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It looks like the link is not working in my other post today so will include the whole article that Melanie sent out to friends this way.


Hi everyone,

Our beautiful Donna has been featured in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix this morning!
 
  http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Coping+with+weight+loss+just+physical/3307868/story.html?id=3307868 

   
 

Coping with weight loss not just physical

Hannah Scissons, The StarPhoenix

Published: Thursday, July 22, 2010

Donna Garman has to get used to the catcalls and compliments coming her way.

But the 72-year-old finds it a bit disconcerting.

"People haven't ever said to me, in so many years, that I'm beautiful, that I'm attractive, that I'm looking great. I'm getting it all the time now," she said.

View Larger Image

Weight-loss surgery allows Donna Garman to resume motorcycle trips

Gord Waldner, The StarPhoenix

Patients in Regina have access to the Saskatchewan Bariatric Support Group's monthly meetings. Its president, Joel Sopp, had gastric bypass surgery in June 2009 and has lost 200 pounds since then.

The "little ways" it has changed his life are some of the most memorable, such as his son being pleasantly surprised he can reach all the way around his dad when they hug. "Lightbulb moments like that totally catch you off guard," said Sopp.

But he's also been caught off guard in other ways.

"It's affected me in almost a negative way in some cases. What I mean by that is more people that I've known from my younger years talk to me more now," he said.

"Now that all these people are coming out of the woodwork and 'become my friend again' or rekindle whatever, it's been, I guess it's not negative, but it's been an eye-opener for me."

The few negative experiences have been far outweighed by the positive, though.

For Saskatoon's Garman, who had given up motorcycle riding in recent years after her arthritis pains got the better of her, the weight-loss surgery has given her her old life back. She returned Sunday from a two-week motorcycle trip through the U.S. and one of her first stops Monday morning was the Weight Loss Forever office, to catch up with friends.

Garman said her experience has been "fantastic," in part thanks to the people she's met through the support group who have been through the same experience she has.

"We feel like we've been in a fat cocoon and we're now emerging as butterflies."

[email protected]

Melanie Wildman
President, CEO
Weight Loss Forever Ltd.
Suite 28-901 1st Ave. N
Saskatoon, SK S7K 1Y4
1-877-306-8891
t: 306-665-8891
f: 306-665-8848
c: 306-262-4855
weightlossforever.ca

 

My weight loss journey is slowly winding down, at 149 lbs now the end is getting much closer.  My body will let me know when I am done losing I expect, but it has slowed so much I could be quite happy if it stops here!  I just got back from a 2 week motorcycle trip with my husband and another couple, we hit the touristy things like Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse museum, Yellowstone National Park and got thoroughly sprayed there by Old Faithful!  Drove across the high desert in 98 degrees heat through Wyoming and Idaho to Oregon and spent about 3 days on the coast at Newport and Astoria - the ocean is so beautiful to us land locked prairie people!  Then back through the mountains in Idaho and into Montana up through Alberta and back to Saskatchewan for a total of 16 days of riding!  I was fine with all the sitting, did try and wake up early each day and go for a half hour or longer walk wherever we were.
I stopped in at the office of Weight Loss Forever here when I got back and sat in on an (impromptu - for me) interview with a Star reporter and after that they sent a photographer out to get a picture of me with the motorcycle (human interest, I presume?) The next morning it was out and if you are interested here is the link to it:

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Coping+with+weight+loss+just+physical/3307868/story.html?id=3307868 

Now for my sister Linda's upddate:

She has been home now for well  over a month now and yesterday had the drain finally removed from her abdomen.  Her incision is now quite small (from the cavity washes) and they expect in the next week or so it will be closed totally. They will NOT be doing a hernia repair as it is too complicated a procedure with intestines and adhesions etc in the way so she will have to live with an enlarged lower abdomen.  She is losing weight - is now 154 lbs and her waist is about 38 inches.  May never get to a proper size for the rest of her, but she seems content enough with that.  She still struggles with getting enough food into her tummy, finds she is quite uncomfortable after eating period!  Her esophagus valve is probably wrecked permanently her surgeon says and again she will just have to live with that too.
But at least she is alive and gaining strength.  She is able to walk the dogs herself once again and may be able to work by mid September.  So we are grateful that the worst is over and that the end is in sight for her too but in a different way.  She promises to get some pictures soon to send me.  I will ask her if I can share them here with  you.

I have only lost 7 lbs in two months, as I am eating emotionally and have been ever since my sister lay near death after her sleeve surgery in the new Jerusalem clinic.  We went with such high hopes, Linda, my daughter and another friend we met on line.  I was shocked at the new facility, so tiny - so crowded, so not what I had expected.  Linda was last of six procedures that day, at 10 pm at night.  We had been there all day waiting.  She was sent back to the recovery house along with my daughter and friend, less than 24 hrs later.  I saw no medical staff  from my previous trip there when I had my sleeve back in September.  I was appalled that the previous patient coordinator/driver, Ricardo,  now seemed to be in the operating room, assisting!   No one there had any medical certification  except for Dr Almanza and Dr Lopez (anesthesiologist) I found out much later.  Linda suffered from "gas" pain we were told, when she was in such pain Wed, Thurs and Friday, and was too sick to go home on the Friday as planned.  Long story short she had a nick high up in her stomach near the esophagus, and all the fluids etc she had after Xrays on the second day, were collecting in her body and poisoning her.  Because no one had medical training, no one caught on to that fact even though fluids gushed out when they removed the drain, (by the housekeeper) on day 3. I recently found out as most of you know by now, that Betancourt's medical licence is bogus - making us all wondering what else is there that is not on the up and up.  So we depended on this "Dr" to help Linda BUT I took her out of there ready or not first thing Sat am for the long trip home to Edmonton (for her) She was admitted to hospital there in the wee hours and an emergency operation followed.  She was in septic shock, in major pain, had a collapsed lung, & was severely dehydrated with ensuing kidney failure.  They discovered over a liter of pus in her body, and after four hours of surgery, they packed her incision and had to open her for the cavity washes another 5 times over the course of two weeks.  Linda lay near death as the infection raged through her body.  Many weeks later when they took her off the ventilator that was assisting her to breathe, she was finally let out of critical care, and then we knew that she would probably make it, IF the infection could be reigned in.  If not, she could  be disabled for life.  Fortunately, she became infection free later in March and has had a stent surgically implanted in her esophagus as the holes from the infection are not entirely healed.  We are still waiting to see if that is going to allow her to stop being dependant on intravenous and tube to the gut feeding.  Then comes the task of getting food in the normal way, as to date she has not been able to have anything to eat or drink by mouth in all these long three plus months.  Others like her also are too sick to tell their stories or too angry and bitter.  We will never know how many, but we find some reports as to the complications coming from this facility and Emmanuel the previous one.  More than normal  rates no matter what the coordinators say.  Two in a 2 day period while we were there.  Russian roulette anyone?  
Linda is still in the hospital - can you imagine what that would cost  you in the US?  She still has two more surgeries to undergo, a skin graft and a hernia repair over the incision for the cavity washes.  She has no job, no income and will likely be unable to work for months and months more.  I will still recommend the sleeve for weight loss - however, just not there.   Please see my picture albums for a picture of Linda and I March 17th in her room at the hospital.  And the heart-breaking ones of us all smiley and looking so forward to their "sleeves" Jan. 11th.  Feel free to PM me if you need any more clarification on any of this.

Here it is - almost the end of February, and the weight is coming off much more reluctantly.  Perhaps it is because I am not being as vigilant as to what and when I am eating.  Eating pretty normally now, and snacking more often than before, so no wonder, huh!
Well I am sitting at 50 lbs down altogether finally!  Weighed in at 171 lbs this morning, so a milestone has been reached for me!  Another 25 or so to goal! 
The winter is finally relinquishing it's grip and we are having longer days and warmer highs - no, not like Vancouver, we are in the center of the prairies here after all, but with the sun beating down, the melting is obvious on the streets and sidewalk's edges.  The cars are so hard to keep clean with the splashing, but that goes with this weather.  The snow goes gradually from here on in we can assume, and then our glorious spring and summer to enjoy!  And new clothes shopping for me, as I have very little I can wear these days!  Awww.  All my huge clothes have been given away and I only kept size 14/16 or a size large in tops, and can get into a sz 12 in pants!  Woot!  Next week I will go to Value Village again to get one or two things that I need.
Have been doing lots of babysitting lately - and I do need the money so am glad of that!
So will check in again in a few months for further updates to keep you posted, thanks all for being my friends here, so appreciated!
Cheers,
Donna

It's really cold here now, we are getting our winter weather and it is such a change from last week, we are still adapting (most of all staying indoors) wearing extra layers - even in the house - am I the only one who is cold most of the time since the sleeve?  Flannelett nighties to bed now and a hot water bottle! Oh boy, what a change, I was always the one who was way too warm!

So, finally I weigh in the high 180"s - that feel good, won't be too long now and I will weigh less than my hubby - my first goal!  The fact that ihe is 6 ft tall and I am only 5'2 doesn't escape my notice, but eventually, if I get below my goal weight I will be one hot senior!  Then when we go for our cross Canada mototrcycle trip this coming summer, I will not be the mountain behind my husband on the bike.  Did I mention we were biking all the way there with another couple?  Going right to Newfoundland even!  Our touring bike is in our shop as I speak getting a new engine installed.  Hubby has taken that project on and it is a daunting one!  A million pieces, it seems, to take it all apart!  It is a beautiful Suzuki Cavalcade from the 80's and we haven't used it since I got arthritis in my knees.  The two knee replacements I had last year have made it possible for me to want to ride again, but need to weigh much less so hubby can hold the bike up easier at stops etc.  He is not getting any younger either!

I am still not walking or working out, but am working more, babysitting and a bit of housework - so feel i am not as sedentary as before.  another 10 lbs or so and I will feel good to go for exercise!  Might dust off a workout video after Christmas and see how that goes.

Done my Christmas cards, got the tree up and am purging my kitchen cupboards drastically, so feel I am living in a mess but it will give me great satisfaction to declutter my house (eventually) nice to take back control again, with the knee surgeries things just piled up and I didn't care about anything except getting healed and mobile.   Getting rid of most of my clothes too, that will be ongoing I see!  Only 18s and smaller fit now, size 12 and 14 pants if pull on and somewhat stretchy!
I never used to wear knit tops that huggeed the body as was always trying to hide the fatness, but find that is what i choose to wear most days as they fit better.
Must get some pics taken of me so I can show you what I mean.  and change that avatar of my face taken when I was at 221 lbs!  Much smaller now!

That's all for now and before Christmas, post again in the New Year.

Well, it has been quite the ride so far, just 7 weeks out now and seeing some movement with the scales again finally after a long stall (it seemed) down 26lbs total as of today and feeling pretty good.  Still haven't gotten around to doing exercises or long walks yet, my shoulders have been quite achy and it seems all I can do to do the few outside the home jobs that I have as well as laundry, cleaning and shopping that always seems to need doing. But I know my self, once i am in the 180 lbs range I will feel ambitious enough to go for long walks again. Waiting to see when the new neighbourhood gym is open to see what they have to offer.  Guess I have been getting lazier in my old age, bummer!
Looking forward to going to Lethbridge for Christmas and then to Mexico again with my daughter and sister for their VSG operations.  Guess I had to be the pioneer and lead the way to show them it was easy and doable and affordable even though we all end up in debt!  Should be able to pay it off though within a year! (I hope) Christmas is for the granddaughter only this year, just no spare money for us!
So many clothes don't fit anymore, have some that will do for a while of course but the vast majority - no.  Wish I could just wiggle my nose and they would disappear out of my closet and drawers. So many summer ones too. sigh.
Wearing 14 - 16's pull-on pants now and some 18's for the tops and sleepwear. Not complaining mind you - it is great to be able to do more with my body than before, can even cross my legs now and much easier putting on shoes etc.
Keep you posted in another month or so.

well, things went in a whirl after I joined OH.  Found a bargain I couldn't pass up with Dr Almanza in Tijuana.
I could get the Sept 28 special for $5000 and that included airfare.  I responded immediately and now I am back home having a tiny tummy.  It was a great experience - I loved every minute of it, I am SO going to enjoy this weight loss journey.
So far 10 lbs have dropped away.  Neat, considering I am only 9 days out.
I starting drinking a bit of black coffee today (Tim Hortons) only less that 1/2 cup, but makes me feel back to normal somehow.  Last night I ate a bit of cottage cheese w cinnamon, and earlier had unsweetened applesauce.  Day before I had made a great tasting lentil soup and just LOOOVE it!  OK, I always did love food, especially home-made.  I miss veggies so much today am going to cook up some garden carrots and mash them up and have them for lunch,  I actually like the protein shake I have and even Isopure Alpine Punch is not bad.  finding my way, have had absolutely no problems whatsoever, felt food slipping upwards a tiny bit but it goes back down nicely when I sit up straighter, I just know then that is the limit! Have some burping and gas at night but nothing to worry about.  Am I the lucky one? or what!

I am a 71 yr old female who is planning on having the vertical sleeve surgery as soon as I can this fall.  I am wondering if there are any more seniors like me who have chosen this route. 
I am not morbidly obese, but at 220 lbs am finding mobility tougher and tougher.  Had several yrs of sedentary lifestyle due to arthritis and 2 total knee replacements that ensued, and then rehab from a fall, wrenching the leg with the surgery only one month postop.
I should be great to go but feel the shoulders, hips even feet and hands at times all complaining especially at bedtime, wrecking my sleep so back on arthritis pain meds!
I am determined to lighten the load so considerably that it should gaiin me many years of quality life, and the only way I can see how to do this is with this operation.  I am not able to go more than 3 months of dieting without resorting to carbs and the old bad habits.
Would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks