WARNING TO ALL! Don not Start with The New Start Program in St. Louis

I felt like an unwanted stepchild throughout all of my dealings with them. Did I mention that they never returned my calls? Additionally, I just finally realized that I just kept overlooking it. I guess I thought they were my only choice. Did I mention that they were going to charge me $7K more for the same surgery than my new surgeon who has done well over 300 VSG’s with zero leak rate? No thanks. I am done.

Within the last three days and with the assistance of some angels (Betty and Nancy on OH), I now have set up my plan B. My VSG is scheduled for Aug 6 with one of the most skilled and experienced VSG surgeons, Dr. Alvarez. My mother will be with me the entire time while my husband stays home with our 3-year-old. Dr. Alvarez has emailed me personally a couple of times already and asked me to delay my surgery for an extra few weeks so that I was smoke free longer. I never had that type of reassurance, professionalism and conscientiousness with New Start. New start told me 2 weeks of being smoke free prior to surgery was fine???

Here is a little information about my family. My husband is the best man I know and did I mention he is 6’ 7” tall? We have been married for 7+ years. We took in a foster child named Mark. He was one of my students as a 14-year-old freshman in high school when he was placed in foster care. Unfortunately, his mother passed away and his biological father was not around. Mark is now 20 and just left for the Navy. He is still in basic training and doing very well. I am very proud of him. We also have a 3-year-old daughter who is actually my niece (my only brother's only child). We have had custody of Madison since she was 13 months. Unfortunately, for her, my brother and her mother are both substance abusers who cannot care for her. I never planned to have kids. My husband and I were okay with our total freedom but I have learned that both Mark and Madison were our gifts from God. We cannot imagine our lives without them both.

We live in Missouri (about 30 miles south of St. Louis ). I teach social studies in the inner city district…it is very challenging but I cannot imagine teaching anywhere else. It is my passion and true purpose. My husband was a skilled machinist until about 3 years ago when he fell and broke his ankles. He is now on full disability due to severe circulatory deficiencies in his legs brought on by his extreme height, heredity and some symptoms of Marphan’s syndrome (and the injury didn't help). It has all worked out. He is a wonderful stay at home husband, father and domestic engineer and we really have a rock solid marriage and family. We are each other’s best friends and greatest admirers. I am so blessed in so many important ways.

We have a modest house with a little, year round spring running through the back yard. We live in a beautiful wooded subdivision with lots of amenities, common ground, cricks/springs and neighbors that we just love. We moved here 5 years ago and will probably live here forever or retire somewhere warm. I always said that life is too short to not live near the ocean and palm trees.

I just need to get my health in order so that I can get the most out of my life and body again. I am tired of feeling so old. I am 38 and while I have battled the bulge all my life, I have really gone down hill since being diagnosed with Diabetes at age 30. Before that, never let my pleasantly plump shape stop me from doing anything I wanted to do. . I played sports, was a cheerleader in HS, graduated Summ *** Laude from a top University. I jump out of bed in the morning to teach history in our inner city school system with a true passion for it. I am a sharp as a tack, a vivacious Italian dynamo dying to get out from under this fat suit.

I rarely took aspirin at one time. Now I literally use a tackle box for my daily meds. I miss the old me. I enjoyed life so much more. Hell, I attacked everyday with a vengeance. I was the kind of person that "the party didn't start till I got there." I am very strong. I still get all the important things done but my quality of life is low. The days are passing me by. I don’t to got to the party anymore. My lower back has gotten so bad that I cannot stand up for more than 5 minutes. I cannot really cook, clean or shop anymore. Thank Jesus that I have the best husband on earth, but the reality is that I can't even take my 3 year of daughter to the ZOO or Six Flags - all because of the back problems brought on by this weight. Please, don’t misunderstand, I am not depressed, just tired. I am soooooo over ready for the VSG. I want off all these meds, I want to sit in a chair with arms, and get dressed without it feeling like I just worked out. I want to camp and hike again. I want to feel good in my body again. I want to feel sexy again. It seems like this has all happened so fast in my life, but in reality my weight gain and subsequent physical decline happened just slowly enough that I have just gotten used to being more and more limited. I am done with feeling like this. I am ready for a big change. 6/24/07 Okay guys and gals, I am quitting cigarette smoking and going on a pre-op diet which Dr. Alvarez sent to me. I start the change today.

7/14/07

I have 23 days until the big day! I have lost 24 pounds already and I have remained completely smoke free!!! I now weigh 358 and my BMI is 54. All this in just 3 weeks!