoner of my own body. It really takes it toll month after long month, but i've never been a quitter so why start now. I know I'm whinning and complaining, blah blah blah. Post-op should be a breeze even with all the hard work and possible complications compared to this. I'll post again when I have more news. Thanx to all who have written wonderful support e-mails, I really need them right now, I'm glad I saved them in a special folder. God Bless Running Totals so far...19,052.00 Paid......7,500.00 to go ~DAMON~ As I last left you in my most previous post and refering to my June 30th post,, I still owed 7500 more, in order to have the whole 16000 paid so I could get scheduled. As I mentioned previously when I refered to my year of hell, loss of marrige, job, house, vehicles, health, (Fair Weather)friends and going from on top of the world to Homeless outcast, And After pulling myself out of that hole of despair and regaining a good living standard, I filed for Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) back in May. Well,Yesterday I got my final Discharge From the Bankruptcy courts and ALL that bad debt is gone. So I tried once again for a loan to help with this surgery costs, using my truck which is paid for and was not part of any proceedings, for collateral...you'll never believe it....... they said YES. Well, as of this morning I have paid the entire Pre-pay acct amount off due to a loan being granted on my truck...(Thank You American General Finance for taking a chance, you will not be sorry) and now owe nothing more to the hospital and am ready to schedule a surgery date, Hopefully sometime in November, thats way earlier than previously planned YYYIIIPPPPEEEE. I am so excited, I just can't wait till I'm a healthier happier thinner person, able to go and do just like "Normal" folks, My First big goal for next summer is to get my stamina built up and hike the "Linville Gorge" again, like I did in an earlier life, I am going to strive to get to the same physical level I was in while serving in the Army. I will still have some limitations due to the injuries I sustained while in service, but its gotta be better than it is now..... by far. Just a footnote, I opted in for the life ins. for the truck loan just in case, I'm very up about this surgery and my outcome i know will be flawless but just in case I wouldn't want to straddle my family with new debt just the same. Well, Everyone wish me well and write more when I have some definate dates and plans. Damon Kim Hunter at Carolina Weight Loss Center, Dr. Bauman's office, called and My Surgery is scheduled at 12:00 on November 11, 2005...YYIIIPPPEE I thought this day would never get here, i am so pumped with excitement, can you tell...lol She also went ahead and made my last pre-op appt. needed and my "meet and greet" with the Anesthesiologist Both on October the 31st (two weeks prior to Surgery) she also went ahead and made my two week post-op appt. with Dr. Bauman. The only other Appt. to make is with the Nutritionist, Diane Stout at NEMC, so far she has not returned my call, but I have a month and a half, so no problem. Thanks for all the support, More when I know more...Damon Kim just called me back and told me that she just found out that Dr. Bauman will be outta town at a Surgery Conference on Nov. 11th....so, my Surgery date has changed to November 14, 2005, No biggie, Actually everything is running too smoothly, I'm waiting on the other shoe to drop, i guess....lol, But don't think I'm not very jazzed about this, I hope the next month goes by like the wind so I can start a new and healthier life, I know it's gonna be hard, but I'm very committed to this change, evidence of this is readily apparent in my ability to quit a 3 pack a day addiction to cigarettes and not return to them for a whole year now, and the tremendous effort I have demonstrated in my saving and scraping 26,000 in one year, in order to pay for it. My one week post-op appointment with Dr. Bauman has changed to 10:15 November 21, 2005 Also, She got me in touch with The Nutritionist's office in order to schedule my 2 week post-op Nutrition appt. with them, and that Appointment is at 1:15pm on November 28,2005. More when I know more....DAMON My new date is December 16th, 2005...that is still within my goal of Surgery by Christmas so it's no biggie, what is just one month after all this time, right. Here is my new schedule: 12-2-05 Friday...10:00am pre-op appt with Dr. Bauman 11:30am Appt with anestisioligist at NEMC 12-16-05 Friday...12:00pm Surgery (be there at 10:00am) 12-22-05 Thursday...1 Week post-op appt with Dr. Bauman 12-30-05 Friday...1:15pm Appt with Nutritionist, Ruth at CWLS more when I know more....Damon Future Update Future Update Future Update Future Update Future Update Future Update
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Member Interests: Click here to see interests of other ObesityHelp members. Surgeon Info: Surgeon: Roc Bauman, M.D. I first saw Dr. Bauman on the 21st of Sept. 2004 and I was very impressed with Him and his staff, and the Nutrionist i'll be with for the next year or so, Dianne, seems to be very knowledgable and has a lot of experience with weight loss surgery and what the dietary needs are as well as the pitfalls. I highly recommend having the Pre-op testing and medical clearence done through Dr. Kelling's office (Dr. Bauman's suggestion). His staff and everyone with whom I have had contact with have a great deal of WLS experience and have been extremely nice and helpful. At this point(04/27/05) I just finished all of my pre-op requirements and am waiting on a date. The reason for the long gap was my choice not the Doctors as I am Self-pay and needed the extra time to have enough money. I will probably up-date this after I have Surgery. Thank You D. |
