So I did something that I was avoiding today. I told my Grandma that I am having surgery.  I didn't know how she would react. I thought maybe she would be against it and try to talk me out of it.  Well it went better then I thought.  She doesn't like that I have to have surgery but she wants me to be healthy and she hates that I am overweight like she is.  I told her that I was having the Lap RNY and she remembered having her gallbladder out by lap and she said it healed really fast. She was really supportive and I was glad.  My Grandma basically helped raise my brother and I because my mom was a single mom.  My brother and I were dropped off an my grandparents house every morning and picked up there in the evening.  We spent a lot of time there and that is why to this day I am really close to my grandparents. It was really hard not telling my grandma that I was doing this for the last 7 months.  She did acuse me of keeping it from her and I told her that truth, that I just got approved yesterday and I didn't think it was necessary to go telling everyone until I got approved.  I have also started telling more and more people around here.  Not everyone needs to know but I also I want to have enough confidence to tell people and not be afraid of what their opinion is. 

It has been hard waiting for 8 days to hear if I have been approved. Our tricare lady said that once the doctors office submits the paperwork it will take tricare 3 days to process it.  I left a message with our tricare lady today and when she called me back this afternoon she said she had my approval. I am so happy. I'm glad to have a final approval. I have booked plane tickets for my mom to come and I hoped nothing would go wrong.  My mom is coming for 10 days. She will be here to take care of my boy's while my husband stays in frankfurt for 2 days.  I won't worry that they are acting up for anyone, because Grandma can handle it.  
I have been doing lots of research on protein powders, bullets, vitamins and other stuff. I am starting to buy some things to try out.  I will have to do a 10 day liquid/pureed diet so I need to prepare for that. The day is coming fast. I am so excited.

I think I'm floating on a cloud right now. My husband and I went to frankfurt today to see Prof Weiner for my initial consultation.  It was a bit confusing to find the hospital but the GPS we just bought paid for itself. I had to wait 1 hour and 15 minutes to see Prof Weiner but it was fine. He was very nice, so funny. He was cracking jokes making me and my husband laugh, which made my husband like him a lot. He answered all my questions and explained the procedure again. I asked about LAP Band and he explained the differences and why he didn't think the band would be the best choice for me.  He scheduled my surgery. He said that he likes to schedule them four weeks out but that fell on a german holiday so I am scheduled 5 weeks out. I go in on the 19th and have my surgery on the 20th of May.  They took my height and weight today. I filled out more paperwork.  He gave me a book about what to expect and how to prepare for the surgery. He said he would like me to try and do a 10 day liquid/pureed diet before the surgery.  Now I just have to wait for the final word from tricare. 

I just got the call and I'm Approved for my initial consultation with Prof Weiner on the 14th of April.  I'm so excited.  Just one step closer.

So friday March 28th I went to see the Nutrionist at Ramstein. She was really great. She gave me all this info on post surgery diet and protein sources. She talked with me. She let me know that she is there if I have any questions after surgery. It was really great for someone to say Hey e-mail me I want to know when you get your date.  That was really nice. 

Monday March 31st I went and saw my pcm for THE REFERAL. First I stopped by tricare so that I could make sure to take the right paper to my pcm.  The tricare lady was very nice and explained everything I would need my pcm to do. She said that he needed to fill out this paper and gave me a copy. She said that I would also need a referal in the computer.  She confirmed that tricare is paying for the RNY and LapBand surgeries.  I went to see my pcm and I was really nervous. I just kept thinking he was going to change his mind. My blood pressure was 138/83 and I'm on blood pressure meds.  I filled out the top portion of the paper and gave it to him. He thanked me for being so organized. He checked off those boxes so fast that my heart jumped. He signed the paper. I then pointed out a few things he missed like listing my co-morbs so he did. He handed me back the paper then said. Okay now I need to say this. He said that he knows I have struggled with my weight for a long time and he knows that it is hard but that he wants me to know that I don't have to have surgery. He said that NO surgery is routine and they all come with risks. He said that if I have any doubts whatsoever I should cancel it even if it's the day before.  I thought that it was really nice of him to say. I totally feel his support and that is really great.  But I know I still want this...
So I took the paper back to the tricare office and waiting again for like 30 minutes to see this lady. She took the paper and said I should hear in a few days if I'm approved to see the surgeon. I am so nervous, I can't wait to hear. I have already made my appointment with Prof Weiner for April 14th. I called his office at the begining of March and the only appointment they had was for April 14th in the morning. Otherwise they said I would have to wait until May. So I booked it.  The lady at tricare said this was fine. We pcs next year and I really want to get this done by the summer.  So I will post when I hear the news.