An introduction

Mar 10, 2011

Even though I am starting this two days post op, I want to start at the beginning by introducing myself and letting yo get to know me.

I have always been overweight but it was never limiting until the last 5 or so years.  I began working as an IT Manager about 6 years ago and became more sedintary with sitting in the office and not getting out to do things. 

In march of 2010 I made the decision I wanted weight loss surgery.  I researched and made the decision I wanted to have the D-Switch.  I found Dr. Stewart in Dallas,TX and went up for a seminar in March 2010.  Dr. Stewart was one of the few Dr.s in the state of Texas doing the D- Switch and really had developped an excellent reputation for his skill and abilities.  After meeting him I had no doubts about him.  However, due to my insurance having an exclusion for weight loss surgery, I saw no way I could afford the D-Switch with the cost being about $23,000.

I tried convincing my employer to change plans to no avial, tried getting loans but refused to pay th outrageous interest rates they offered, and eventually came to the decision to use a portion of my 401k retirement account to pay for my surgery.  After extensive research and the seminar in which I heard Dr. Stewart talk about the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, I decided for the cost, about half the DS, and with the relative complexity when compared to the DS, the VSG was right for me.

All of that took place from March 2010 to about October 2010.  It was in October that I made the final decision.  I was playing a softball game with some friends when a player was out for that night.  I hit the ball and took off running for first base.  Halfway there, my right knee collapsed and wouldn't support my weight.  Hopping along on my left knee caused it to collapse as well.  i fell to the ground and was in excruciating pan for an hour before finally being able to limp around.  It took almost a month for the pain to go away completely.  It was the first time I'd ever felt truly limited by my weight.  I decided then that I would do the surgery and fix my weight permanently.

I contacted Dr.Stewarts office in February 2011, after getting through the holidays and getting through all the red tape to find out how much and in what way I could pull out of 401k.  I was able to schedule an initial pre-op appointment for the next Tuesday.  It ended up that that was the day that a huge snow storm hit Dallas and more or less shut the city down.  Since we had driven so far, Dr. Stewart and two of his office workers came up to the office to see us even with the horrible weather.  I still am amazed at them doing that.  It was a very nice thing for them to do.

I had most all my pre-requirements already complete due to some medical tests I had to have over the past few years, so I only had to wait on my 401k funding to be processed.  That ended up not taking too long and we quickly got the surgery scheduled for March 9, 2011.

In my next blog entry I will talk about my surgery and all that goes with that.  I would be more than happy to answer any questions about Dr. Stewart or my experiences with anyone so feel free to contact me!

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