Life intervenes - the journey goes on the back burner, for now.

Apr 06, 2009

I just realized this morning that I passed  11 months post-op yesterday.  Wow - it's incredible the changes that have taken place in such a (relatively) short time.  I am ever so grateful that I made the choice to change my life with WLS.  I am healthier today than I've probably been in 20 years!

Strange things have happened around me recently...  I was on campus at my alma mater last week and ran into my favorite professor.  I stopped in his office to talk to him...  we had a brief, but fairly generic conversation, and I went on about my business.  It was not until I was leaving the campus that it dawned on me - that man had no idea who I was!  That's why we had a generic conversation instead of our normal, very familiar banter - he didn't know who he was talking to!  It never occurs to me to re-introduce myself to people that I've known for 20 years or more - I recognize them, and everything looks the same from my side - but clearly I'm going to have make adjustments in this area.  My mother recently attended the funeral of an old friend, and said there were many, many people who walked right by her and didn't speak.  She couldn't quite figure it out until we had this discussion, and now we realize - people don't know who we are at this size unless we actually tell them.  Weird!  I'm sure others have this happen as well, but it has really been on my mind the last week or so.

In the short time I've been on this journey, I have lost 160 pounds!  That's a regular size person that I am no longer carrying around on my knees, hips, and back!  Incredible!  I have certainly not been the perfect post-op patient, but I do try to pay attention most of the time.  Lately, stress has been high and real life crises have taken my focus away from my daily journey of weight loss, but I am still holding my own and losing a little.  The last two weeks or so, I haven't been able to find the time to work out or walk very often, but I still have the desire - just not the time.  My 11 year old is back in Little League, which eats up lots of hours.  My father-in-law is terminally ill, and fading fast, which only adds to the stress and places further demands on my time.  I've spent a fair amount of time contemplating priorities lately, and have come to the realization that being a good father and husband are the highest things on my list.  I want to work on down to a "normal" weight, but right now that is just not the most important thing on my daily list of things to do.  I'm definitely keeping track of my progress, and plan to press onward as time allows, but for now, I'm spending most of my time and energy focused elsewhere....

As I approach my one year anniversary, I've learned a few things to pay forward to any pre-ops or investigators who might happen upon this little corner of cyberspace...

1- Do it - do now!  You will certainly wish you had done it sooner once you decide to do it!
2 - Don't over-buy the stuff "they" tell you you'll need for surgery/post-op.  I have unopened boxes of Gas-X strips and sugar free jello that are now approximately one year old, and still sitting in my pantry where I put them when I was preparing for surgery.
3 - Don't over-buy clothes on the way down.  No matter how great they look and make you feel, they aren't going to fit very long.  Shop at the consignment and second hand stores.  There is great stuff there at a bargain, and once you've shrunk out of it, you can take it back there and sell it to pay for some new, even smaller things.
4 - Never, ever lose sight of the fact that you are really doing this to be healthier.  Not to be a size 2 or a 34 inch waist, but to forestall hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and all the other horrible ailments that come secondary to morbid obesity.  If you are looking to become an Abercrombie (or Victoria's Secret) model, you'll likely be disappointed.  If you're looking to throw out your insulin and blood pressure meds, you'll likely be thrilled in very short order following surgery.
5 - Find some support - you WILL need it.   If OH is the place for you, great - you're here!  If you need live people, get out to your local support group and make some friends that you can lean on.  For me, I've needed both in the last year, and both have been there for me.  This is not (despite what the nay-sayers have to say) an EASY way... there are lots of years worth of emotional trauma and drama that you have to deal with along the way.  Find some people who know the path, and let them help you. 
6 - Enjoy your new life each day as you move along the continuum of weight loss.  So what if you've ONLY lost 50 pounds - CELEBRATE that victory!  So what if your scale hasn't moved in a week - it's stuck a lot lower than it was all those years before - CELEBRATE the way you move and feel and look! 
7 - If you don't like your water or protein - DO IT ANYWAY - if you don't follow the rules, you'll get sick....and end up back in the hospital.  That's no way to enjoy your new life.
8- Pay it forward!  Sometimes it's a bit disconcerting to tell people what you've done, but if someone genuinely wants to know, please try to tell them.  You never know who you may be helping to escape the torturous prison of morbid obesity.  It may not be that skinny person asking you about yourself - it may be their spouse/parent/sibling/friend who desperately needs someone to help them find the way.  You can be that shining light that helps someone find a new life.  Try it!

That's it for now.  Once the whole thing with my father-in-law resolves itself, I hope to be around more and more available to provide support to others.  In the mean time, please keep the faith, and keep on moving towards that new, healthier life that we're all looking for together.

0 Comments