Carl44
Hello,
My name is Carl, I am 44 years old and this is my story.
My wife Shawna has been telling me about this website for awhile, so I thought I would check it out. Shawna has been researching WLS for several years and I was never really interested in it. I have always thought of surgery as the last resort. I have been over weight since I was a child. The heaviest that I have ever been in my life is 328 pounds. I was in construction at the age of 16. During the 20 years that I worked in that field, I have broken several bones, including breaking my back twice. Over the years I went up and down with my weight and finally had to change careers due to pain. I stopped working construction in 1997 and went into the medical field. Since I was no longer as active as I once was, I started gaining weight again and could not get it off. Shawna and I went on every weight loss and diet program that we could find. Pills, shots, exercise, you name it we did it, and nothing worked. In 2003 I had back surgery and now I have titanium cage in my lower back. L-4 to L-5, L-5 to the sacrum. I am in pain about 75% of the time and all my weight is really starting to affect my life even more. In 2004 I went from being a phlebotomist to an RN. Floor work at first, and now I work as a Surgical Nurse. I am finding it very hard to continue in this job that I love being so heavy. I do not feel that I am doing my best. Shawna talked me into going to see Dr. Syn about my weight problems. After sitting and listening to Dr. Syn and Shannon, his Dietitian. I realized that the RNY surgery might help me with my weight. My consultation was on June 4th. I have been approved for the RNY surgery and am waiting for my surgery date to be set. I feel that it is the best decision that I have ever made.
