cburky911
3 months pre-op - 440lbs.
I'm a 911 Dispatch Center Supervisor in the Central Ohio area. I've struggled with my weight my entire adult life, including the three years I served in the Army during the mid 1980's. A few years back I started looking in to bariatric surgery and then heard about the Atkins diet. I decided that I would try that first before going to surgery.
Atkins was successful for me for nearly a year, the longest amount of time that I was able to stay on a diet. I was happy with the results, but again got discouraged when I hit a plateau that lasted for several months.
After again gaining back all the weight that I had lost, plus some, I decided that the time had come to go through with bariatric surgery.
I went to one bariatric program that was recommended to me by a co-worker, but the pre-surgical/approval process was confusing, and after not getting calls returned or questions answered, gave up on them. Then I heard about Fresh Start Bariatics. When I looked in to their program, the first thing that impressed me was what I call their "all inclusive" program.
Fresh Start handles all the contact with the insurance company and my first appointment was an open conversation with Rosa (the coordinator who works out of Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, OH) discussing how much my insurance would cover, how much I would need to have out of pocket, and what financing options were available to me.
Once I decided that Fresh Start was who I wanted to deal with, they wasted no time. Within only a few weeks I was in for my first appointment. It was a full day of blood work, tests, a conversation with their staff dietician, staff psychologist and the surgeon.
Things are moving forward now, and today I scheduled my surgery date.
Just to let you know how quickly they were able to move...I went to the seminar in February and by early March had my first appointment. I recieved approval from my insurance company on March 29 and will have my surgery on June 20.
Fresh Start has made the process very simple for me, and Rosa has been great.
