DebbiR
Hi everyone! I am a mom of a son who is 24, a daughter who is 21, and my "baby" (daughter) who is 15. I have been married to Mark for almost 27 years!
When we got married, I was a size 7!!!!!!!!!!! We went to Disney World and when we came home we stopped in Washington DC. Looking through my luggage in FL I couldn't find a pair of pants, called my mother and she found them and said she would keep them there for when I get back. While we were in DC my thoughtful husband got me a milkshake at 11 every night 
Needless to say when I went to my parents house those freaking pants did NOT fit me 
. I actually gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks!!!
A few years after that I had 1miscarriage and another where my fully formed baby died inside my womb 
before my son was born. Each time I put on some weight. When I got pregnant for my son I was a size 12. Before my "baby" was born I had 5 more miscarriages 
. I must have just kept my mouth open and let the food roll on down my throat because I wound up wearing clothes that ACTUALLY HAD TO HAVE A COUPLE OF NUMBERS AND A LETTER IN IT!!! I went on so many diets, would lose some, then gain it all back plus more. I live in stretchy pants and baggy tops. I am a size 18/20 now and weigh 272 pounds. DO YOU REALIZE THAT IS ALMOST 300 POUNDS!! (Who in the world do I think I'm talking to, of course you know that - duh 
,
I can't stand going to weddings. Oh don't get me wrong I actually cry at them but the dressing part and stockings part would put me in a DEEP funk! When we get pictures done, one of my kids has to stand in front of me.
The last 3 years has been very hard on me health wise. 3 years ago I had to have a hysterectomy (I couldn't stop bleeding. I would go to the mall (20 minutes away) and bleed right through. I constantly lived in black clothes. 2 years ago my hubby told me to go get things done (medically) because our insurance would be going up. Never got a mammogram before so I was joking to my friends "oh I'm going to get my boobs squeezed"! Went to the doctor and OH MY LORD she found a tumor, did a biopsy right then and there. Yup you guessed - it cancer! I had 4 surgeries. The third one my fantastic surgeon 
found a huge tumor on my breast wall. She said it was there for at least 10 years. It was so far in that I had to have a mastectomy. Believe it or not I went in at 1:30 pm on a Thurs. and got out at 9 a.m. on Friday. To me that was a piece of cake! You know I got through this with the help of my family telling me that they loved me. Actually seeing my 24 year old cry really touched me. When we were driving to the hospital I thought I was going to jump out of the car right over the next bridge. However, my son said "mom, I love you so much and I don't want anything to happen to you" THAT my friends is what got me through it!
So this year they find that I have arthritis in my ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows and right thumb. ANY MORE CRAP!!!! Went for a physical in June and my doc. asked how I felt about the lap band. Cripe I could have gotten up and kissed the man!!!!!!!!
I have my seminar set for November. I am not a very patient person when it comes to something like this. I want it over and done with NOW 
!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to get this done but that would mean summer is over and my baby will be in school. I just love having my kids around me. My surgeons office said after the seminar it could take from 5-7 months. I can't wait to be able to tie my shoes, walk without pain or just plain walk and not waddle, wear NON stretchy pants ones with REAL ZIPPERS 
, be able to MAYBE see sunlight between my legs instead of just fat, sit in a chair without dreading that it just might collapse under me, put on socks without looking like an elephant giving birth, walking down the isle at my daughter's wedding and wearing a pretty dress and not something that Omar the Tent Maker sewed, climb a mountain with my family (never been able to do this cripe I can't even go up the stairs without feeling like I ran a 50 mile marathon, but most of all being healthy for once in my like and REALLY REALLY like the way I look 
!
