REINTRODUCTION

Not only do you have a small private clientelle - you also help keep this board sane (well...as sane as we can be, lol)

I am Jodi.

I am almost 6 years out from having my Lap RNY at Hershey Medical Center.

I have been called the grandma of the board but I am only 33! LOL. Plus the grandpa of the board is a grumpy old man named Norm who I'd have to share with and well......he's grumpy!

Anyways, I was married 12 years, am divorced for 4 years now. I am currently engaged to a kick ass guy I adore. I am a mom of 4 kids. (12,10,3,1)

I am a full time student and work PRN (as needed) for 5 Nephrologists between 3 offices.

I am still a success after all these years. I am only 4 pounds from my lowest and goal weight. That darn 4th kids did a number on me! LOL.

I finally had a TT/Lipo this past February and am pleased.

That's pretty much it. (I think!)

Hi, I'm Lisa, know here as Lisa Mc since there are so many Lisa's on this board.  I had my RNY at Jeannes Hospital in NE Philly with Dr. Kowalski on 9/8/2008.  I had been heavy my whole life and with 3 verticle C-Secions and yo-yo dieting, I'd been battling diabetes for 10 years via oral meds.  Once the oral meds stopped working, I decided to take this step and haven't looked back.  I've lost 100-105 lbs, depending on the day.  I recently completed the plastics portion of this journey with a anchor cut extended TT, Breast Lift/Breast Augmentation, Brachioplasty, and medial thigh lift. 

I, too, am in the 50's club --- 51, will turn 52 on July 19.  I am married to Joe.  We live in Levittown.  We both work for Verizon--me for 32 years.  July 4 will be our 10 year anniversary.  We have 4 children, my three adult children (21, 24, 26) and his daughter (18) who is autistic.  We also have 5.5 grandchildren ages 6, 5,5, 3, 2 and one due in September.  We love to travel (especially cruising) and leave tomorrow for a trip with the twin 5-year old grand-daughters to Disney World.

When I was younger my mom's favorite aunt and uncle lived in Levittown.  My uncle has since passed away and my aunt goes between Florida and Churchville where their son has a chiropractor business. 

Well I'm not all that new, and I think this is a GREAT thread!

My name is Lynn, and I am 54 years old, making me one of the "senior" members of the board. (Ahem!) I live just outisde of Lancaster, in Lititz, PA - a beautiful little town, if you've never visited!
I'm a native of Michigan, and moved to PA in 2003 after my marriage to Mike.


My RNY surgery was completed on July 15, 2009 at Barix in Langhorne, PA with Dr. Pupkova. I just saw her today for my 9 month checkup and have lost 92 lbs. from my highest weight of 258 lbs. At this point, she says that my future weight loss may be very gradual - more like "real" weight loss, but she is encouraging and very happy with my progress.  If I were to lose 10-15 more pounds, I would be delighted to stay right where I was!


I too have struggled with weight for my entire life, literally beginning at birth when I weighed 10 lbs. Growing up, I avoided all kinds of sports and athletic activities, preferring to read or be indoors. I have a mom who is obsessed with weight, and a sister who has been obese for many years.

I have had a wonderful career in education, as a teacher, consultant for special education, and principal. I now work in Philadelphia for the regional accrediting agency for the Mid-Atlantic region, and work with many very fine high schools in five states and Washington DC. Fortunately, my job allows me to work at home quite often so I do not make the 75 mile commute daily.

My family is my hobby, and no wonder! Mike and I are a 2nd marriage, and between us we have 6 grown children - all married. We have 13 grandchildren - with number 14 due in late June. The kids are literally spread from coast to coast - Seattle, Michigan, Harrisburg PA, and Vermont. Most of the grandchildren are under age 6, so we have celebrated a sort of population explosion since our marriage 7 years ago! It's great fun simply to keep up with everyone, and we are proud that all the kids are great contributors and gainfully employed. (We have an engineer, a dentist, a teacher, a dental assistant, a journalist/marketing professional, and a paramedic/firefighter). Notably, our "teacher son" Matt is now serving our country in Afghanistan as part of the Vermont National Guard.

We adopted a boxer, Holly, from the Adopt A Boxer Rescue organization 3 years ago and she keeps us laughing. Humor is always good, right?

My weight loss journey has been a wonderful one. I am amazed each day at the physical transformation and the emotional growth that has come with it. I now love to go to the gym, challenge myself with personal training, and look forward to Barix First Saturday support group meetings. The support community on this board is especially strong, and I hate to let a day go by without at least popping in a time or two.

Other than that...I love reading, theater, the outdoors, the internet, and travel. I'm a novice knitter, and devote many hours of service to my church in various ways. In October, I will proudly participate in the Susan G Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure - totalling 60 miles in 3 days!

On facebook I am Lynn McLean.

I'm one of the new faces here...but, I want you to know me too.

My name is JoAnn Gazdak...birthday is Dec. 8.1970 (quick math, I'm 39)...had my surgery on Dec. 9, 2009 so I'm gonna' be HOT at 40!!

I've been married since Aug. 1992...17 years. We started dating when I was 18, I totally lied to him about my age. (he's 5 years older than me.) Had to fess up when we ended up at a bar. He was already hooked by then, so, it's all good.

We've got 4 daughters...15, 11, 7 and 5. I'd lost a lot of weight after our 3rd daughter and then was caught by surprise by the 4th. Ever since then, didn't matter what I ate or didn't I couldn't lose anything. By the time I reached 263 pounds, I also could eat as much as I wanted and didn't gain either. I felt like a lab rat, but, I didn't know what the research was. I've been overweight all my life as well, I just took it to new heights in the last 11 years.

I mentioned, under the cloak of darkness, to my husband that I wanted to look into gastric bypass on May 27th last year and he said "whatever you want to do, I'll take you wherever you need to go." He so ROCKS!!! He's a bit of a ditz too. He's holds the world record for number of cell phones washed with the laundry as well as one Nintendo DS. He's also frozen a phone to the roof of our van for a week and 300 miles...that one got everyone in the Verizon store howling!

I myself am a true blonde...I come up with some doozies and even I know they're dumb...but, they still come out. My haircolor...oh, sure, I was this shade at some point in my life, now I just get it duplicated. I think the hair coloring effects my brain!

We've got 2 dogs, a Yorkshire Terrier and a West Highland Terrier. I got the Westie as a surprise x-mas gift 2 x-mas's ago. I got to still live here. My hubby didn't know about it either. Boy was THAT fun to explain.

I'm a diehard ebayer...love to shop there and often sell there.

I suck at sports but, I still keep on trying. Always have sucked at it. I tell my girls, "it's okay to play sports and not be good, I've done it all my life. It's just a way to get out and hang with your friends." My girls only like to do anything if they're really good at it.

Okay, long enough, if you're still reading...thank you. Nice to be here.

Oh, and I'm totally in love with Bret Michaels, always have been and I'm thoroughly devastated by his recent illness. The only reason he's still looking for love is because he's looking for me...he just doesn't know it yet.

OMG you are tooo funny....

you should come with me on my 40 BD Bash cruise in Feb 2011 LOL 

Pam.

     Thanx so much for posting this today.  I have learned so much about all of you guys.

     My name is Donna Spano and as you can see I am even more IT challenged than Lisa because I do not have anything but a question mark in place of a photo   I am going to be 54 on July 25th so that makes me one of the more senior members of the PA board.  I had my surgery at Barix with Dr. Boe on 6/23/09 and it was the greatest gift I could have given myself.  Currently I am down 95 lbs from my PAT weight of 249.  I would love to lose another 10 lbs but it seems to be a MUCH SLOWER PROCESS these days.

     I tend to read a lot more than post but I am on here every day usually later.  i don't know how all you guys have the time to post so much.  I teach 7th and 8th grade in Catholic school in West Philadelphia and have been working with this age group for at least 15 years.  I have used food to deal with my stress and anger for a long time.  Now I am dealing with a lot of head demons and continue to be in therapy for which I am extremely grateful/ .  This is my 25th year in education and I won't be able to retire until I am about 70

     I think that this is the most I have ever written on this board.  I love the support group at Barix and appreciate all the great guys on the PA board.  That's all for now folks.

Most of my posts come when I'm at work...especially in triage :)