sherri7794
Ok, here goes. I am married (almost 16 years) and have 3 kids (ages 15, 14 and 12). I am currently morbidly obese. I have struggled with my weight all my life for the most part. I have been up and down in weight. In January of 2010 I began the journey to have WLS. At first I had been interested in gastric banding. I attended a meeting to learn more about it and fill out the first applications. At the same time I attended that first meeting my dad (at the age of 65) was very very ill. He was fighting to live and it was taking a huge toll on me too. I learned after this meeting that for my insurance to cover my gastric bypass I would have to attend 6 months of B.L.A.S.T. class (to learn the right way to eat after the surgery, etc.). I started the classes eagerly. The only class I missed was in June right after my father passed away. I made that class up in October. Anyway, after all the classes, appts., etc. I got the word last week that my insurance approved me for surgery YAY :)))))
My Dad had always struggled with his weight too. He was also a heavy smoker most of his life. He had a stroke in 2008 that left him very limited in movement (mostly confined to a wheelchair). Then a month later my mom (age 67) passed away of a massive heart attack. She wasn't overweight. Then in January 2010 my Dad's health took a downward nosedive. It started out as pneumonia, but more things started going wrong including COPD. He finally ended up on a ventilator and with a feeding tube. He had many ups and downs throughout the last months of his life, but in late May we found out he was terminal. This broke my heart. I was very close to my Dad as he was the one that raised me. He passed away peacefully while holding my hand on June 22, 2010. I promised my Dad that I would have this surgery.
I decided early on that instead of banding I was going to have RNY gastric bypass. In the process of all this I also found out that I have Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. My reasons for doing this are many, but the biggest ones are my 3 kids, my husband and that I am very tired and am sure that I won't have a very long life if I don't do something. I know I can't change my family history, but I can and must change my weight. I am not doing this for reasons of vanity. I am not going to lie and say that it doesn't bother me (how I look and how others look at me), but that is a small concern when compared to how I feel. I feel so weak and tired all the time. And I am tired of not being able to participate in life with my family. I currently never want to leave the house.
I can't wait to get my preop appt and surgery date. I was ready a year ago......I am just trying to be patient.
