blubird29
Blubirds Story
Like so many of you, I have led the YO-YO lifestyle my entire life. My earliest memory of being put on a diet was at 13 years old after discovering boys! At 50 years old I was still on that same diet after all these years nothing had changed other than I was getting larger and larger with each diet.
In 2003 I watched my Mother suffer an incredibly slow painful death with leukemia. She had been in the hospital for 5 solid months when they finally told us to take her home and contact hospice... Mother was a large women also weighing in the 300 range. Her first night in the hospital she fell trying to go to the bathroom, fractured her back and never walked again. She spent the next 7 months in a bed. I witnessed first hand just HOW cruel people can be to the obese so I was more than pleased when Dad took her home to spend her remaining days in the comfort of her own home. One of the most disturbing aspects of Mothers last 7 months was the fact that here is this woman who just loved food and she could no longer eat food. For 7 months she simply smelled and watched as others would eat. She said it did not bother her but ... After Mother passed, I spent the next 12 months eating enough for the both of us resulting in my gaining the 100 pounds I had just managed to lose prior to her death. Mother was my WW buddy so instead of attending meeting - I ate.
With my new weight of 314 pounds my back and knees could no longer cope with my 60 hour work weeks walking on concrete all day. In 2004, only 47 years old I was forced to apply for disability. OUCH! So with all this time on my hands after 3 years had gone by I began to research bariatric surgery. Dad remarried and his new wife underwent RNY surgery and successfully lost 100 pounds at 70 years and she looks wonderful.
January 1, 2008 my journey began. I first had to quit smoking, I was at 2 packs a day. I had already researched the local hospitals who performed bariatric surgery and found that The Bariatric Center of KC is a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence so I attended their seminar. It was wonderfully informative. They mailed me a packet and off I went running. My insurance was with Coventry Health who required a six month physician supervised diet. I was religious with my paperwork, doctor's appointments (not more than 5 weeks between visits) and a form provided by The Bariatric Center of KC that my doctor filled out at each visit. It only took 2 weeks after I completed my 6 month physician supervised diet to get my approval. In April I had to overcome another one of my big additions, I quit drinking diet Pepsi (2 - 2 liters daily) and all other caffeine. Once I knew my paperwork was submitted to the insurance company I was on the phone every 3 days checking the status of the claim until finally I heard the words "YOU'VE BEEN APPROVED". I have already had my first visit with Dr. Hoehn and am scheduled for surgery October 27Th. YEAH! Don't you know I was screaming at the top of my lungs. It is so important to me to improve my quality of life for my retirement years. I owe it to myself to NOT carry this extra 150 pounds any longer...
