Leslie H.
I'm an optimist... My wise sister often said, "Life is a cycle with mostly good and lots of bad." I focus on the good and work my way through hard times knowing that there is a silver lining. Sounds rather cliche but it's true!
Love being a mom! My five children range from 16 to 29 years old. The oldest is obtaining his PhD at USC, one is in law school, my daughter hopes to open a spa (YES!!!), and the younger two are in high school.
Always a nuturer and not ready to have an empty nest... So next year we hope to adopt a child from Eastern Europe. We're just at the beginning of this journey and will have to see how well I do with the lap-band before we fully commit. I'm thinking positive and do believe that our 6th child is waiting for us.
My husband is my true love. We've been married for 30 years and have literally grown up together. I met him when I was 15 years old and couldn't stand him! He got a cute sports car, and being the shallow girl that I was; I agreed to go out on one date with him. Well, his MGB wasn't running (surprise!) so he picked me up in his grandfather's old Ford Galaxy. It had multi stripes indented on the sides because the old guy kept hitting the sides of the garage everytime he backed out. Lord it was soooo ugly! Don't know how my husband persuaded me to go out on a second date but something happened and I kinda liked him!
So how did I get FAT???? I wasn't a heavy child, got typically pudgy in the 5th and 6th grade, and then high school was a time of crash dieting and diet pills. I wasn't obese in high school but wanted to be a serious fashion model just like my mother had been. I modeled as a child and teen but not in commercials or magazines. I dreamed of this and wanted it so badly that I probably screwed my metabolism up big time trying to look like Twiggy! I think my moment of truth came when I was doing runway with a friend in San Francisco and blacked out in front of everyone. Humiliated and scared I decided to get real and be healthy instead of famous!
From one extreme to another and life goes on... Over the last 30 years I think I've lost and gained almost 700 pounds. Yes, 700!
14 years a go after losing 100 pounds I became ill with Guillian Barre. I was paralyzed for several months and came close to death. I was hospitalized and away from my babies for a few months. I learned to look at the clock and take life minute by minute. The minutes turned to hours, and then days. Life got better. From wheelchair to walker, a cane, and then I COULD WALK & MOVE AGAIN! I promised myself to live my dreams and reach for the moon! One of lifes important lessons, I now listen to my heart and do lots of things that I never had the courage to do before my illness.
So much happens and somehow I got older. The weight isn't coming off like it once did. I'm tired and don't want to keep yoyo dieting. Time to be brave and reach for the moon. I believe that the lap-band will be the perfect tool to help me keep this awful weight problem under control. It's been almost a year of preparation and now the surgeon consult is in 14 days. So scared, excited, and happy!
Important part of the life cycle. My sister passed away in October, 2005 after fighting cancer, having a liver transplant, and then heart failure. She gave it her ALL and fought for her life for 2 decades. For the last few years I was her caregiver during the day. As ill as she was, we went out and did "sister" things until the end. A few times I rented a limo and took her out shopping in the city. We had makeovers and tea at the Rotunda. She smiled throughout the day. Once, upon returning home in the limousine she became ill and started to throw up in a barf bag... Remember, I'm a mother and am fully prepared for catastrophe! Thinking that the day was ruined she reached over and patted my back. Later she told me that it was one of the most fun days that she ever had! She was so frail at 80 pounds and had to sit in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank. Andra could still have fun and be brave.
She is my hero and my angel! I know that she is by my side encouraging me to take care of myself as she always did. And I will continue to embrace life and listen to my heart because she is right there with every beat!
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