Aunt Johnnie
02/04/05
I have been researching and lurking on the message boards. I am really convinced that WLS is the best tool I could have to help me achieve my weight loss goals. I am 33 and remember the first time I knew I was fat. I was in 3rd grade, about 9 years old. My best friend had told our entire class that I was fat underneath my clothes. I have spent the first half of my life fat and would love to spend the second half healthy and normal weight. My children are active in sports and dance and choir and I am so scared that the other kids will make fun of me to my children that I come up with excuses why I can't attend their events. My husband gets upset because he wants to take me to the bar and shoot pool and throw darts and I am just too embarrassed. I have panic attacks and everything. Even worse...I was down to 208 this time last year using slim-fast and weight watchers. I have gained 80 pounds and am now at my heaviest ever! I don't know what I will do if they deny my surgery. I guess I will have to apply for one of those medical loans or something. Oh well, I will figure it out one way or another.
03/2005
I learned recently that my insurance company has changed the way they want members to get approval for WLS. I am very excited because the changes are so perfect for me! My PCP faxed an order to the nutritionist. The nutritionist will coordinate my 6 month supervised weight loss plan. The best part is...She sees patients in the same medical professional building I work in! And the Psych guy that runs the pre-surgery support group is in my building too! I'm so excited :-) I had given up on trying to get approval after my appeal was denied. The insurance company wanted all people trying to get approval to go through a program called FLEX. They only had one location and the class was held on Tuesday at 5:30pm. There was no possible way for me to go to the class. It was an hour away from where I work and I work in a pediatrics office. Even though we are only open until 5pm on Tuesdays, we are there late a lot of the time. Kids don't get sick just from 8-5! So anyway, that's all for now. I will see the nutritionist on 03/15/05. I will update more later!
03/17/05
Today is my husband's 31st birthday...yes, I robbed the cradle. I am 34 and will be 35 in June. My husband says I "rocked" the cradle :-) He has been promoted in his job and is now working a lot more hours. He is a manager-in-training in a restaurant. This is a great move for us financially but it sucks too because I never see him anymore. I left his birthday present and card out on the table for him last night. He came in the bedroom at 2:30am and woke me up to thank me. I told him happy birthday and I love you when I was on my way out the door to work at 7am. He will not be home tonight until around 2:30am. It sucks!! I hate not spending time with him. The kids miss him too. Anyway...I saw the nutritionist on Tuesday 03/15/05. She was very nice. I found out from her that my PCP needs to send an 'exception' referral to MPlan for a bariatric surgery evaluation. They will deny it and send me a contract along with the guidelines for the 6 months and 18 months physician supervised diet. I think I will qualify for the 6 months due to some co-morbidities. I have to follow this contract to the letter before they will consider letting me have the surgery. The nutritionist gave me some handouts, a food diary and the plan sheet that shows when I need to see each person during this time. I have to see my PCP once a month, the nutritionist once a month, 2 visits with the psychologist, blood work done at 3 different stages of the diet, and group. I have to go to a weekly group sessions during this time. I can use Weight Watchers as my group which is fine with me. I liked the Points system. I also have to have 10 group sessions with a bariatric support group that is run by a social worker. The bad part about that is I have to pay a $30 copay for each session. The good news is I have the flexible medical spending account so that is tax-free money! Always look for the silver lining:-) I will update soon!
04/03/05
I'm just coming off a 3 day mini-vacation. I took off 03/30, 31, and 04/01 to take care of my little neice Kylee while my sis and her DH are in Las Vegas. I'm so jealous! I love Las Vegas and wish I could go again soon. I went when I was a little girl, maybe 9 or 10 years old, before Vegas was family-friendly so I don't have good memories from that trip. Well I do remember going to Circus Circus and having a 'sasparillo'? at the bar and it looked like it was in a beer bottle so I thought I was hot stuff. My mom took me to Vegas with her in October 2003 and we stayed for several days. It was incredible! The lights, the people, the luxury! I had a blast and also wonderful memories that will last a lifetime of being with my mom and having such a good time. I have recently gotten into scrapbooking and I am making my mom a Vegas scrapbook from our trip. I am giving it to her for Mother's Day.
It has been an emotional time for our country and for the world. We watched Teri Schiavo's family fight over her right to live/die in front of the world. She did succumb to death several days after the feeding tube was removed. I think this hits home for a lot of us who are pre-op. I know I have thought long and hard about what I would want if I were to have something happen during or after surgery that would put me in a vegetative state. I know I would want to live and have everything medically done that could save me but only if I would come out of the vegetative state and be able to communicate with my family and make some sort of recovery. I would never ever want to lay in a bed for the rest of my life, unable to say or indicate as little as 'yes' or 'no'. I would never want my family to suffer the financial burden or emotional burden of long-term care for me if I am not able to be aware of them even being in the room. I do not want their lives to revolve around seeing me at the hospital or hospice or nursing home. On the other hand, I do not want to be starved to death or dehydrated to death. If they 'pull the plug', I want to be made comfortable. Pain meds, drug-induced coma, fluids. I don't need food, but I don't want to be dehydrated. This is a miserable state. I have seen dehydration in children and in the aged and it is not a comfortable thing. It is suffering. I don't want to suffer, and I do not want my family to watch me suffer. I guess I think that if I am vegetative, just give me a shot like a dog. Put me to sleep! Why do we give our pets better treatment than we would a human being? We would not allow a vet to say well your dog is not going to have any quality of life, blah blah blah so we will not give him any food or water and just let nature take its course. No Way!! We are given the option of holding our dog that last time, comforting him, while he is given an injection that puts him to sleep and he never wakes up. That's what I want! If it comes down to it, take me to the vet! I also think of those criminals like Scott Peterson. He is sentenced to death for murdering his wife and unborn child. He gets to choose his method of death. One of his choices is lethal injection. The first part of the shot puts you to sleep, then the second one kills you. His punishment does not include starvation and dehydration to death! What's up with that?? This world is so screwy. So on another note, the Pope passed away 04/02/05. I am not Catholic or even religious. I have my beliefs and I pray but that's about it. I was saddened by his death. I guess it's just that his love of Christ and his love of humanity supercedes any religion. He brought people together, fought for human rights, and held his beliefs which in this day and age is not very easy to do. The pressure to be 'politically correct' is huge. I admire a man who can keep his beliefs and lead a billion people of faith and be held in such high regard. I guess the image of him that effected me most is of him meeting his attempted assasin face to face and forgiving him. I mean come on, who wouldn't try to at least knock the crap out of the guy that shot you in the gut? That act of forgiving is straight out of Jesus' teachings. It's a symbol of what Christ has done for us. We commit these horrible offenses against Him, but he forgives us. Wow, that is really powerful. I am awed by Pope John Paul II. I wish I had known more about him during the course of his papacy and not just after his death.
Anyway, I am signing off for now. I don't really have an update on my WLS journey, I am waiting on paperwork from my insurance company. I just had a lot on my mind and wanted to write it down. I will update as soon as I know something new!
05/28/2005
Here it is the end of May and I haven't updated in a while. I went to see my PCP because I was having palpitations and because I am SO SLEEPY and tired all the time. She ordered a sleep study for me to check for sleep apnea. It was scheduled for July 3. I got a call every single day from the sleep center asking if I wanted to take an appointment that had been cancelled. I was able to get in on Wednesday May 25th. It was a weird experience. I had electrodes hooked up to my neck, jawline, legs, chest and back. Also, they had to GLUE the electrodes to my head. I have very thick naturally curly medium length hair. It took 2 washings with head and shoulders to get the glue out! I also had a belt around my chest and around my belly. Then there were 2 nasal canulas that were taped to my face. I looked like some lab experiment gone wrong. I had a little trouble getting to sleep with all that crap taped, glued and wrapped around me. I didn't qualify to be tested with the CPAP machine. I guess you have to have a minimum amount of apnea episodes in the first 2 hours. I don't know how I could have those episodes when I don't stay asleep. I wake up at least once every hour and there is no reason for it. I never get in that deep sleep that we all need. I asked the tech if I had had ANY apnea episodes and she said she couldn't tell me anything until the MD read the results but she did say I snored all night long. I just picture her and the 2 other techs sitting in their little office watching me on the monitor while I am snoring away. I hope I didn't cut the cheese or pick my nose or something while I was sleeping! That would be too funny :-) The tech said it would be 2-4 weeks to get my results. The study is approximatly 800 pages. I'm glad I don't have to read it! Anyway...my PCP also ordered a heart monitor for me to wear for 30 days. I have had these palpitations for a little over 5 years. It starts with a little 1-2 second pause in my heartbeats, followed by 3-4 strong, hard heartbeats. I used to have them once a month or so and now it is more like once a week. My PCP said it is probably premature ventricular contractions and usually is a benign condition. She wants me to wear this monitor just to rule out anything and also because I did take Redux for a few months in 1994 and we all know what happened to some of the people who used that medication. I am sensitive to the adhesive used on the pads that stick to my chest and so between those and all the things stuck on me for my sleep study, I have red splotchy patches on several parts of my body! The worst is on my neck right where a man's Adam's apple would be. It looks like a hickey! That's just wonderful for someone who works in a Pediatrics office :-) I have my group sessions scheduled. The meetings are once a week for 12 weeks. They start on June 7th. I cannot wait! The guy running them is my own personal shrink and he is a no bullshit kind of guy. If he thinks you are not being 100% with him, he will call you on it. The bummer is that this group falls under the mental health benefit on my insurance so it is $30 per session. Oh well, if I quit eating fast food for lunch every day then that will pay for it. Also, I have become addicted to Texas Hold 'em. I play every weekend with 2 of my sisters and their husbands. It is FUN! I will go for now. See ya soon!
08/01/05
Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since my last update. How rude of me! Well my test results are in and I do have sleep apnea. I am very happy with this diagnosis because I have been using a CPAP and it has helped. A Lot!! I sleep so much better. I have more energy. I am more focused and clear-headed. I didn't realize how bad I felt until I started using my CPAP. If you have any symptoms of sleep apnea at all, get tested! My heart monitor did show premature ventricular contractions but they are not harmful. I also have a slightly rapid heart rate. This may improve during the treatment for sleep apnea. It's amazing when you see all the things that sleep apnea can cause and affect.
My weight loss surgery group is going well. I like the people in the group and the leader of the group is funny and never boring. I also like my nutritionist. She is very nice and has a lot of good information. I am trying to follow a diabetic-type diet but it is hard. I am the only person in my home that needs to lose weight so it is difficult to stay on track all the time.
I am going to ask for a letter from all my doctors and get all my test results, etc to do an appeal and hopefully get approved for surgery at 6 months or 12 months instead of 18 months. I was very tense and anxious and uptight about this but I have adopted a new attitude about it. If I do end up having to do the 18 months supervised diet, I am going to use that time to continue educating myself, working on my eating habits and trying to lose weight. From what I understand, if you are already in a 'losing weight' mode when you have surgery, it is an easier recovery. And I'm all for that!
That's all for now. I will update again soon. See ya!
09/18/05
Hello everyone! I am so bad about updating my profile. I will try to do better but things are going to be moving slowly in the next few months. I have finished the 12 week group that my insurance company requires us to attend. I never thought I was much of an emotional eater until I went through this group. There were a few exercises we did that really helped show me that I do have that problem. It is not my main issue but it's in the top 5. I liked the group and am glad I attended it. I met some nice people and my counselor was the one that ran the group so now when I see him in private counseling, it's a little easier for me to talk to him since I got to know him better in a group setting. I still feel like a jackass telling him half the stuff I tell him but then I try to remember he has probably heard a lot worse. My daughter has had some trouble over the summer getting involved with the wrong crowd and experimenting with drugs and alcohol so now she is seeing my counselor too. He specializes in addictions which is what we need help with right now. Since my group is over, I am going to have to find another group to go to. It can be Weight Watchers, TOPS, or OA but it has to be something structured that I can prove I've gone to to meet my insurance requirements. I am leaning toward WW since I have done that program in the past and had success while I was on the plan but it is expensive so I might look into TOPS. My aunt goes there and she likes it.
Tomorrow is a BIG day for me. It is my last day at my current job. I have transferred back to a pediatrics office I used to work for and I start there on Tuesday. I cannot wait! It will really help alleviate a lot of stress for me and it is only about 5 minutes from my home. That will save $$ on gas. Plus the people I will be working with again are wonderful. I should have never left that job but the job I left for was a promotion and experience as a supervisor. I needed that on my resume. I am actually moving down in position and taking a slight pay cut but that will be made up by the gas I save and the stress reduction will be priceless! I just feel like I need more time to focus on my children and my health and marriage. I need to spend a lot less time worrying about work when I'm not even there!
My CPAP is still working well. I am so happy with it. I have a follow up appointment with the sleep doctor in 2 days. Hopefully they will not require me to do another sleep study. I have been told that some people have to have one to get a correct pressure on their machine. My pressure is working really well. I have no more morning headaches! That's one of the best things that has come out of treating my sleep apnea. The other one is the mood swings and irritability are a lot better too.
Well I will go for now and will update again soon. See ya!
11/26/2005
Hello All!
I am in shock that I haven't updated for so long. I have been feeling so much better lately. My new job is going very well. It's like I'm home again. I have reconnected with my best friend. We've been friends for 26 years and have had a few years where we didn't talk for no particular reason. Just lost touch. she's a nut like me and it's so good to have her back in my life. I am on Weight Watchers now...just waiting to hit the 12 month mark in April so I can file the 2nd appeal with my insurance company. I have lost a few pound...14 at last count. Of course Thanksgiving might have set me back a little. I am getting back on track now. I meet with my nutritionist next week. I feel so much better being back on a structured program. I feel much more in control. I am hoping I will be successful enough so that I may not need the surgery after all. I know that is everyone's hope. There is a man that writes for our local paper and he had the surgery. He looks incredible. There was an article in today's paper about him contemplating a tummy tuck. It's amazing to think of how far he's come. He's lost almost 200# in the last 2 years. I'm jealous! I was trying to go back through the message boards and read up on what's been going on with who and it's just too time consuming. I wish you could pick a date to go back to instead of flipping through each page. I did check on the status of Jessica O. She's someone who's story I had been following since I became a member here over 2 years ago. I was so sad to see she had passed away. I have to think that she is in a better place and is not suffering anymore. She really had a hard time with everything and then to find out she had cancer at such a young age. Bless her family and her son. I am going to go now but I will be updating sooner this time. I wish you all a happy holiday season!
2006
April 26, 2006
Wow! It has been 5 months since my last update. That is just ridiculous! I am still a Weight Watcher. I hit my 10% goal and have lost 34# so far. I was going to file an appeal for RNY this month but I decided I would wait out the 18 months required by my insurance plan since I am doing so well on WW. I have that "this time will be the one that works" syndrome! I am still doing all the things required by my insurance company so I will qualify for surgery when the time comes if I decide to do it. I saw the nutritionist last week for our monthly meeting and she informed me that Indiana has a new law that says an insurance company cannot make you follow an 18 month program. They are only allowed to make you do a 6 month program. I guess this retro's back to January so I actually can have surgery in July instead of October. I know, I know...what difference does 3 months make? It just seems so much more tangible to me now. I guess since I know I will qualify and I am only 2 months away from when I could have surgery, it just seems so REAL! I am actually thinking that I will have the surgery and get on with my life. I have been fat since I was a child and I am going to be 36 in June. I have sleep apnea, interstitial cystitis, pre-diabetes, knee pain, skin rashes, fatigue, and anxiety disorder. I know that a lot of this will be helped by surgery. I will be able to exercise since my knee pain will diminish. That will help fend off the diabetes. My sleep apnea will go away since it is entirely caused by my obesity. My interstitial cystitis will not be as painful because I will not have all this fat putting pressure on my bladder. I will be able to exercise and that will help with the fatigue. I am not sure about the anxiety disorder but I bet it will help a little with that too. I am going to be staying on the site more now so I can get back in the loop with pre and post ops. I am really leaning toward having the surgery. I am having a medical procedure in 2 days and if I do OK with the anesthetic then that will really help me make my decision. I have an appointment for my psychological evaluation for surgery on June 21. I am just going to keep moving forward and see where God leads me!
God bless!
Johnnie
May 16, 2006
Hello Everyone! I had big news today. I had called and talked with the psych eval people because I decided I want to have the surgery and hopefully in August. Since my psych eval is June 21 and they require 3 sessions, I know I wouldn't be good to go in August. The Psychiatrist told me she is working on getting everyone in but that there are a lot of people who have appointments ahead of me that have not done the mandatory 12 week group that I have already done. She is not going to reschedule anyone but I can call and bug her on a weekly basis to see if they've figured out a way to handle the backlog of patients. Since I wasn't satisfied with her answers, although she was very nice, I called my nutritionist. She in turn called the person in charge of the bariatrac program approval process and was told that I have met ALL my requirements except the psych eval and that they are cancelling my appointment with the psych doctor and I can quit WW (if I want to) and start attending the FREE bariatric support group at Clarian Bariatric Center which is where I will meet with their psych people to get my eval a lot sooner than June 21! I have my first meeting tomorrow night. I will be put on the 'fast track'! I am so excited! I hope the timeline falls like this: psych eval completed by mid June, insurance approval by mid July, surgery in August. I keep thinking this is probably going to be a big let-down and I will have to jump through more hoops but all in all I am pretty optimistic. I had my procedure with my bladder done April 18th and it went fine. I came out of the anesthesia fine so I am a little less scared about that part. Well, I will go now. I am going to visit Tooter's website to get more info. I will never get tired of learning about this! Well maybe not until after I have it done and am fully recovered :-)
God Bless!
Johnnie
May 26, 2006
Great News!!
I received word from my PCP's office today that I have been approved for surgery! The referral coordinator said I would be getting a letter in the mail from my insurance company but I asked her to fax her copy to me so I could have it in my hands. I am so excited! I cried tears of joy and relief, then called everyone that I knew was waiting on an answer. My Mom, husband, 4 sisters, daughter, and my best friend Shelina. Everyone was very happy except my husband and 1 sister. They are both very worried and will have to deal with their own feelings about this. I know they support me but are scared. Well hell, I'm scared too but I'm more scared of life without the surgery. Now I have to get cracking on my walking program. I posted to the main board and asked the question "what would you do differently as a pre-op?" The most common response was to start exercising before surgery so it would be easier to do after surgery. I will begin doing that this weekend. I am also going to stick with Weight Watchers until surgery. I don't want to gain all my weight back before the big day! I need to sample several different types of protein drinks. It's actually overwhelming to think of all I need to do to prepare for surgery but I want to go into this with a plan for before, during and after so I will be a success story. I will be praying for my husband to have peace in his heart about my decision. I know he is so worried. He loves me and doesn't care if I am big or little. He just wants me to be happy.
God Bless!
Johnnie
June 10, 2006
I have met my surgeon and he is wonderful! He is compassionate, intelligent and has a great sense of humor. He was very good about explaining things to my husband to try to ease his mind. I told him I was concerned with my husband's anxiety about my surgery. He asked my husband what his main concern was and of course it is that I will die from it. The surgeon went on to explain about my comorbidities, the grim outlook for me in 10-15 years if I don't have surgery or permanantly lose the weight some other way. He said while I am an excellent candidate for surgery, he cannot give a 100% guarantee that I will survive but he can guarantee 100% that I will receive the very best care available. I am really happy with that answer and so was my husband.
After meeting with the surgeon we had to meet with the dietician. She assessed my current diet and made some comments about what would be happening to me post-op. She is an incredible woman. She's such a great cheerleader! I am so optimistic after talking to her. She is like Susan Maria in that she doesn't think we have to give up delicious food in order to be successful. There is plenty of things that fit in with our plan and she will help us to learn those things. She also mentioned sharing discount and sale information on the different products we will need after surgery. She runs the support group and she also counsels people 1 on 1 if needed. The Clarian Bariatric Center also does a bariatric cooking class. That will be fun! I love to cook. I have a tentative date of August 17, 2006 but I am trying to get August 24 due to work conflicts. But my employer and coworkers are so supportive of this that it won't matter if I cannot change the date.
I have become an information junkie since I received my approval. I have been on OH for over 2 years now and have studied WLS but I feel like I need more info!! Well, that's it for now. I am going to update after my 4 hour pre-op class. That should be interesting. They will tell us pre-op requirements, what to expect during surgery, and post-op requirements. I also have to have some pre-op testing done to be cleared for surgery. I know that will all go well.
God Bless!
Johnnie
July 1, 2006
Background: Back in April, Indiana decided to change the law regarding bariatric surgery. No longer are insurance companies allowed to force an 18 month MD supervised program prior to approval. Only 6 months. This goes into effect TODAY July 1st. I was told by dietician to stop all the things I was doing...monthly MD visits, monthly nutritionist visits, weekly group sessions, food diary, etc, because I am approved as of July 1st! I was told to schedule my psych eval, schedule my surgical eval! I did both and now I have my pre-op testing scheduled and my pre-op class and my surgery!! My date is August 24th. Why am I pissed??
I got a letter in the mail yesterday when I got home from work from the head of the Nutrition Services department that coordinates all the pre-op crap that my insurance company requires. The letter starts out "It is with great regret that I give you the following information. We need to change your agreement for bariatric surgery preparation to reflect the latest information from MPlan." It goes on to say that the new law was recently 'clarified' and that even though the law goes into effect on July 1, it doesn't affect insurance coverage until the plans are renewed with the employers. Mine is renewed in January. This says that I have to reactivate the 18 month program and successfully complete all requirements to be eligible for surgery EVALUATION. I have already done it all and been evaluated!! I already have a date!!
I would think this is an error except that it is not a form letter. It is addressed directly to me and names my dietician and is signed by the director. However, I cannot find out until Wednesday (!) what this means exactly since this letter dated June 26 didn't arrive until (conveniently) June 30th. I am so frustrated because I feel like they purposely sent the letter so that it would arrive Friday or Saturday on a long holiday weekend so no one could call until later next week. Maybe I'm paranoid but I don't think so. Also, my 18 months would have been up in October. Since I haven't done any of the requirements since then, do I have to wait until December to fulfill the 18 month requirement? Is my letter that says "congratulations, you are approved" null and void now? I am gonna call 6 for help! That is our ABC news program here in Indy that helps people who have been wronged! I am gonna start a class-action or something. I am so mad!!!! I already have the time scheduled off work, my Angel, husband, Momma,2 of my sisters, and my daughter have all requested that day off work. I have my 'magic bullet', my protein powder samples to get me started, my first 2 months worth of vitamins are bought. Good Lord!! I could kick a hole in the wall right now!!
I will update as soon as I hear something new.
Grumpily,
Johnnie
August 7, 2006
So much has happened since my last update. First off...I did have to meet the original requirements of my insurance company but they gave me 2 months' credit and then I had to see my nutritionist 2 more times. I saw her on August 2 and that was the final time. I was able to keep my dates the same for all the pre-op testing and the pre-op class and my surgery. My pre-op class is in 2 days. Then surgery is in 17 days. I am so excited!
I went to Florida with my Mom from July 15 - 22. We went to Anna Maria Island to my cousin's time share at Via Roma. It was so nice. There were 2 buildings of suites with a pool in the center courtyard. There were 2 BBQ grills and a hot tub. The place was right on the ocean so needless to say it was paradise. My mom gave me this trip as a birthday present. I am really glad we went. It was nice to spend time with her before my surgery. I needed to relax. This is the 2nd vacation I have been on without my husband and he said 'No More!!'. I said "Fine then. Quit being such a tight-wad and we can all go together!" I think the Florida thing will become an annual thing. I loved the fishing, the ocean, the snorkelling. I plan on doing some major reef diving next year when I am more physically fit. Swimming in the ocean takes a lot of work!
We have a new doctor starting at the practice where I work. We had an open house to celebrate our 10th anniversary and welcome her to the office. I can only deal with all the pictures that were taken by thinking that they will all be "before" pictures.
I am starting to get a little weird about things regarding surgery. I have this need to spend a lot more time with my neices and nephews and my own children. I also am finding it hard to go to bed. Like I shouldn't waste this time before surgery by sleeping. That's a dumb idea! I guess this is probably normal but I wish I could get over it. I started doing this thing where I ask my neices and nephews what they want for their birthday. A present or a day out with me. A day out would include lunch and a movie or shopping for a toy or new outfit. So far out of 4 kids, 3 have picked spending a day with me. The one that didn't just turned 16 and he needs gas $$ for his new truck! I was OK with that :-) He's a good kid. I have 1 more nephew's birthday and my daughter's 18th birthday before my surgery. Well her birthday is 2 days after my surgery so we are celebrating it the weekend before. I feel like I am quickly running out of time to do things. This is a list of what I want done before surgery:
house clean
laundry caught up
throw out all 'crap' around here
get son's room ready for new school year
go through his clothes and mine - ship stuff off to goodwill
stock groceries for family
stock post-op stuff for me to eat
I also have to get my son in to the orthodontist to get his bottom row braces off. His top row is off and he has a retainer. That was a well-invested $5K.
I am going to go for now. I was going to list the reasons why I want surgery but everyone has that on their profile. I will simply put that I want to be healthy. I want to be the wife my husband signed up for when we got married. I want to be a better mom, a better sister/aunt/daughter/employee/friend. I want to have muscle tone!!
Hugs!
Johnnie
August 24, 2006
Well tomorrow is the big day! I have to be at the Clarian North Medical Center at 5:30am and surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. I have been on clear liquids for 2 days now. I am not hungry. I am too nervous to be hungry!! I am not going to say a lot here. I just want to thank everyone for their support and friendship over the past 2 years. I have been waiting for this for so long and been discouraged a few times and my OH family has always been there for me. My angel and best friend Shelina will be posting updates for me while I am in the hospital.
Here's to seeing you all on the other side!
Hugs,
Johnnie
