CCRH
APRIL 1ST, 2008---MY NEW BIRTHDAY!
Hello, yawl! Thanks for checking out my page. I'm a happily married Southern woman...a daughter...a sister...an aunt...a godmother...a friend...a graphic artist...a web designer...an artist...a craftswoman...a photographer...a gardener...a sports fan...a writer...a swimmer...and much more.
But the one thing I have been consistently over the past thirty-three years is FAT. I've been an overweight person in differing degrees most of my adult life. I've struggled with many issues that have contributed to my size.
I was a fairly normal sized child that never seemed to lose her baby fat. I wasn't obese nor chubby in my teen years, but I was quite well-rounded. I was bigger than my friends; but wore a size 13, when I graduated. In high school, I was very active and was always running somewhere, doing something. I was extremely involved in the community, school activities as well as clubs, sports and church. Also, I was in the flag corps; for our uniforms, we either wore short shorts or micro-minis. Boy, I had great legs then; and looking back, I really rocked both of the outfits and those sexy knee high boots (although I didn't know it at the time).
Then in my freshman year in college, I discovered a great hoagie place that delivered on campus until the wee hours of the night. Pizza also played a huge part in our late night dorm chats and study fests. With this newfound food freedom, I managed to gain almost fifty pounds. {{{Yikes!}}} But I was engaged and so in love; and my darling hubby loved me any old "weigh".
Throughout our entire marriage, he supported me (despite my ever increasing weight). He loved to eat, I loved to eat...together we truly enjoyed our meals. But he was a very active athlete and didn't soak up the calories nor did he keep them on his hips and thighs like I did. His mother was one of the best cooks you would ever find; and she was our next door neighbor. She would watch for us to get home from work and she would call and ask if we had fixed anything yet; knowing full well that we hadn't. Her meals always included something fried (a requirement in the South), yeast rolls and at least two desserts (usually a cake and a pie of some sorts). I had never eaten like that; but for fourteen years (before she passed away), I loved every bite she prepared in her kitchen. Before I knew it, I blossomed to around 275 pounds.
Since my collegiate days, I was always battling my weight and attempting to lose those extra pounds. I joined gyms, I dieted and I worked out. With a ten pound gain here, a five pound loss there, another twenty pounds on, fifteen off, I stayed in that same weight range (260-290) for most of my adult life.
As I said, I always worked out and was extremely active. I helped my inlaws on their tobacco farm; I worked in a retail clothing store and was always on my feet (and in heels, too---ouch). I sweated to the oldies with Richard Simmons; I did aerobics with Jane Fonda; I swam lap after lap and did cardio-aquatics. I played tennis, volleyball, basketball, golf, croquet and badminton. I even tried to play softball; I wasn't very good. So I ended up keeping the scorebook instead. In fact, my family physician once told me that I was the "fittest fat person" he had ever treated.
Despite my vigilance and dedication, I continued to gain no matter what I did. During the various years I have been overweight, I have tried almost everything: hypnosis, every diet known to man and woman, Weight Watchers, starvation, exercise and much more. Heck, I even tried the old-fashioned method of pushing myself away from the table. YOU NAME IT, I TRIED IT!!
In 1998, my energy well ran dry. I developed a tremor in my right hand. Then suddenly, I was constantly fatigued and struggled to make it to work every day. My SED rate started running very high; I was tested for an assortment of diseases including: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS and more. But there was no concrete diagnosis, only speculation. Between that time and November of 2000, I embarked on yet another diet. My weight seemed to drop off of me without much effort. Then on a routine doctor visit (after previously being told I was borderline diabetic), my blood sugar registered around 250. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. At that point, I was the first person in my family to have that. My doctor advised me that she thought that if I lost more weight and stayed on a strict diet, I could overcome this. So I started a vigorous daily exercise routine and devoutly stuck to it.
Then in March 2001, I stopped to think and somehow forgot to start again. As I started to step off of my treadmill (of all places), my tennis shoe stuck to the tread; but I hadn't turned off the machine. So I fell and ended up twisting my right knee and then hit my chin on my exercise bike in our own foyer. How's that for luck? After an arthroscopy that summer, my orthopedic surgeon told me that I "would never have a normal knee again". That five seconds of tumbling started seven years of severe pain and a weight gain of almost one hundred more pounds. For almost all of my outings, I had to use a wheel chair. Walking and working out (except for aquatics) became more and more difficult.
With each pound I gained and retained, I lost part of me. I retreated into myself. Chairs and booths became my enemies and I hated going out in public. I lost my verve, my swerve, my sassy outgoing personality.
Approximately five years ago, I went to a bariatric surgeon who literally scared me to death. I had absolutely no confidence in him and at that time decided to drop the WLS route and swore it off for a lifetime. By the way, at that time I weighed 318 pounds. I hate to admit it, but I (the eternal optimist) gave up for a short while.
However, about a year and a half ago, I found the answer to my weight loss prayers. A friend in my aquatic class told me about the surgeon that operated on her son-in-law. Then last year, my former supervisor, had an RNY with the same doctor and absolutely raved about him. So with two positive endorsements from people I trusted, at that point, I decided to give surgery another try. That path led me to find and meet with my wonderful surgeon and his staff. My paperwork was started and the waiting process began. Then a few months later at one of his support group meetings, I ran into an old childhood friend. She had had the same surgery about two years before then; she had lost and maintained a loss of 193 pounds. We reconnected and she became one of my strongest angels and champions. So with their guidance and the support of my fabulous husband, I finally had my RNY on April 1st, 2008 (no fooling). Thus, I was given this new tummy and a fresh start on my life.
I am now off of most of my diabetic medications and my high blood pressure pill. My physician wants me to stay on half of a Metformin until my January check-up. My latest blood work was almost perfect; and I am in such a better place than I was just a short time ago. I can walk almost everywhere; although I still have to use a cart in huge stores or after hours of shopping. But that's okay. I'm getting there and am about 90% wheelchair free. People say that I absolutely glow now. Plus, I feel great which is the best blessing of all. And I couldn't be happier!
And using this wonderful new tool I've been given, I am dedicated to becoming a new me......a better me...a smaller me...a more confident me......a sassier me...a sexier me...a healthier me...
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