"I made my decision to have Bypass Surgery, January 1, 2002. I scheduled an appointment to see my Primary Care Physician on January 3 and he was absolutely against the surgery. I left his office feeling frustrated, but not broken. So that evening I got on my computer at home and began researching all the information I could possibly find on Bariatric Surgery and Surgeons in my area. I found three surgeons and the first one I called was Dr Barry Haicken's office. They were very helpful over the phone with all of my questions and I made my first appointment on January 14. Between January 3 and January 14 I did all the research I could on Dr Barry Haicken (Largo, Fl), including contacting many of his patients. After many conversations and e-mails, I am sure that I have found the absolutely best possible Surgeon.
On January 14 I had the pleasure of meeting Elise Hazzard (Dr. Haicken's Nurse Practitioner), she was great and made me feel extremely comfortable. She took the time to go over the surgery with me and answer about a million of my questions. I made an appointment the very next day for my Pulmonary Consultation, Dr. Teresa Buck. Yet again I have found another wonderful Doctor. She is great and really encouraged me in my endeavor to have surgery. We made my Sleep Study appointment for January 31. Next I made an appointment with Dr Palusiak (my new choice for my Primary Care Physician), January 18. This was also another great decision for me. Although she is a little reserved, she was great and gave me all the other referrals I needed. Thankfully Dr Palusiak is also the same Doctor that will be doing my Endoscopy. Because of my family history of Colon cancer she will also perform a colonoscopy the same day, January 29. I had my EKG and X-ray that same day and went on January 19 to have all my bloodwork done. Tomorrow, January 25 I have my Psychiatric evaluation (Dr. Patel) done and January 30 I have my Dietary Consultation (Nadine Pazder). After that I have a follow-up visit with Dr Palusiak and Dr Buck on February 8 and hopefully I will have everything turned in correctly and meet with Dr Haicken the following week. My goal is to have a surgery date in February! I hope!!!
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