Cassandra C.
Better late than never...
Jul 11, 2007
Although I've updated pics, I haven't updated my profile in awhile, so I figured now's a good a time as any. I'm about 3 1/2 months out and down 72 lbs. from the day of surgery. That's right...72 lbs!!! Which means I'm down 82 lbs since my highest weight. I'm completely amazed and so terribly thankful for the surgery and Dr. Brader. I feel so good. And I LOVE all the compliments I'm getting, especially from my co-workers. They've been so fantastic throughout this whole ordeal. I wish DH would express a little more, but I can tell he's happy, too. I have so much more confidence and so much more energy. I just can't get over it. I had to finally give in a buy some new clothes last weekend b/c my old clothes were/are LITERALLY FALLING OFF OF ME!!! After hearing "I think it's time for new pants/shirts b/c those are too tight" so many times, it's nice to hear "You need to buy some new clothes b/c they are WAY too big on you" for once. Shopping wasn't such a great experience b/c I seem to be in between sizes right now, so it was hard to find stuff to fit correctly. But I took the slightly snuck size of everything b/c I figure they will fit perfectly in a few weeks. Well, I guess that's it for now. I hope everyone is experiencing the same joy and gratitude that I am right now. I wish you all the best.
Home from surgery!
Mar 30, 2007
Hey, all! I'm officially a member of the Brader Bunch now. I just got home from the hospital about an hour or so ago. I feel great. Very little pain. Just a little sleepy. I was known as the "star" patient to the nurses. lol That definitely made me feel good. I had no problems with the surgery at all and wasn't in much pain after. So I'm gonna take things easy now. Focus on getting my breathing, drinking, and walking in. I'll keep in touch!
Four more days...
Mar 23, 2007
Well, it's 12:26 am ET, so I'm officially only 4 days away from surgery. I can't believe it. Time was going so slowly, and I thought my day would never come. Then all of a sudden it's right on top of me. I'm scared to death that I'm gonna get to the clinic and the doctor will tell me that we have to postpone for whatever reason. I'll be completely devastated if that happens. I've been psyching myself up every single day for this. I just pray that I've lost enough weight for them to go ahead and do the surgery. I really don't want to resort to the open b/c I can't take off of work that long. And I REALLY don't want them to say I need to lose another 10 lbs. before they'll do either one. I'm just gonna put my faith in God right now and trust that He will allow this to go successfully for me.
PATs tomorrow...
Mar 06, 2007
I have to go to BC tomorrow for my PATs. I'm nervous. I haven't lost nearly the weight I wanted to lose before this point. But that just means I have to work 4x's harder between now and surgery to get rid of this extra weight. Do they really postpone the surgery if you haven't lost the extra 10 lbs. they recommend? I was weighed in way back in the summer and gained so much more weight over the holidays. I'm so mad at myself for doing that. Now I have the 10 lbs. they require AND the extra weight that I added on to lose. I'm gonna do it, though. No matter what it takes. And of course we're supposed to get a big snow storm tomorrow morning. So now I have to make the nearly hour long trip in the middle of a storm. I'm gonna do it, though. I will NOT let ANYTHING keep me from getting the surgery. And I refuse to let such trivial things cause it to be postponed. Whatever it takes, I'm gonna work it out.
Less than once month away...
Mar 01, 2007
If you don't count today or surgery day, I'm only 26 days away from the beginning of my new life! lol I'll do anything to make it seem closer. hehe I'm getting a little nervous because I can't seem to get ahold of my PCP for my new referrals. I hope I can get him tomorrow. If not, I'm gonna call the clinic so I can give them a heads-up. Maybe they will be able to help me get something. I've been trying to get my PCP ever since I got my date scheduled 2 weeks ago. I'm not gonna worry, though. I have faith that everything will go as smoothly as possible.
I went to visit Racheal at the clinic tonight. She had her surgery yesterday. She's SUCH a wonderful person. It was great talking to her. She seemed to be doing really well. Definitely an inspiration. :) I can only hope that I'll be feeling as good as she is the day after my surgery. After seeing the inside of the rooms and meeting some of the nurses and stuff, I feel so much more comfortable. Everyone seems really nice. It was very quiet and nice there. Maybe a little too quiet. But it's all good. I'm so excited now. I'm full of energy just thinking about it. Well, 26 days and counting until I'm on the loser's bench and a member of the Brader Bunch! hehe I just hope I can drop these last few pounds before surgery. Keeping my fingers crossed. X
I went to visit Racheal at the clinic tonight. She had her surgery yesterday. She's SUCH a wonderful person. It was great talking to her. She seemed to be doing really well. Definitely an inspiration. :) I can only hope that I'll be feeling as good as she is the day after my surgery. After seeing the inside of the rooms and meeting some of the nurses and stuff, I feel so much more comfortable. Everyone seems really nice. It was very quiet and nice there. Maybe a little too quiet. But it's all good. I'm so excited now. I'm full of energy just thinking about it. Well, 26 days and counting until I'm on the loser's bench and a member of the Brader Bunch! hehe I just hope I can drop these last few pounds before surgery. Keeping my fingers crossed. X
FINALLY!!!
Feb 20, 2007
I finally got the call from the scheduler today. It took her sooooooooo long. She said she'd call me over a month ago, and it's been phone tag ever since. Anyway...my date is March 28th. I could've had it as early as the 7th, but I decided that I probably need a little time to prepare. And my husband will need time to make arrangements at work, too. He works at the Red Cross, and it's worse than pulling teeth to try to get time off there. So that's my news. I'm getting excited now. :)
Still waiting...
Jan 20, 2007
I'm getting so impatient. I can't wait to check my mail every day, so I can see if my surgery date letter is in there. I don't even know if they send a letter. lol Do they call you or send it in the mail??? Either way, I hope to hear something soon.
I have been working on losing weight before I get my date. I have only lost 1 pound since my last post (6 days ago). But (for reasons that I will not mention) I am carrying more weight right now that I normally would. So over the next few days I may drop a few pounds pretty quickly. At least I HOPE I will. Also, I have had a few cans of soda and a TON of iced tea this week, so if I stop drinking those and get more water in, I should hopefully be able to at least get back down to where I was for my consultation. Plus, my husband is out of the country for a couple of weeks, so it would be nice to drop a few pounds while he's gone and see if he notices when he gets back. Unfortunately, when you're as big as I am, other people don't notice any weight loss on you unless it's like 50 lbs. But I least I would be better about myself if I lost some. So I'm gonna work on it.
I met a few girls that are also having surgery around the same time as me. Some online, some in person. It'll be great if we can stay in contact and support each other through this. And it would be REALLY great if some of us ended up in the hospital at the same time. That would be really motivating. But only time will tell. Keeping my fingers crossed that I hear something soon. It would be nice to have a date before my husband gets home.
I have been working on losing weight before I get my date. I have only lost 1 pound since my last post (6 days ago). But (for reasons that I will not mention) I am carrying more weight right now that I normally would. So over the next few days I may drop a few pounds pretty quickly. At least I HOPE I will. Also, I have had a few cans of soda and a TON of iced tea this week, so if I stop drinking those and get more water in, I should hopefully be able to at least get back down to where I was for my consultation. Plus, my husband is out of the country for a couple of weeks, so it would be nice to drop a few pounds while he's gone and see if he notices when he gets back. Unfortunately, when you're as big as I am, other people don't notice any weight loss on you unless it's like 50 lbs. But I least I would be better about myself if I lost some. So I'm gonna work on it.
I met a few girls that are also having surgery around the same time as me. Some online, some in person. It'll be great if we can stay in contact and support each other through this. And it would be REALLY great if some of us ended up in the hospital at the same time. That would be really motivating. But only time will tell. Keeping my fingers crossed that I hear something soon. It would be nice to have a date before my husband gets home.
Waiting...
Jan 14, 2007
So I'm just sitting here...bored out of my mind...waiting. Waiting for a surgery date. Waiting for my life to change. Waiting to be able to be a better mother to my daughter. Waiting to be able to be a better wife. Waiting for the me I've always wanted to be.
I called Barix a litte over a week ago to get an estimated time of when the surgery will be. Peggy said she hasn't even gotten my file yet, but Dr. Brader is scheduling into March right now. So she said my date will probably be in March or early April. It'll definitely be nice to have it done before my anniversary. That will be a great beginning to start off our 5th year of marriage.
I'm so anxious and excited. But at the same time, I'm getting nervous and scared. I'm a little worried that even after I do get my date, it will be postponed. It seems like that happens to almost everyone. It will be my own fault if it does happen b/c I haven't been working on losing weight on my own. I allowed myself to indulge in all of the holiday goodness. The cakes, the pies, the candy. That needs to stop now, and I need to get focused. I wasn't really nervous or scared until about 2 days ago. But I was reading through the memorials (BIG MISTAKE FOR PRE-OPPERS!) and saw so many young women...women my age...women who are doing this for the same reason(s) I am...women who are no longer in this World...women who left their children behind. That's my biggest fear. I'm doing this for my daughter. I want to be able to live life with her. Enjoy our time together. I can't do that now. But if I have this surgery and will NEVER be able to do that? The only things that are getting me through this now are the facts that I'm relatively healthy, I NEED to do this if I want to be any kind of mother to Aicha, and I have as much confidence in Dr. Brader that I possibly can. I definitely trust him more than any other doctor I've read about.
I called Barix a litte over a week ago to get an estimated time of when the surgery will be. Peggy said she hasn't even gotten my file yet, but Dr. Brader is scheduling into March right now. So she said my date will probably be in March or early April. It'll definitely be nice to have it done before my anniversary. That will be a great beginning to start off our 5th year of marriage.
I'm so anxious and excited. But at the same time, I'm getting nervous and scared. I'm a little worried that even after I do get my date, it will be postponed. It seems like that happens to almost everyone. It will be my own fault if it does happen b/c I haven't been working on losing weight on my own. I allowed myself to indulge in all of the holiday goodness. The cakes, the pies, the candy. That needs to stop now, and I need to get focused. I wasn't really nervous or scared until about 2 days ago. But I was reading through the memorials (BIG MISTAKE FOR PRE-OPPERS!) and saw so many young women...women my age...women who are doing this for the same reason(s) I am...women who are no longer in this World...women who left their children behind. That's my biggest fear. I'm doing this for my daughter. I want to be able to live life with her. Enjoy our time together. I can't do that now. But if I have this surgery and will NEVER be able to do that? The only things that are getting me through this now are the facts that I'm relatively healthy, I NEED to do this if I want to be any kind of mother to Aicha, and I have as much confidence in Dr. Brader that I possibly can. I definitely trust him more than any other doctor I've read about.
