So I'm still trying to figure out how to get everything set up on here the way I want it, and realized from looking @ other people's profiles that there was a spot for "My Story", lol.  I was wondering about that.  I'm also having some problems uploading photos and getting a profile pic up, but anyways...on with my story...

I've been overweight my whole life.  I don't have the same dad as my sister and 2 brothers that I grew up with so I have always been the odd ball in the family.  I will explain this.  My mother is a petite woman who has never been above a size 8 in her life, even during pregnancy and after giving birth to 4 children.  She is the 16th child of 20, and all and I do mean ALL of her siblings are skinny with my Mom having always been one of the smallest.  Let's just say size 0-2 as an example of her size while I was growing up.  How crazy is it that I did NOT get the skinny gene?  My sister was always tiny, one of my brothers was somewhat husky but could never have been called overweight.  They all had blonde hair while I had almost black hair.  The only explanation for this is that I took most of my genest including the "fat" gene from my father with whom I did not even meet until this past father's day.  How ironic, lol?  He is a big man now, and he has always struggled with his weight and had lots of health issues that he just happened to pass onto me.  I was 26 years old when I met the man who helped make me, and though I don't look much like him now (THANK U, GOD, the man has lived a rough life and it shows) I look alot like he did in high school.  I have an 18 year old half-sister who could be my twin if she wasn't like 5 inches taller than me, and I always thought I was tall @ 5 ft. 6, lol.  

Anyway, I'm getting off track here.  I remember the summer before I started high school getting on a scale and weighing like 180 and thinking to myself, "do I have a brick or two in my stomach or what?" because I was very active @ that time in my life.  i walked everday, usually 2 or 3 miles, sometimes more.  I was so busy with my friends and dreaming about boys that I honestly don't remember overeating.  My weight only went up from there.  I stayed @ 225 lbs. for a couple of years and honestly that was a pretty healthy weight for me.  I had no health problems, no problems with exercising, and I carried my weight pretty well.  Then I got into a serious relationship @ 18, got pregnant, had my baby, and one month later was in a fatal car/train accident with my new baby and my fiance'.  My fiance' was killed, my baby had a skull fracture, and I was pretty tore up myself.  I had a pelvic fracture, multiple broken bones, a head injury, and a lacerated liver.  I've probably left some stuff out but u get the jist of it.  After I got out of the hospital my weight fluctuated alot because I was on alot of meds.  I was also dealing with severe anxiety and depression which I continue to battle.  My weight would go up, I'd go on a diet, lose the weight, then end up gaining it back plus more.  This went on for about 4 years before I met my husband.  I stayed @ a solid 275 lbs. for a long time after I had my second son who just turned 3 in November.  Somehow though in the last year, I've gained 40 lbs.  Also through all of this, my son who was in the car/train accident has been diagnosed with Autism due to severe devolopmental delays and the fact that he is almost completely nonverbal.  He is almost 8 years old now. 

I have researched WLS off and on in the past but in this past year, I really dug my heels in, and I've done everything that had to be done to get where I am now.  I will probably be having surgery in late January or early February of 2008.  In my mind and my heart, I know that this surgery is the only way that I will lose this weight and keep it off.  I'm tired of depending so much on other people to do things that I should be doing but can't because of my weight.  My body has already suffered a serious trauma back in 2000 when I was in the car/train accident, and this weight is just more trauma every day. 

I would love to make friends on here, especially anyone who has had their surgery @ KDMC in Ashland, KY.  I don't have alot of time to get on here, and when I do, it's usually late @ night but I'd love to meet some people and share some stories.  I'm also gonna really try to get this whole sight figured out, lol.  I have a myspace account, and I'm telling u, it wasn't even half as hard as this sight has been for me.  If anyone can offer me some help, I'd greatly appreciate it, particularly when it comes to changing my background and getting my photos uploaded.  I've went through all of the steps to upload photos, they just aren't uploading for some reason.  Much love to all:)) 

A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE:  HIGHEST WEIGHT EVER, 319 LBS., AND 221 LBS. @ 4.5 MONTHS POST OP