prissylmc
7/20/2010
Jul 20, 2010
A little bit about me.My name is Priscilla and I am 28 years old. I live in Dallas, TX with my cat and dog. I started struggling with my weight when I was in middle school. I started dancing when I was three years old and it was always an intregal part of my life. I was on a competitive dance team and went to a performance arts middle school and high school. I never looked at myself as being fat, mainly because I could do everything the skinny girls were doing in dance class just as well. I think the first time that I realized that I had extra weight was when I auditioned to get into my high school and did not make it. My middle school dance teacher called my mother in to discuss what happened. (A little side note-it was a guarantee to go to the high school if you came from that particular middle school). My dance teacher had told my mother that the reason I had not gotten into the high school was because of my weight. Needless to say I was devistated. My dance teacher was able to get me another audition and I got in. I was so excited, but I never really focused on the real reason why I didnt get in the school the first time.
I was on the same dance team from 2nd grade up into high school. When you reach your junior year of high school, you move on to the senior dance team. I auditioned and thought I had nailed it. Come on-it was a modern routine and I had modern training and not many other people had. I was floored when I walked up to the board and did not see my name on the list. I was furious, thinking-I wasted so many years with this team, only to get shafted. That was when I probably started putting the weight on quickly. Now that I didn't have my regular dance classes after school, my fitness routine was cut drastically. I never auditioned for dance numbers at high school in fear of rejection. We had a choreographer come over from Spain to teach us a Flamenco number. I was shocked when he cast me in his piece. It was refreshing to have someone look at your dancing and not your size. Looking back now, and watching So You Think You Can Dance and seeing Mia Michaels (a heavy set choreographer and Dancer) I see that there are some people out there that truly cast people based on ability, not the anorexic/bulemic look that most choreographers want.
I was probably about a size 16/18 in high school. I never dated anyone in high school and was mainly focused on school and stage managing. I also had very strict parents that wouldn't let me go out or go to parties, which was a good thing.
I went on to college and worked and in 2005, I was diagnosed with PTC (Pseudotumor Cerebri aka Intracranial Hypertension). Long story short, my body was producing too much spinal fluid and since the fluid has no where to go-it collected behind my optic nerves. This in turn cause severe migraines, vision problems, pressure on the optic nerve made me go cross-eyed. I was scared, needless to say. Finally my neurologist figured out what I had and I had to have numerous spinal taps to drain the excess spinal fluid. This made the headaches go away, the vision problems go away and my eyes went back to normal. Why did I get this? The doctors have said that there is no known cause and no known cure, but statistically-women who are overweight and of child bearing age are the main people that can develop this condition. My doctor suggested that significant weight loss can reduce the risk of a relaspe. Thus the thought of weight loss surgery was planted in my head.
I never thought that I would ever be a candidate for WLS because I am a healthy person. I don't have co-morbidities. With a written suggestion from my neuorlogist, we submitted it to my insurance. After going through the nutritionist, getting the psych eval and other qualifications I was approved. My surgeon was great. He does multiple types of WLS and never said that I should have one certain type of surgery over another. He let the patient make that decision.
I was banded on 2/18/2009. I lost a lot of weight in the first couple of months. I had a fill and did not really lose anything. Then life got in the way. I had a fill done in September of 09 and that was the last one up until May.
When I say that Life got in the way, let me explain-I had moved in with my friends. So living with them wasnt the best idea, we ate fast food like crazy!!! We were going out and drinking and partying every weekend. They also didnt work out. I would try to get my roomate into it and she would just sleep for half the day. Of course there was Thanksgiving and Christmas and then I decided that I needed a vacation from work. I decided to go to Paris, France for a week and a half. My roommate went with me. It was an amazing vacation and I cant wait to go back to Europe. We got back and I had this overwhelming feeling that 2010 was going to be the year of change for me. Boy, was I right.
Since coming back from Paris, I felt distance between my roommates and I, and I wasnt happy with the living situation. So I decided to get my own place. I moved April 16 into my apartment, this was the first time for me to live alone. I was feeling accomplished and great, full of possibilities. The weekend after I moved, I was at a baby shower. Heading home I recieved a call from my brother in law, my dad wanted all of the family to meet out at their house. This was not normal for my dad to do. I was worried and scared and upset, and I didnt know what was going on. The whole family got out to my parents house and my dad informed us that he had cancer, but we didnt know what kind.
All of a sudden my hopeful feelings for 2010 vanished. After learning about my dad, going through the anger, denial, fear, and finally acceptance I decided that I needed to get my life back on track. The doctors were saying that my dad had anywhere from 1-3 years left. Then I started thinking about, what if i dont get married before he dies. I wont get my father/daughter dance, my dad wont be there to walk me down the aisle. My dad may not every get to see me lose all my weight that I wanted to.
