Weight Loss Surgery Forums

Well here I go! One kilometer for every pound that I have lost…namely 140kms. I will cycle from the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, QC to Lamoureux Park Bandshell in Cornwall, ON. It is quite an undertaking, but something that I truly want to do. With that said, I did not want to do this just for me. So I’ve teamed up with the Heart and Stroke Foundation/Fondation des Maladies du Coeur which is “CLOSE TO MY HEART?. They have been extremely supportive of me and my journey and for that I am extremely thankful.

As some may or may not know, my family tree is plagued with heart disease including myself. On January 31, 2008, I suffered an unstable angina attack which landed me at the Ottawa Heart Institute with a 99% blockage. Doctors placed a stent, and that was a wake-up call that no one should ever have to experience. Weighing in at that time close to 275 lbs, I then gained yet another 27 lbs that year mainly due to the excessive amounts of medications that I was taking to keep my heart beating properly, and, of course, I had terrible eating habits.

This all changed on November 5, 2009 when I had weight loss surgery, and life as I knew it changed forever. I no longer take any medications for my heart, nor for diabetes, my blood pressure is fantastic, and my resting heart rate is one of a very fit person. Life now is full of promise as if looking at the world through the eyes of child with amazement. It has been a wonderful and challenging journey and the time has come to pay this gift forward.

Awareness of this disease and it’s, at times, very subtle hints and symptoms needs to be researched and promoted so that it reaches everyone, and therefore, this ride is for that purpose. I’m doing this for me, for my family, whom I love dearly and who have been my constant source of support, for my girls who may suffer the same fate, and for all those who have been affected by heart disease.