Miss-lissa
Well, here goes! I'll start from the very beginning. I was born at 7lbs 9oz and was 2 weeks past my due date. Pretty normal baby I guess. But, as I got older I got chubbier. I was a happy kid though and it wasn't until about grade 3 that the kids started to tease me. It's been like that now for what 17 years? I really didn't care what people said until about grade 8. It hurt yes but, it didn't sink in until then. I never wore jeans and wanted to before highschool. Thats when I went on my first diet. Instead of cookies and milk after school I ate fruit. My mom helped by packing veggies, yogurt and other healthy foods in my lunches. I lost a little weight but finally gave in to Jos Louis and potato chips. I can remember a guy that I had the biggest crush on saying to me "Maybe I'd go out with you if you were skinny." What a jerk. But I guess I don't blame him, we were only 13! All through highschool I struggled. I went on diets, I took xenical and ionamin, and my "other mother" got me a membership to the gym. I could never stick with anything long enough to see real results. When I was 18 I moved out on my own and had no $. I also had no car so I figured I would loose a bit but, no. Nothing! Then when I was 20 my father passed away from a massive heart attack. It was his third one and he was only 47. He had his first one when he was only 36 and had a triple bypass because of it. He had a second one about four years later. There is a history of heart disease in our family. His father died at the age of 42 and his aunt died at 25. He always told me I'd die before 25 if I kept gaining weight. I guess thats one of the reasons I decided to go through with the surgery. (Also, I want to look good for once in my life!) I met a girl through a good friend of mine who had Gastric Bypass done when she was 18 and she helped me a lot with the many questions I had. I went to my doctor and told him what I wanted and he set up an appointment for me. I met Dr. Yau in March of 2005. (One of my mom's friends actually had her G.B. the very next day by him!) I was expecting to see an older gentleman but, when I went into his office I was suprised at how young he was. (Not much older than myself!) He was very blunt and to the point. Told me the risks and also explained how the G.B. would be performed. The second visit, he informed me about the Gastric Sleeve and we decided that it was a better option for me. The day of the surgery I was very nervous as I have never even stayed in a hospital before let alone had surgery. The surgery was set for 1:30 p.m. and was going to take around 2 hours. They told me I'd be in recovery for an hour or so. When I got into the room, the anestesiologist said he was giving me a shot so my muscles wouldn't hurt the next day. He said it might sting going in and that I would have double vision. Well, it didn't sting but I sure saw double! I was looking around the room with one eye opened and Dr Yau looked at me and said "You're going to be fine." When the surgery was over, he went and talked with my mom for a while and let her know what was up. When I came to at around 5:30p.m, I felt sick to my stomach and told the nurse quite promptly! The second thing I said was "Where's my mom?" Then they wheeled me up to my room. I felt like they were going 60 miles an hour! My mom tells me that I even said to the porter "I feel like shit" The next morning, at around 4 a.m the nurses wanted me to try and pee or they would have to put in a catheter but I really didn't want that. I tried and treid on the pan but could not do it. Then they decided they would just make me get up. Oh my goodness. I have never felt so much pain in my life. I could not figure out why my shoulders hurt so much. It was excruciating. They told me it was because of the gas they pump into you to do a lapriscopic surgery. It rises to the highest part of the body. Once I was finally up and standing, it felt really good. I went to the washroom and pee'd thank heavens! I got a pain shot, slept a bit and next thing I know, Dr. Yau was there. It was still dark outside so it was pretty early! He let me know how everything went. He was able to do the surgery lapriscopically. He let me know what to expect for the next couple of days. When I asked about a leak test, he told me that the blew up my stomach with air and watched for bubbles like you would a tire. I told him my brother would get a kick out of that as he works at a tire company! Slept on and off through the day and my mom and stepdad came to visit. Drank little sips of water and made a few laps around the nurses station to try and get the gas out of me. That night they went home and I was all alone far from home! They next morning they told me I was being discharged. I was not expecting to go home until Sunday so it was quite a shock. My mom had to make the 2 hour drive back after only being home for less than 8 hours! Dr Yau came in to see me and I also had a nutritionalist visit. I went home at noonhour.
