and then there was one...

Jan 15, 2010

Hi all...welcome to my blog. My purpose here is two-fold. One, I want to document my long and difficult journey to get WLS, and two, I want to record my progress after WLS.

Let's start at the beginning. In 2004, while I was still a professor at Houston Community College, my health was failing...dramatically and completely. I did many things in an attempt to help myself, including fighting to get weight loss surgery. Unfortunately, we were given no choice of insurance, and Blue Cross Health Select Plus' policy had a caveat: no weight loss surgery for any reason. However, I was stubborn. I asked a friend of mine who is a lawyer to push BCHS a little since I was nearing a life/death situation. But this did no good.

A year later, my health completely bottomed out. I could no longer meet the requirements of my demanding job, so I lost it. I then lost my house, and finally almost my life...several times. Soon after loosing my job, I decided to look into WLS again, so I attended Dr Namaan's seminar. Afterwards I spoke with a women on his staff, who told me that they had worked with DARS (Disability and Rehabilitation Services) to get surgery for several people who had lost their jobs due to weight-related illness. I though "finally!" I filled out all of the necessary paperwork at DARS, went through the testing, and met with counselors. Then the paperwork went to Austin. When I arrived to get my results, I was told that my petition was denied because they did not find me significantly overweight. HUH? I was 5ft tall and weight 300lbs! I couldn't believe it, and then when I asked the counselor to look at me and tell me that I am not obese. The counselor said that I looked ok to her. Through all of this I was making calls to Dr Namaan's office, requesting information on how to handle the denial. It was all so ridiculous, but I found myself defenseless and becoming increasingly ill. I gave up!

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