Hi All,
My name is Talia. I'm 28 years old and I completed my revision from Lapband (removal) to RNY 12/27/2012. My decsion to take out my failed band and complete RNY was not without mental angst. You see my story is a very sad one. Like many others I struggled with my weight since about age 8 (where I weighed 117lbs). I got a growth spurt at age 12 and lost 25lbs and was thin and fit. Then at age 18 I met a guy whom I would be with for the next 10 years. Thereafter and throughout our relationship I gained about 110lbs. My highest weight was when I was 24; I maxed out at 265lbs. That is when I made the decision to get my lapband. I had to wait a year and a half (I was a temp to hire at my job at the time so I had to wait to become permanent and then wait 6 months on a pre-op diet). I went through a local bariatric program at the time called Weight Wise. Weight Wise consisted of I believe 6 surgeons that all or most completed a fellowship and had many years of experience. After what I thought was careful determination, I chose my surgeon. Out of the 6 doctors, he was the youngest. I was very anxious as I never had surgery before in my entire life. I was fortunate not to have anything go wrong. Yet, it was only a couple of days after surgery from the lapband that I realized my appetite had not changed. At first I did follow-up with trying to find the right fill for my band (3cc’s was maximum). Still there was no change to my appetite or my ability to eat. Food would get stuck around my sternum area and I would just wait for it to drop or I would throw it back up. I felt like an obese bulimic. In the beginning I just thought that is how the lapband worked and that that is what is was designed for. I understood that the weightloss was not as rapid as if I’d got gastric.
Two and a half months later I get a call from my mom (whom I was very very very close to) and she advised me that she was going to get gastric bypass and go through with it with my same surgeon. Now do keep in mind about 3 months before my procedure my parents warned me against any surgery that was too invasive. I was shocked, upset, angry, and yet happy for my mom. She too struggled with her weight her entire life. Now that my parents were going to retire for the second time, she wanted her body at a healthy weight. I recall sending my mom an email( which I still read every now and again) as lightly as I could for her to rethink her decision as I didn’t want to come off as being envious or jealous in anyway since my weight loss was so slow. She disregarded my plea as I included an article how one girl decided to get lapband because her mom got gastric and had several medical problems with it ever since. My mom’s surgery was scheduled 09/09/2009 (Wednesday). My mom only wanted my Dad there, her life long companion of 32 years. She didn’t even wish for my 2 older sisters or me to attend, or even my Grammy (her mom). She was released from the hospital on Friday 09/11/2009 with very low blood pressure, as the surgeon stated that her vitals were normal. My mom came home that evening. At that time my older sister lived there (she’d recently moved back from living in California for 3 years) and my Dad was by her side every second. From what I was told at this point in time my mom was definitely not acting like her normal self. My sister and my Dad just figured my Mom just needed rest and a little something to eat. After attempting to feed her a little sugar free jello and broth, and walking her gently to use the bathroom, she retired upstairs in the bed with my Dad like they’d done for many decades before. In the middle of the night, my Dad didn’t really sleep, he was by my mom’s side concentrating on her breathing as if he were watching an infant. My mom made a loud gurgling type sound as if she was gurgling water and she suddenly stopped breathing. My dad quickly attempted to give my mom CPR and screamed out to my sister to call for help and/or go get help. We had a neighbor at the time that was a doctor yet he was not there, he was on call. By the time the ambulance came my mom had stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating. Around 7:30-8am I received a phone call from my older sister and as I looked at the phone ringing in my apartment I KNEW something was wrong. I felt it; in addition, my family members and anyone close to me knew that I am never awake that early in the morning. I answered the phone and my sister was so frantic I couldn’t make out a word she said except the words “TALIA SOMETHING WENT WRONG, MOM STOPPED BREATHING!!!” I quickly jumped in my car and sped down the highway going 90mph+ to the hosp. I arrived at a 4 way stop and saw an ambulance pull off…then the next ambulance across from me I saw my Dad with his head in his hands. I will never forget the helpless look on his face when he saw that I was the car across the street. I pulled right up to the door …and man yelled “Hey you can’t park there ma’am” Then my Dad ran up and told me where to park. I ran in the hospital faster than I ever had in my entire life. Moments later I saw my mom on a stretcher. The paramedics had a breathing pump around her nose and mouth. My dad tried to fill me in on how they already restarted her heart with a defibrillator and got her heart to start beating again. I was screaming out to my mom “MOM EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK!!” YOU HEAR ME THIS IS YOUR YOUNGEST DAUGHTER TALIA!!” The staff quickly attempted to stifle me and told me to calm down that they would handle everything. After 3 days by my mother’s side all of my family included, we were advised that her condition was not changing. Then the morning of 09/14/2009 her skin began to fluff and My Dad, my two sisters and myself had to make the decision to take her off of life support. I remember punching the brick painted wall and screaming, “This isn’t real, this isn’t really happening!” I remember looking at all of us in the hospital room as the countdown began for my mom’s heart to stop beating (as the machines were the only thing keeping her alive). This was the last time this tight knit family would be whole ever again. My Dad gave my mom’s body one last kiss and we said goodbye to my mommy. As he kind of knew, that her soul left her body that day she was at home. On the elevator I looked down and saw a single feather. This was symbolic because when my Dad’s Father died in 1989 of lung cancer, my mom asked him to come get her when it was her time, she was very close to him. I picked up the feather and to this day I carry it with me everyday in my wallet. As we walked out of the hospital in shock no one said a word. I rode home with my eldest sister and when we turned on the radio the first announcement that was made is that Patrick Swayze had past away on this day of Sept 14 2009. That was even worse he was one of my mom’s favorite actors.
I hated hearing the phrase gastric bypass after that. Last year (2012) I made the decision that I had to get this failed foreign object taken out of me. Just the thought of going under the knife regarding my stomach scared me. But I was fed up with feeling like a failure. I had lost my mom to this battle and I figure that it was a win win situation. If I died because of this revision surgery I would get to go be with my mom. And if I lived through it I would be healthy live my life finding a new found love for my own body. So I went to my surgeon “rival.” He actually used to work with my previous surgeon through the Weight Wise program. His advice to me was follow everything he tells me to do and find a friend or loved one that would be there for you recovery process. That is exactly what I did. My current boyfriend I feel was an angel that was sent to be in my life during this period because he kept my mind occupied against all the “what if situation that would go through my mind. He was there for me everyday and every step of the way. At first my sisters were completely against the idea and they thought I was half crazy to even consider undergoing the knife again. I explained to them how I was at my wits end and that since we will never really know the scientific cause of my mother’s untimely demise, I felt the need to go back under to find out if I did a more invasive surgery than my mom and I survived it would, to me, confirm that when it’s your time it is just your time.
On 12/27/2012, after much anticipation and preparation, I went to the hospital. Both of my sisters, my 4 year old niece, and my boyfriend drove me. I did not wish for my Dad to be present because I did not want him to worrying or have any flashbacks. My boyfriend and I went in I got registered and we waited. It was so scary because my surgeon was being held at the hospital across the street due to someone’s procedure going horribly wrong (one of the nursed informed me). My surgeon was called in to try and fix the situation. I recall my mom telling me that our previous surgeon was late arriving on her surgery date. I wanted as many similarities as possible though. My boyfriend at my side we fell asleep holding each other on the stretcher. I had been prepped and ready to go since 10:30 AM. I was sleeping in cycles. Many friends and coworkers were texting me saying they were praying for my full recovery. Two of my very special co-workers came to visit me, one right before I went back and the other after I awoke. I didn’t really ever feel pain but pressure. My only complaint while in the hospital was that I one of the rotating nurses wouldn’t put my body brace on tight after she tried to readjust it. I think I yelled at her a little (oops) hee hee. All in all the staff there was very nice and accommodating. I was able to walk around to get the blood circulating, slowly but surely. My boyfriend would encourage me to get up and walk and he would walk right along with me. There was another gentlemen and his wife, walking the halls, that I had met a few weeks prior at my surgeon’s pre-op class. They were both going to complete the RNY procedure but his wife decided against it. She stated that all signs were pointing to no. They could not find blood that matched her blood type and several other aspects concluded her decision. Her husband completed his procedure and was walking around faster and more often than I. He also had his gallbladder taken out and was checked for hernias. He seemed to be doing well. Yet he was not able to go home the same day as me because he was having several complications. I hope they are ok but the nurses would not release any information to me.
On the day of discharge (12/29/2012) I had a very funny and great nurse that went over everything to expect going forward along with a thorough explanation of what I needed to do when I went home until my follow-up with my doctor. Today 03/26/2012 I am now in wonderland (11 ½ weeks later). I cannot believe it my starting weight was 250lbs. The day of of surgery I weighed in at 245. I stand 5 feet 5 ½ inches tall. I had not always been big. When I was 12 I got a growth spurt and shot up about 4 inches or so and lost 25 pounds by joining junior high track. My lowest weight at my current height was 124lbs. Today, that is my goal to get to 124lbs and then gain back 10-15lbs back in pure muscle. I know now that it was just my mom’s time to go. My mom is now my angel whom watches over all of her family and still lives in us. I dream about her often and so many things remind me of my mother. We are fortunate to have had her in our lives for as long as we did. She was the most talented, intelligent, loving, creative, (the list is so long) that I have or will ever meet. One day, should I have children of my own, if I am even an ounce of what my mother was while she lived here I will be happy…finally.

About Me
TX
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26.1
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Jan 31, 2013
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