I first started noticed my weight when i was about 8. My mom put me in all types of after school activities to try to help me at least maintain my weight. But an unhealthy family life just ed to further weight gain. At the age of 13 i was diagnosed with an enlarged heart valve and had surgery that same year. i was forced to quit any activity that got my heart rate up for years. During that time i ate because i was depressed and my weight continued to rise. when i graduated high school my weight had reached it highest at 320lbs. i told myself i had to lose weight before college so i started working out 6 hours a day and eating nothing. i did get down to 250lbs but i was very sick. i went back up to 300 lbs by the end of college. after graduating college i moved back home with my parents and they enjoy eating out and indulging in rich foods. i joined with them and ballooned up to my highest weight ever of 370lbs. we have tried 4 times to get my surgery covered by insurance by all 4 times we fell short. this last time i had gotten a new job and insurance said they covered surgery. it was September and they required a 6 month diet supervised by a doctor. i started my diet then talked to insurance again and they informed me that even if i did they diet starting in 2011 they were no longer covering surgery. I was crushed. My parents then offered to help me get a loan and help me pay for my surgery. We were luky to find shawnee missions surgical center because malley wanted around 20,000 for a lap band and shawnee mission had a "sale" of only 11,500. i ended up going with the gastric sleeve to increase my chances of reaching my goal weight and so i dont have to get fills for the rest of my life. Surgery is jan 5th and i am excited to start my life!