Fran575
My Story........
I turned 55 in November of 2007. I am 5'4" tall and weigh 242 pounds. I have been married for the past 10 years to wonderful man I met on the internet 13 years ago. I am the 3rd girl in a family of 5 girls, and the only one to have suffered from morbid obesity ALL my life.
We were raised in Hawaii (on the island of Oahu), and that is where I discovered the wonderful "mu-mu". It covered a wealth of fat, or so I thought. My highest weight was the year I graduated from high school, when I weighed 295#. Two years later we left the islands and came to Washington State. Shortly after my mom & dad moved on to California with my 2 younger sisters, and I stayed here. I have now lived in Washington for the past 35 years, but the Hawaiian spirit still flows through my veins.
I have never really let my weight get the best of me, and have always done what I wanted to do. But over the past 10 years things have changed. I was diagnosed with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and a Herniated Disc in my lower back. After almost 2 years on a cane I finally had Lower Lumbar Laminectomy surgery. That was done in 2003, and I no longer use a cane but I do suffer from numbness in my left leg if I walk for any length of time.
Every day I feel older! I started looking into WLS about a year ago, but then got scared and put it out of my head. But in September of 2007 it popped right back into my head. Then when I found out that Tricare (military medical insurance) would cover the entire cost, I became more serious about having this surgery. Thankfully my husband is retired from the Navy and has this wonderful insurance at our disposal!
My PCP referred me to Madigan Army Hospital back on October 18th and I am on my way. I have taken the 5 required Pathway classes. Nutrition, Support Groups, Physical Therapy, etc. I now have 2 appointments left: One on January 14th for a long Psych test and then on February 4th for reviewing the results with the psych. If I pass those 2 appts, then I get my referral with the actual surgeon and my date. Potentially I could be having surgery by March of 2008. I put my surgeon down as Preson Carter, head of Bariatric Surgery at Madigan, but that could change. I am still researching the different surgeons, and haven't made a final decision on which one I am leaning towards.
My employer, and a few co-workers, are aware of what I am planning. They have given me tremendous support, as has my husband.
I will return with updates as they happen.
