- Username: martitalinda
- Location: West Haven, CT, USA
- Member Since: 2/1/2007
- BMI: 18.0
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: RNY (02/05/07)
- Surgeon: Andrew Duffy, M.D.
Photos
I'm Not In Any Photos Yet.
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Goals
No Public Goals Yet.
Surgeon TestimonialAndrew Duffy, M.D.Dr. Andrew Duffy is the best!!! He is with Yale University Bariatric Surgeons - a center for excellence and he is in with Dr. Robert Bell. I went to the seminar on 12/8/06 and listened attentively to all they had so say. Needless to say when Dr. Duffy presented I just knew that this is the guy I was looking for to do my surgery - he knew his stuff and he was kind and sensitive to my questions. I was getting frustrated because I could not get an appointment for my psych eval prior to 1/07 and he was kind enough to give me the name of Mark Gaynor, LCSW and I got an appointment right away. My paperwork was all complete and in Dr. Duffy's office by 1/2/07. Since I did not get a call with an appointment by 1/3/07, the very next day, I decided to e-mail Dr. Duffy on our Groupwise system that we use at Yale and I said "I am hoping God places it in your heart to read this e-mail - I need a date!!!" and he read it - I got a call with a date four days after. I feel confident and I know that I made the right decision. The staff is great, Jane, his nurse manager was great - she had RNY a couple years ago and looks great and she used to work as an OR nurse where I work which is part of Yale too. Member Interests
- Artist/Muralist - I paint the most beautiful stills and christian art in acrylics on canvas
- Basketry - I love making beautiful dolls and gift baskets that are unique
- Hispanic/Latino - I was born in Panama, Republic of Panama came to US at age 24.
Latest Surgery Support Comments
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You look great, I am
very proud of you. I
am now teaching at a
gym pt. time, I
teach the balance
ball and enjoy it
very much. I was
down to 120lbs when
I was very ill this
spring. I am now at
138lbs, I look
heathly and feel
good. I did like the
sacles saying 120
but that was not
good. Its that
mental game. Well
you keep up the good
work. Blessed Be...
Betty-Jo
-
I JUST WANT TO SAY
YOU REALLY LOOK
GREAT AND I AM SURE
YOU WILL KEEP ON
LOSING MORE AND MORE
-
Marta...I am praying
for you as God is
carrying you through
surgery and
recovery. He loves
you so much and
wants only His best
for you. May
healing come soon
and may you share
your testimony of
how God has made you
even better with
some one who needs
to hear of His
goodness...carolanne
aka Isaiahsgrammy
Click here for the surgery support page
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My Transition from 285 lbs to 110 lbs - A Life Journey for LIFE for the rest of MY LIFE!!!!
through my tears of yesterday... 4 days ago
.....19 years later .... I snickered at the tears of the man I was marrying on the rebound and yesterday on the occassion of the renewal of our vows 19 years later both the bride and the groom cried - both of us - reaffirming our love and our faithfulness to each other. Yesterday I renewed my vows to the man I married 19 years ago - me a bitter angry woman marrying such a nice man on the rebound - out of hurt and out of spite for all the hurt and pain from my first failed and frustrated marriage. He loved me and I had sound proof that he did. I needed love and security for me and my two children and I saw a keeper and I took a chance and I won the lottery. I got a friend, a lover, a brother, a good man and a provider. I was a witch (change the w to a B for the first years of our marriage) - was mean to Al while he was kind to me. I was impossible to live with myself and only Al's love could put up with me... He hung in there... coaching, steady, permanent, loyal, kind and loving and most of all KIND AND LOVING ... and at some point during 19 years he grew on me until my love for him became unconditional.
This man provided for me, gave a home and the best of things to me and my children and when his health failed and he lost his business and became disabled I stood by him, role in reverse I did all the things he did for us until once again together we could do for each other.... so 19 years ago today I share the best of us NOW .... he striving with his new transplanted kidney of 3+ years ago and I with my WLS pouch and health ... a happier person now that I had ever been....
Sharing with my wonderful family the renewal of our vows in a ceremony planned by my children and my husband .. sprang on me at the last minute.. yet I so enjoyed it all ... I made my gown, I made my flowers, the candles everything and it made it so special participating in all of it.
On Friday night Al had a big cookout - he and his buddies had big opened barbecue pits and grills. They served, fish and chicken and burgers and salads and hotdogs and ribes and they opened it up to the entire community - open for all to come and break bread with us ... yes, the entire youth at risk comunity and poverty striken community where I do outreach for the Zion Ministry - my passion - serving the people and to loving them - no matter who they are or what they believe or what they look like or what they smell like. I renewed my vows at the wonderful little church were I found peace and rest - smack in the middle of the ghetto, on a street corner where a wonderful woman, our pastor, ministers to the children of the night. The doors are opened to the crackheads, the prostitutes, the drug addicts, those who wonder the streets in the nights can come to our outreach center where they are received with love ... we try to convert no one ... but when they come and feel the love of our ministry they come back again and again ... that was the perfect setting for me.
My beautiful Pastor who Ministers to the Children of the Night in this little church in the middle of the ghetto where I found rest and peace in my Lord and Savior and her awesome daughter who sings like a songbird sang as I walked down the isle and I stood there mezmerized by the words of the song and the beautiful melody of her voice....
This awesome woman of God officiated the most beautiful ceremony for our renewal of vows
I WALKED IN ON THE ARM OF MY SON - he was four years old when Al and I got married the first time... Al is the man he calls DAD although Al is his stepdad...
My beautiful daughter held the candle in the candle ceremony where both Al and I held candles and at the Pastor's prompt lit the one candle to represent solidarity and faithfullness - two lights now burning as one once again...
and Al cried ... he cried the first time around too when I did not ... I thought it was corny then... and my son cried and I started boohooing through the whole thing - me - crying all the way through my vows and I was not trying to be pretty either - because this time around I meant everything I said...and I cried shamelessly ... and my tears were real and of joy...
I was so blessed to have my children and my best friends with me...
...I enjoyed every moment of it ... even though I still have to wait for the photographers pictures and only have snapshots taken by friends...
..we are indeed happy and fulfilled ... through all the ups and downs and the downs were sooooooooooo many they just made us stronger....
....I love my husband and he loves me and I LOVE MY KIDS MORE THAN MYSELF...
....AND THE BIGGEST SURPRISE HE HAD ANOTHER DIAMOND FOR ME ....
AND BEFORE WE LEFT FOR CHURCH WE TOOK PICS AT THE HOUSE AND WE WERE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE WAY WE HAVE COME AND WE WERE GRATEFUL MORE THAN EVER WHEN WE LOOKED AT ALL OUR HARD WORK - IT WAS NOT EASY BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH IT
...And yes he saw me before getting to the church ... I made my 2-piece dress right there in the house and he and my son help me pin it up when I tried it on...I walked out to renew my vows a happy older bride of 19 years feeling younger and more fullfilled today...
19 years ago .. through all our trials and tribulations... through all the ups and downs ... Mr. Al has never once said one mean word to me ... I can be a real witch at times (feel free to switch that w in witch for a B) ... I will act up and pick fights just for him to react ... he has never once ever raised his voice at me in anger or even bite my bait ... he remains just as calm which sometimes really gets the best of me and after my storm I asked him why didn't he say anything - and he would say "babe, I was just waiting for you to calm down, now what was that all about"
So this is us YESTERDAY AND TODAY ... through 19 years - we toughed it out and when we repeated our vows they meant more to me now than they did then - I VOWED FAITHFULNESS to this man who has faithfully stood by me and by my children for the past 22 years - 19 of which we have been married ... He married his fat bride 19 years ago ... and he married his post WLS bride yesterday as we renewed our vows ... we got older together and we got better together and we get healthier together --- IT WAS ALL GOOD inspite of...
I made my big gown then and I made my gown that I rocked yesterday and my flowers and my candles and my boutuniers and everything else in a simple ceremony that reeked of love because that was all it was about....
so I will bask in the love of my beautiful family until the day the Lord calls me home....FAITHFULNESS AND LOVE FOREVER AL - MARTITA - KENNY AND CANDIE - MY FAMILY! Thank you my beautiful OH FAMILY for allowing me to share...
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I LOVE ME!!!!! on August 18, 2008 4:39 am
...and there is nothing wrong with that. I am not boastful either - I am grateful to be alive and well after all that I have been through. I live today and every day like it is a brand new day full of life, hope and promises and I want them all because I can finally say I LOVE ME!!!
Don't get me wrong though ... I thought I loved me when I comforted myself 24-7 with food .. that was not love it was abuse but at the time I did not know it or refused to acknowledge it. When I look at my yesterday and I see my today I cannot help but be grateful to be alive and well having come such a long way ... I survived rape, spousal abuse, surgical intervention post spousal violence, divorce, losing our business and taking current DH and love of my life through years of dialysis and finally a kidney transplant and working to put my kids through private schools and college. I survived 25 years of morbid obesity and obesity related illnesses and today when I snap my pictures to track and share my personal journey it is not done in the spirit of being boastful... I am well, I am alive and I am forever grateful ... and I just can't tell it enough.
WLS is the best decision I ever made for myself ... I got rid of 5 co-morbidities and I avoided replacement of the joints in my knees ... life still has all the problems that it had before but I look at them in a different light because I have a new perspective ... I enjoy my journey .. I work hard at it and I play hard with the benefits of it ... I am living my life to the fullest - when I was younger I was hindered by my weight and its related diseases and I felt old - now I am older I have a bounce and a spring in my step, a heart to love and to give and a new perspective about life and self and I feel young.
I can finally say I LOVE ME!!!! and to the fat girl still resident inside of me I say I AM SORRY - for abusing you in the past I AM SORRY - but look at us today my beautiful sista me - today I embrace you my former fat image and take you daily with me in my heart and in my mind - we walk side by side you and I on this journey - your deliverance is my release - my release is your deliverance. It is all good. I AM FREE, I take ownership, I take accountability, these are my choices because today I AM LOVING ME!!!
I can finally say it - I LOVE ME!!!! The weekend goes by so fast and the week days are just flying away ... time goes by when the days are filled with sooooooooooo many things to do, events to participate in, works and gifts and help and hospitality. Eating is no longer the top item on my agenda ... it is just a basic need ... and a wonderful time to break bread with my family and loved ones ... to enjoy the company while we talk and bond ... today I am alive, I am healthy, I am mobile and feeling good.
I have noticed I spend more quality time on my appearance now that in the past. I was always presentable yet I ran through a quick lipstick application, dress on the run and spent a tad of time on my hair then out the door - not caring much how I looked - it was enough to be clean, pressed and presentable. Those things are still very important to me - yet I have found that in the same timeframe I spend more quality time on me ... longer relaxing baths in the hot tub that I struggled getting in and out before and just didn't bother anymore a shower was sufficient ... swimming long laps in the pool - before I just gave up with the excuse of being fat .... spending a few hours a week at Bikram - boy the heat kills you while going through the poses but afterwards it feels soooooooooo good .... in the morning when I wake up I take my shower and I apply my makeup - I slip into my clothes and I love the way I look and the way I feel ... there is a bounce in my step and an extra happy beat in my heart ... I WON'T TRADE THIS NEW ME FOR ANYTHING ... I LOVE ME THROUGH FAT, FLAB, WRINKLES, EXTRA SKIN AND DIMPLES ... HEALTHY FEELS AND LOOKS GOOD ... I AM LOVING IT AND I AM LOVING ME!!!!
My journey is mine and yours is yours to make the best of it the best we can. I had a wonderful weekend on the water on Saturday, had a glorious day on Sunday and this is me back to work on Monday..... I am sooooooooooooo blessed and forever grateful for the big things and the little things....
Me heading out to work today...
I so so so enjoyed myself on Saturday ... the sun felt soooooooooooo good ... I am soaking up every bit of it before the winter comes...
and did I not rock a tiny J-Lo dress and even went outside with it (lol) -
and it all started out with this morbidly obese woman wanting to be healthy....
SPENT MY SATURDAY ON THE WATER.... on August 16, 2008 2:00 pm
I had sooooooooooooo much fun... took in as much sun as I could and I so enjoyed my Saturday .... and my DH so enjoyed his beautiful wife of close to 19 years because he always gets compliments about her or so he says (lol) .... Here are some pic taken this lovely day ...I am sooooo happy I have a tool for LIFE and I feel soooooooooooo good and I have such a different relationship with food - I love eating healthy and I love not stuffing my face 24-7 like I did in the past ... I AM SOOOOOOOOO LOVING IT!!! I have been attacked and critized by many on my journey who are nosey enough to poke their noses in a journey that belongs to me only ... and I find that the most vicious ones are the ones that are either farting around and not following the rules or too afraid to embrace a walk away from obesity not matter what route they take whether conservative or surgical. To each his own - take ownership of your life, your health and your appearance and leave others who chose to do what is best for them alone (lol)....If you want to eat fat and I choose to eat lean that is my choice - you live with yours and let me live with mine - it is all good (lol) - I am not consumed by my journey - I made an informed choice and it is working for me and I am enjoying every bit of it - can you tell??? Okay enough for now - I am about to start working on my gown - the one I will wear to renew my vow - I AM SOOOOOOOOOO LOVING THIS!!!!
My GAP XSml dress - soooooooooo comfortable - I love it!!!
MY TINY J-LO DRESS - XSMALL AND SEXY - I BET SHE DID NOT THINK A FAT GIRL LIKE ME WOULD WEAR THIS ON DAY (LOL) BUT I DID - I SLIPPED IT ON WITH ROOM TO SPARE....
Do what is best for you - take it one day at a time and work it to your advantage - it is all good!!! | Click here to leave a comment.
TRAUMATIZED FOR LIFE! He broke the covenant coming into mySpace on August 14, 2008 4:31 am
...it was traumatic .. Picture waking up from a deep sleep because something/someone crashes into your room ... I jump up totally disoriented, incoherent and blind - I need my glasses to find the light switch, the lamp and my contacts that is the kind of blind I am talking about. I hear wings flapping and they are not my own personal batwings and I feel a breeze - oh Lord - what is a bird doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night???? My heart is racing and I am petrified .. I feel around for the lamp knocking a few things off the nighstand - probably my cellphone - I finally find and turn on the lamp and still half blind I see this big shadow flying and flapping around erratically in the room - I SCREAAAAMMMMM OMG my heart is in my hands - I tried to run but the darn thing is banging into things - OMG I had to duck it almost crashed into me - what is this??? the devil is a liar - I have to void and I almost go on myself. My heart can't take this. Kenny and Al both come crashing into my room - they turn on the light and the bird thing flies towards them and they both let out a loud scream and they ran out of my room and out goes the flying object behind them. The bird is flapping into everything and crashing into things all the lights are on now. I find my glasses -and I frantically tried to find my nightgown buried in my sheets as I realize that my body is bare - so much for sleeping like Eve. The thing comes zooming right back into my room the foolish guys did not shut the door and I thought I would just die ... I ran out of the house into the garage until the men handled the situation or the situation handled them. Al half crippled without his orthotic shoes on and Kenny scared of his own shadow - gotta love 'em. Now my daughter runs downstairs from the third floor - she runs into the house and runs right back out screaming. We must have been making quite a rukus and a great commotion because the neighbor woke and came over to see what it was all about ... I ran from the garage into the driveway when the security lights came on and I saw Bill and told him there was a big bird flapping around in the house just as Kenny ran out the house in his drawers shrieking like a madman saying the bird was in the kitchen. Bill and Al went in there and found the bird hanging upside down blending into the wood in the kitchen - they managed to open the two back doors and by flapping towels around the bird flew out...Bill said it was a bat and that he had had one fly into his house a few weeks ago. I could not go back to sleep - I could not get back into bed because of the traumatic experience of the flying object crashing into my room in the middle of the night startling me out of my sleep. I respect the covenant - the animals in their territory and I in mine - once the covenant is broken and they come into my space upsetting and freaking me out there is a problem!! The bat from hell coming into my house and me like the biggest dingbat allowing it to disburt my rest. I can still hear the flapping in my head. Just a couple weeks ago I was being tormented by centipedes coming into the house and had to call an exterminator - it seems like whatever they sprayed just gave them a buzz or two because I have seen a couple of them since. There are Canadian geese crapping all over the lawn - the other day they lined up like a firing squadron and attacked me and took my muffin out of my hand and now a bat from hell flies into my room in the middle of my slumber - how could this happen? The guys found that somehow one of the screens in one of the windows in my room had fallen halfway down from the top and the bat flew in. So much for living in a rambling big old house with all these woods behind us ... what is it going to be next??? My heart can't take much more of this... I came in to work after being up most of the night .. I kept looking for another bird to fly in or for a centipede to crawl out .. I am freaked out .. shaking my clothes all the time .. and don't get me on the subject of painting one of my OH friends the other evening - I am sitting on the floor in the family room when I see this spider come dangling down on an invisible string right beside me - the tubes of paint went flying all over the place - I was totally feeling like little Miss Muffett or whatever her name was who sat on a tuffet - hey they taught us that in English class in school - more that half of us panamanian kids did not know what a tuffet was... I can't believe my first learned words in English were Manzana - Apple; la Puerta - Door; Maestra - Teacher and Piso - Floor - it was a little song in the first grade... Oh well - I hope for the duration the animals stay in their territory and leave me alone ... I have nothing against them they in their space and I in mine....I am tired this morning - but I am smiling and thankful to be alive and well and slim and fit as I sit at my desk drinking my 3/4 decaf 1/4 cocunut DK coffee with half&half and splenda...
I am maintaining my weight a few lbs lower than the normal BMI for my height and not by choice - but I am healthy and fit - and struggling not to lose any more.... I am eating well...
and why does my son thinks he can dwarf me???
let me put on my heels...
and if I could get rid of these - I could claim the lawn again...
WLS surgery is the best thing I ever did for me .. I have life, love, mobility and good health - what more can a sista ask for???
this is the best year and a half of my life. Thanks for allowing me to share!!! This week I was productive with my brush and my canvas while I toying around in my mind for a design for a slinky gown to wear in a couple of weeks when we renew our vows...My canvas are done with artist acrylic paint and I use four basic colors and a colorwheel to blend all other colors ... i.e. red,yellow and blue to get black... I love painting and I paint my OH friends for the love of it - no costs attached ... I do pretty good on the outside painting lovely murals and portraits ...
I painted ArtistinMiniature (former ArtistMonday) on Monday...
I painted FastFingers on Tuesday
both canvases are unfinished - I need to allow them to dry and to more washes and a protective layer and I'll mail them out. I am still stuck with several canvases I painted months ago - I either do not have an address or cannot find the address in my cluttered inbox... | Click here to leave a comment.
My best shot at Fast Fingers and My SF/FF Cake from Scratch on August 12, 2008 6:33 pm
...with my brush and my canvas - rough rough rough draft, need to dry and wash more layers - what ya think???
here is another...
and when it is done I will ship it off to her as agreed --- WOW - there is great beauty in diversity. FF has been on my friends list since I joined OH. We are as different as the color of our skin. I am a believer and she is not - but it is all good I love her 'cause she is my sista on the same journey and we both love keeping it real.
..I had a busy night tonight - it is my daughter's 28th birthday - OMG she is getting old and I am getting better (lol) ... so I came home and baked her my very first fat free/sugar free cake from scratch and I am not a baker ... so my night went like this ...
I mixed whole wheat flour with eggs, sugarfree applesauce, cinnamon, baking powder, ff milk and vanilla extract - I greased two round baking pans with PAM spray and I baked at 350 degrees for one hour ... took 'em out ... layered them one on top of the other and punched holes in them with the handle of my mixing spoon. I poured strawberry flavored Sugar Free jellow mixture over it and completely saturated it - I chilled it - covered with sugar free Cool Whip and we had be bestest (lol) lightest and tastiest cake ever ... check it out...
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3 AFTER CHILLING AND LETTING JELLO SET
AND after singing happy birthday and presenting our beautiful daughter with a $1,000 cash card from Stepdad Al, Mommy Martita, Brother Kenny, Aunties Maria and Rosita this is what the cake looked like after we started digging in (lol)
It was delicious and Candice was delighted - dinner was ground turkey meatsauce over whole wheat spaghetti - her favorite .... cooked by DH Al ... and while it was all cooking I sat on the floor in my rambling old house and painted another one of my favorite OH cyberfriends ....
and I am crossed eyed right about now - I am not thinking about spell check and I did not proof either (lol) thank you all for allowing me to share - I am soooooooo glad I traded my fork for a brush ---- and with this many friends I shall not run out of subjects (lol)
RECIPE FOR THE DREAM CAKE
2 cups sugar free or no sugar added applesauce
Splenda to taste (I used about 12 packets)
4 Eggs
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup FF milk
Combine applesauce, splenda, eggs, milk; mix thoroughly. Add flour and spices; mix well on medium with mixer. Pour into greased pan (use PAM cooking srapy). Bake 1 hour or until done at 350 degrees. Take out over, place on sheet. Puncture all over with handle of spoon. Mix SF jello gelatin (I used strawberry flavor) - 1 box - add 1 cup hot water mix well add 1 cup cold water. Pour this mixture over cake and saturate well. Chill until jello sets. Cover well with SF cool whip. Cut up strawberries or whatever fruit according to the flavor jello you used. Refrigerate. TO DIE FOR SF/FF Dream Cake!!!
GUESS WHO IS GETTING MARRIED? - I GOT PROPOSED TO! on August 8, 2008 5:54 am
...twice by the same man. ....ME.... yes siree ... if I did not love him I would smack him. Got a call from Pastor last night asking if we had a date - I am like "a date for what???" - she asked did I speak to my husband about it - about WHAT???? After hanging up I ask Al - 'okay, what date is Pastor talking about for me to set up - I know you did not go volunteering my services to organize anything else - my agenda is full right now'.. .. He says ''noooooooo - but wait a minute" - he goes into his bedroom and note I said 'His' and brings out this tiny box with another ring - he gets on his knees and asks me to re-marry him - what???? we are not divorced are we???? I swear if I did not love him I would smack the silly grin off his face ... he has a ring and he proposes we renew our wedding vows on our 19th Wedding Anniversary coming up in just a few weeks. He has the hall, the church, the cooks and everything set up. AL - WHEN DID YOU DO ALL OF THIS??? AND WHEN DID YOU SET THIS UP WITH THE HELP OF WHO??? He tells me he got my best friend Syl and my daughter and my son and he wanted to see his beautiful bride of soon to be 19 years in a slinky wedding gown so he can have his "big gal-lil gal hot tropical mama" (his exact words) in marriage - twice. WAIT A MINUTE???? HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT I WANT????IF YOU WANT TO GET LAID JUST SAY SO - WE DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS??? I'M READY (LOL)???? he says "don't you want to renew our vows, don't you want to walk down the isle in a tiny gown that you can make, don't you want to have a PAARRRRTTTTYYYYY??? I have Phenomenal Entertainment in the bag (that is my friend whose wedding gown I made this past February and shared on here), our son and his band, my best friend Joe our former bestman and Chef, mother C and all the cooks - the only thing that is left is your YES and a DATE".... Do I smack him now??? NOT! I am loving it - all of it - the ring is gorgeous. This man picked me up after my most horrible first marital experience and has been a father to my children the only two I have and they were from my first marriage. They know him as their dad. He stood by me through all my rotten moods and my abuse of him in my anger and lashing out at him over my past circumstances - you have had to be a saint to put up with that - I could barely put up with my miserable angry self. He was always has been my rock and a great provider and when his kidneys shut down I stood by him through 8 years of dialysis and a kidney transplant and several rejection episodes, through multiple amputations and I carried the family through. When I decided for WLS he stood at my side 100% supportive when I was all complicated and jacked up it was he and my kids washing me up well guess what I LOVE THIS MAN and I said YES! .... So we are renewing our vows in a wedding ceremony and I get to pick the date - it is less than a month away - great - and I want to make myself a pretty, sexy, slinky wedding gown - YAY... I am excited!!! I just told my boss (we are friends on the outside too) and she says "oh yes, he told us when we went to Dr. J wine tasting - I think that is so sweet - why won't you do that for him?" -and I said I will for "US" ... I am going to be real busy ... today is my appointment with the plastic surgeon who is going to whack my jelly belly off - and I am sooooooooo chicken and soooooo nervous after the ordeal with my complication after my RNY ... the pain was unbearable and now I am a whimp and a punk where pain in concerned .. go figure .. I have had five other major surgeries and two C-sections..... anyhow ... I am exited .. I am getting married again....
19 years ago my second husband Al and I (I married him on the rebound and for all the wrong reasons in my mind - he married me because he loved me and has always told me so - I made him pay for what the previous jackarse did to me - until one day I purged those feeling and renewed my heart and my mind - this man loved me in my ups and in my downs, fat or thin and we both came a long, long way)
The next picture is me today ... going to my plastics appointment later at 3:30 (I am about to back out but then I am not - it is just an appointment Marta - get a grip!) YUP I stayed up last night and donned my extensions again - darker this time - and I am helping with the weaving at the shop tomorrow morning but I can hop on the computer there....
and AL and the kids were sooooooooooooooooooo happy because mom said YES twice to this man their stepdad in a lifetime who loved me through all of this....
AL I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS - I LOVE YOU!!! Thank you my beautiful OH family for allowing me to share.....conjuring up images in my mind of a sexy gown that I will make, Vegas style (lol) I would so like for it to happen on the beach - near the water or in it even (lol)... | Click here to leave a comment.
I TOOK MY LIFE BACK - ONE YEAR AND A HALF AGO.... on August 5, 2008 3:51 am
...and almost died in the process - my doctor's first bleeder but he is my hero and the best surgeon in my eyes. It was well worth it.... RNY 2/5/07 plus emergency surgical intervention 6.5 hours long on 2/6/07 the day after ... waking up days later in ICU with tubes coming out all parts of my anatomy ... the ostomy from hell with the leaking secretions that burnt through my skin as it emptied into an ileostomy bag ... me just about to curse my fire when I had a Job experience and I got up with a prayer and after I prayed I praise ... because praise is what I do best. Two hospitalizations due to dehydration and a syncopal epidose upon returning to work 3 months later .. yet, I am forever grateful for the decision to have WLS - I asked for health and mobility and a heart to love the people and I got that and so much more. Five co-morbidities in remission or resolved, I can run 3.5-4 miles straight without getting winded, I can jog and I can contort my body in any imaginable yoga pose there is - I can even stand on my head and hold it (lol)....I swim laps for two straight hours without stopping. I lost a total of 180 lbs from my highest weight of 285 lbs. At 105 lbs I was below the normal BMI for my height of 5'5" so I have been diligently working with my internist to bring my weight up to par without jeopardizing all the work I have done to get to where I want to be -- I am glad to report that the scale this morning and yesterday morning is holding steady at 110 lbs - and I have very little fat on my body - I have muscles for once in my life. I have embarked on this journey to live, love and enjoy it as my newfound and future life and I have never had so much fun and exitement in my life. My journey is not a burden nor an obsession but a pleasant experience that I will live and maintain to afford myself a quality of life that I denied myself for 25 years trapped in a morbidly obese body and mindset. I believe in accountability and ownership of decisions and choices and individual freedom to do this. Today I am free because I chose to be. I have been called everything but a child of God both fat and thin... to my ex I made all his wet dreams go bad and to a stranger on this site wrote me a blog comment stating that I was obsessed and my journey was now a sickness that I look anorexic and if she did not know better I would scare her from surgery ... comments that just push me to a higher level of commitment and dedication to myself. I ride with love and happiness and a wide open heart. I keep it real - I am no saint - I am a giver, I love life, I have been asking God for years to wash my mouth out with soap because I swear like a sailor when I am mad, I love passionately, I can rock a maxi or a mini skirt, I am loyal to myself and to my family and friends and I believe that harshness is a sin. I fully intend to live the best of both worlds as long as my heart is in the right place and my moral standards are not jeopardized.
A year and a half ago I sat around in my spare time making bassinets, and dolls and easter baskets and christmas baskets for women and children in shelters and high risk communities - and somehow I managed to stuff my face around the clock as I worked. This time around with satiety and portion control thanks to my resized stomach and rerouted intestines I am more productive than ever before.... let me show you what I mean...
Martita a year and a half ago...
Martita Today One and a Half year out
I rock pink and I rock prints and even squares because now I dress with ATTITUDE (lol)
my friend and I own and operate a hair weaving and braiding salon outside of my regular job that is ... we rock our hair in any style we want I can wear my natural short look or hook up my extensions and rock the length the next day ... in the past I wore my hair long with extensions added hiding my 44DDs and my fat face ... perfect camouflage let the eyes traverse to the hair and off this fat girl ... but today I am free and thanking that fat girl me for living on inside me keeping my feet on this trail for life....through it all I kept my big butt which I wish would dissapear - really
I even wore a swimsuit on the beach with stockings that almost killed me when stretched in the water but I took my picture without the stockings showing all my wrinkles, dimples, bumps, veiny and gross skin which will be fixed in due time...
I danced on stage at my son's rock concert wearing some tight jeans....
..and I have worn a new outfit every day since my 4 month surgiversary -- from Armani, to Armani Exchange, to Moda International, to Klein, to Lauren to you name it --- all with money I set aside when I decided to embark on my journey - I saved over $5,000 for clothing and I have not even used $1,200 of it yet ... this includes shopping and shipping out to several of my OH friends and to people in my church and community ... I love shopping for hours for designers stuff and I always find that perfect item with the original tag still intact on it at Consignment Originals in Orange, CT ... I have been shopping there since a size 28-32 and now I wear a size 0 or xtra-small...
I have developed my muscles and even snapped a pic inspired by Artist in Miniature
I made dolls for my OH friends and for anyone who I had a heart to make one for - I love making my dolls - have made them for years - they bring me such joy both in the making and in the end product ...and they all have human hair - courtesy of the left over hair from our salon (lol)
and my most favorite of favorite passtimes is painting - I love painting on canvas utilizing acrylic medium - I use 4 basic colors and a colorwheel and I have spent the most wonderful leisure time on my journey painting and sending canvases to my OH friends...
OH friend PJWilsen and her DH on Canvas by Martitalinda
and canvas I painted early Sunday morning at the request of my ex for his aunt- canvas of his uncle and deceased cousin...
and tons of other canvases most of which have been mailed out and delivered and others I still have unable to retrieve the correct addresses from my very extensive clogged up email mailboxes --- so if I posted a pic of your canvas and you have not received it in the mail please PM me your address again and title it CANVAS ADDRESS (lol)
I spend a lot a time sewing my clothes, I even made a dress out of my old size 22 pants and a dress out of my old size 4X sweatshirt (lol)
and I enjoy my carefully balanced perfectly selected meals in whatever environment I am in - I enjoy the company and the event as food is no longer my focus - I eat to live I no longer live to eat!
The best one and a half year of my life and I am looking for soooooooooooo many more years of wonderful health and mobility. I am taking it all in stride one day at a time with a prayer and a press.... don't diss me be happy for me your humble sista on the same journey!!! I love you my beautiful OH family for allowing me to share. Life is remarkable today of all my major accomplishments what I love best is that when my daughter fell and I could not make it up to the third floor of my own home to help her having to drag myself up the stairs on my belly after the fire department and the ambulances today I can run up and down seven floors on my job, whereas I dragged my feet and wheezed and coughed so bad and had shortness of breath - everyone could here me coming on the elevator - today I breathe easily and I have a hop and a skip in my step. My beautiful OH family - your journey is yours to make whatever you want of it - seek for the best in spite of everything else ... WLS = Life at your Fingertips... | Click here to leave a comment.
Rave - A few of my Favorite Canvases on August 3, 2008 1:48 am
...just sharing with you some of my paintings on canvas - done with only 4 basic colors in acrylic and plattered on canvas after taking a glance at a picture...just a hobby ... been painting and scribbling and drawing from the time I could hold a crayon (lol)
MY FAVORITE CANVAS PAINTED OF MY OH FRIEND PINALOPE
MY OH FRIEND CAROL AND HER HUSBAND BILL(RIP)
MY OH FRIEND PRINCESS J AND FIANCEE
CHRISTIAN IN RED TIE PAINTED CANVAS OF HIS AVATAR
and this one I just barely finished - I repainted my uncle and cousin (by previous marriage) at the request of my ex to present to his aunt who is very depressed - our cousin passed a couple years ago in her arms she had sudden headache - an aneurysm - death. This is her and her dad captured on canvas by yours truly...
And I am glad I did the painting for my ex's aunt because she has always been kind and we had a wonderful relationship, even though when his call came in around 2:30 this morning my first instinct was to say what the 'FRACK' do you WANT???? but I had to get a grip and get rid of those negative feelings real quick before they build up my bile (lol) and I passed the phone to Al so he could hear what he had to say. ... Cool it is now 5:14 a.m. and I am still not sleepy ... it is dark out so outdoors is out for now - I am going to get the aroma therapy and the candles and go downstairs and enjoy my hot tub...
Four days away from my 18 month Surgiversary..... on August 1, 2008 4:38 am
... and she said "mom you are such a Low Maintenance DIVA" and sighed .... well what do you expect if you really really know me???? Yesterday I was out of my MAC studiofix NC42 - now I have tons of makeup items that were given to me by her and by some of my friends but the studiofix in that tone and from MAC is what I have worn for years and what I like. My daughter calls me and asks what I was doing after work - I told her I was going to Filene's for my studiofix from MAC as I was skipping hot yoga - my body still a bit sore from the fall I took on the beach on Saturday. She said I should come home she wanted to treat me so she would drive me to the mall and we would get the studiofix - I said sure and left it at that. Well we go to the mall and I get my stuff - then, she decides she wants to shop - fine with me... After visiting several stores and she picking up a few items for herself she asks me why am I not buying anything - I told her Candice, I really do not see anything I want or the few things that caught my eyes I do not want to spend that amount of money on. She gets annoyed and tells me 'you just don't want to get off the money because you want to go to that dumb store of yours in Orange - why don't you say it like it is" and I say to her - well if you know why do you ask??? She tells me "on your salary you should not be shopping there!!!" - I said what??? "you better wake up and smell the coffee, you forgot you live at home with me in your own apartment in my house??? guess whose salary pays the mortgage????? Now she gets annoyed - 'oh mom, I did not mean it like that - it is just that you have not shopped for hardly anything to wear except for in that store - you shopped there when you were at your biggest - why are you still shopping there?'. My response to her was - Candie (pet name) - when I was a size 3-4X I shopped in there and I loved it - I love buying real nice designer's clothes at a thrifty price - when I was a size 3-4X I was dreaming about the smaller clothes on the racks on the other side - so now I am that size - why should I not enjoy myself shopping where I like to shop best??? They open until 8:00 pm why don't we go over there when you are done here - I am really not feeling anything here right now ... She says "OKAY, BUT I AM NOT GOING IN THERE - IT IS A THRIFT SHOP AFTER ALL -EVEN IF IT IS SET UP LIKE A BOUTIQUE" to which I say "cool, no problem" and she keeps mouthing off 'ahhhhhh, you are such a low maintenance DIVA - can't even take you shopping anymore - oh mom,can you spot me some money to pay for these???' - I tell her have them ring it up I will pay for it with a check and I did.... We head off to my favorite store in the whole wide world, Consignment Originals in Orange, CT, and the one who was supposedly not coming into the store with me is right there beside me and I say - "excuse me young lady, can this low maintenance DIVA do her thing" she says "I am checking out the jewelry and the pocketbooks" and I am laughing in my head because who can resist a good bargain???? The gals in this store have seen me shop myself from a size 3-4X, 28-32 all the way down to a 0 and XSml in juniors nonetheless ... and when I go in there I know I just have fun looking at all the nice things that someone else did not want or decided to pass it on ... so I see this pink outfit just right for a Friday and it catches my eye - it is on the $2 markdown rack in the junior's small section ... I pull it out and the original tags are still on them no one even wore it ... cool ... for two bucks - I am loving it so I wore it to work today ... all decked out in $2 bucks and the shoes I got there on sale last week .... loving it ... my daughter bought herself a bag -- she paid $110 for - on sale - I don't like to spend money like that even when or if I have it - it just makes no sense to me but to each his own ... I am sitting up here with my $2 suit and feeling good - at that store I find different designers stuff at good prices - although some items are on the pricey side - I love the sales and what I love best is I don't find twins wearing the same thing I have on and I can look different and a bit eccentric like I like to - yesterday I had on these printed pants and by the end of the day I was looking like a tropical palm tree (lol) ... Now the shopping being over she wants us to go for Sashimi - I tell her I really was not in the mood for that and I was not hungry ... she rolls her eyes and before she said anything I said ... I know, I know, I AM A LOW MAINTENANCE DIVA - but I am loving it!!!! (LOL) Check out my two dollar find - me at work looking like PINK SAFARI (lol)...with my big mug filled with Decaf Coffee a pinch of cinnamon and splenda...Can you believe on August 5th it would be one and a half year since my surgery??? this has been the harderst, happiest , healthiest, and most thrilling journey of my entire life - through all the ups and downs and starts and re-starts - a great endeavor that I embark on one day at a time ... I start each day with a purpose to live, to love and to live HEALTHY AND HAPPY .... it is my choice .... Love you my OH family!!!! 
....can you imagine - a year and a half ago I embarked on a journey to live a better quality of life within my body - racked with four co-morbidities and degeneration of the knee joints I had limited mobility, I suffered from diabetes, GERD, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and sleep apnea - the five top ones all obesity related illnesses brought on by my lack of control when it came to eating. I had no satiety or portion control and the RNY gastric bypass afforded me just that ..and I am happy, content and forever grateful.... so five days before my year and a half out I came to work all dressed in pink - one of the pastels forbidden colors that would have let me look larger than my 3-4X size 18 months ago - today I wear anywhere from a 0 - 00 or XS and this morning I had to take in the seams of my outfit because it literally danced on me - XS???? yes - today I weigh 105 lbs on a 5'5" body frame ... I am healthy and I am free and trying to maintain at 110 but I am five lbs below ..... so here I am in my pink garb - yesterday I looked like a palm tree (lol)
SO I did a moving GIF of myself ... it is sooooo grainy though. on July 31, 2008 7:18 am
Shows my progress ... there is nothing like my old fat self kicking my new self to stay in gear ... I am not letting go of my big girl - I say it over and over again - her deliverance is my release - my release is her deliverance ... when I don't want to get up and move to maintain - that image kicks me right into gear ... and yesterday after I had a mini box of raisins (and no did not dump this time thank goodness) and loved it so much and was reaching for another mini box here she goes - kicking me right into gear - saying get a grip sista - you don't need all that sugar and I left it alone ... yup I love that fat girl me in my mind walking right beside me on the journey for life .... so here is my GIF
A TROPICAL EXPERIENCE.... on July 31, 2008 4:55 am
...must be ... I came in to work looking like these with the printed pants and the work .. heck I did not even put large prints on even in Panama - what's up with the big prints Martita - I am looking like a walking palm tree???? so I came in looking like a tropical tree ... and getting compliments too (lol) ... how silly can I get???? if it is eccentric hand it to me - I'll wear it (lol) - at the end of the day I was feeling like a palm tree - time to take it off and pass it on (lol)...
The Purina Diet????? on July 30, 2008 6:38 am
...my daughter makes it a daily ritual to forward a joke or two my way everyday .. she sends me animal jokes now because we are in the market for a yorkie terrier to replace the one that was stolen from me a few years back - I had to really prepare myself to have a furry baby again - I had really bonded with my dog and I cried long and hard when he was gone - it really broke my heart - I never thought I would get so attached to an animal but to me he was a little person - we bonded and understood each other - oh well, a new one is coming soon and is hopefully baking at the breeders right now - I want a teacup just like I had before (lol). Anyway she forwarded this joke and I found ti real funny (lol) - no offense to anyone intended...
Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my dog Riley
at Wal-Mart and was about to check out.
A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. On impulse, I told her that no,
I didn't have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again. I
told her that the last time I was on it I'd ended up in the hospital
after having lost 50 pounds. I awakened in an intensive care ward with
tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that
it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply
eat one or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is
nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. (I have to
mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled
with my story.)
Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog
food poisoned me. I told her no; I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish
Setter's butt and a car hit us both.
I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was
laughing so hard!
Now WALMART won't let me shop there anymore.
I thought that was funny (lol)
My yesterday and my today ... I am livin' it and lovin' it - and struggling to maintain - I thought I was on top of this - enough already I do not want to lose any more!!!! and it is all my fault running myself down. So now I look totally deformed with a tiny waist and a large rear end - I will yet try to find a way to get rid of this family trademark - thanks mom (lol). I got no sleep last night. Imagine a grown woman like me staying up all night because despite the exterminators coming out to the house on Monday here goes another one of those huge centipedes in my room - of course by the time Al got up it was gone - so I slept with one eye open and all the lights on and now I am sooooooooo exhausted ... those insects upset me so bad I swear if one of them ever touches me I'll go into cardiac arrest .... Okay this was another one of silly posts don't mind me ... and I am preaching to myself 'Don't worry, be happy' like the song said.... Thank you my wonderful OH family for your support and encouragement!!!
and I no longer have an inverted V caused by friction in the past (lol) - you know where my legs rubbed so bad the material would have a hole in it and my skin would be raw and chaffed(sp?) ... I keep thinking in Spanish and writing in English - I have to stop that too. Okay enough of me --- break is over (lol)...
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Chased by a centipede into the arms of the handsome LIFEGUARD on July 27, 2008 4:41 am
..you gotta be kiddin' me ... what is this long brown creature with a billion and a half feet running towards me on the floor of my own bedroom .... eeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ... I hit it with my slipper, nothing, hit it again nothing, ..AAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL HELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP .... what's wrong? what's wrong? and I hear my son telling him 'mom probably saw a spider - you know her and those' - and me "AL HURRY UP GET IN HERE QUICK!!!!" ... he comes in and after a couple tries with his hard shoe he gets the undying insect that by now was half way up the wall ... what on earth is that??? .. he tells me it is a centipede - pretty big one for in the house .... it does not make me comfortable - I have an issue with spiders and other things that crawl - I really do ... does not say much about someone like me who grew up in the tropics up until the age of 25 where the insects are supersized ... but I have been away from home long enough and America is my home ... so get a grip Martita ... but even so I was uncomfortable - that compounded with the fact that I kept on doing what I was doing when here comes another one - smaller than the first one -- this one must have been blind because he was coming non-stop straight towards ME in my bedroom nontheless ... OMG I SCREAAAAAAAAAMMMMMEEEEDDDDD .... Al comes running but this one got away .... so I said to him CALL AN EXTERMINATOR NOW PAY THE WEEKEND RATE, DOUBLE RATE or ANY RATE but I cannot stay in here with these crawling animals in my territory - he says "they are not ANIMALS they are INSECTS" and I say when they are that big makes no difference to me ... I got dressed real quick shaking my clothes over and over again ... I was even afraid to reach into the basket with my hairbrushes ... I dragged on my support hoses, some shorts and a shirt and sandals, picked up my swimbag and said 'I'm outa' here, I am either at the pool or down at the beach' - mind you I have never gone to the beach in a swimsuit since age 25 and now I am 50 (go figure) and I had the brown and checkered one that I took a snap in a few days ago on my way to the pool in my bag ... I decided to brave it to the beach by myself and get my very first experience post WLS in a swimsuit on the beach ... of course my active or overactive imagination figured I could hold in my jiggles, dimples and wrinkles on my legs with my nice expensive skin tone support hose ... hey I wore them with my shorts and until I told them (my daughter and son) I had my support hoses on they did not notice it .. so I figure hmmmmmm great discovery ... I am going on the beach with these on and I am going to swim in the ocean ... so away I go with my discovery .... I left home looking like this...up to have my very first experience .. in public and at sea .. who was to tell that I would land in the arms of Adonis??? or Apollo??? the handsome lifeguard??? read on....
that is me in the swimsuit that I wore pic taken a few days ago... I did not have support hoses on then look how horrible my legs are ... but I take it after all I lost 180 lbs...
..so I drove up to Hammonasset Beach ... I figure I won't drive the block and a half or so over to the West Haven beach right in my neighborhood .. just in case my first experience is a flop and I make an arse of myself ... swimsuit in the beach with support hoses - yeah right - only me ... so away I go ... get to the beach ... done my swimming gear ... it was sooooo hot the water was beckoning and so welcome... I get out there far enough within the limits to swim a few laps ... I am an avid swimmer ... represented my school and got several medals in intercaribbean matches and interschool matches during high school and college ... and after the years that I was trapped by my morbid obesity that did not allow me the courage to don a swimsuit or a sweat suit and participate in an exercise that I could have still done then ... I rediscovered that I just love love love love to swim so I |
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