Teach66
I am a 45 year old single mom of two. I have raised my kids by myself after getting divorced when my kids were 4 & newborn. I put myself through college and started teaching high school business at the age of 31. My kids were in 5th grade and kindergarden. Now I have been teaching for 14 years and just recently finished my Master's degree. My kids are now 24 and 19. My daughter recently graduated nursing school. My son just finished his 1st year at college where he is attending for Engineering and playing baseball.
I spent my entire life devoted to my kids, their needs, their activities, their interests, etc... I totally let myself go to the wayside by devoting my life to them. Once my son graduated I came to the realization that it was time for me to start taking care of me and doing some things for myself. . I had tried every kind of diet there was (Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Adipex, Cabbage soup diet, etc...) I had joined numerous gyms and even had a personal trainer for a year. Nothing worked for me. I was at my wits end and was beginning to feel like I was stuck being obese and alone the rest of my life! I had lost my bestfriend of 35 years to colon cancer in October of 2011. She made me promise her that I would take control and get healthy again. That was a promise I did not want to break! I miss her every day and not a day goes by that I don't think of her and thank her for making me promise her that! Right before she passed away I had contacted Dr. Clarks office and went to an informational session about my different options. I came out of that meeting with a glimmer of hope. That is when I made my decision to have bariatric surgery. I researched and researched and researched. I was on the internet constantly looking at different sites, videos, reading blogs, etc... I wanted to be as informed as I could be. Any questions I had I knew all I had to do was contact Courtney or Karen or Julie or Amy! If they didn't know my answer they would find out for me. There were plenty of times that I felt like I was being a pain in the rearend because of all the questions I had but never once did they ever make me feel like I was a pain or a pest. They were always available for me and still are today!
My procedure: I had the sleeve done Dec. 16, 2011 (which just so happened to be my 45th birthday! I had decided to start my new life on my 45th birthday!)
My doctor & team: Dr. Stephen Clark was my surgeon, Julie, Courtney, Hannah and Karen are all members of his team that I have worked with very closely. I did all my preop classes with Dr. Tracy Rader. I couldn't have asked for a better team to go to. They are like family to me now!
My weight: I started out at 252 and now am at 177! I have lost 75 lbs in just over 6 months.
My care was top notch! Every single nurse, tech, doctor, etc... that I came in contact with has been extremely caring and very knowlegable about my care. I ended up having to stay an extra night due to not being able to keep anything down. Dr. Clark didn't take any chances and made me stay another night to make sure there were no complications. I felt like I was in the best hands from the minute I walked into the hospital to even after I left and went home. I had a few complications after I came home (dehydration and needing my esophagus stretched) and my care was exemplary with every treatment. Dr. Clark always took the time to make sure that I was being taken care of and always showed he was concerned with anything and everything.
Changes since my surgery: Oh there are so many!!! 1st - I went from a size 22 pants to a size 14! A size 2X or some 3X to a Large top! A 42C bra to a 38C bra! I now look forward to going to shopping because I can shop in Misses and there are SO SO many more choices to choose from. I don't feel like I am limited to the ugly, frumpy looking clothes with elastic bands around the waist! 2nd - I have so much more energy and do not feel like I need a nap in the afternoon all the time. I get up early and am good to go until late at night. I can do things like cutting my grass without having to stop 2 or 3 times to take a break. I can do an aerobics class and not have to stop several times. I enjoy looking at myself in the mirror now and I don't mind having my picture taken with my kids! 3rd - (This was the main reason for me to have the surgery) I am now off of blood pressure medicine, off of my cpap machine, I no longer snore at night, I sleep all night without waking up to go to the bathroom several times and I know my health is only getting better which is what I promised my best friend I would do!
