Covergurl
Well my story began in November of 2004, as I sat in front of my computer in a state of depression. I began to cry and tell the Lord how very unhappy I was, and that very moment the Lord said what are you unhappy about and what are you going to do about it?
I thought for a moment and said to myself I dont like my weight, I dont like being married on paper. My husband lived in another state and I had not seen him for a few years, so that was weighing on my heart, and I my finances were in a complete shambles. At that moment I decided I was going to work on those three areas.
I had a girlfriend who had the surgery so I had som insight on the process. I decided to take alook at the site obesiyhelp. I think I read profiles for day and dreamed about that being me. After a couple days of that I decided to give it shot and see if I could get approved. I prayed to God and said Lord if this is the way I trust you will lead and guide me in this journey.
THE APPROVAL PROCESS
I checked out two centers for obestiy related surgery. One of the centers said that it was not a covered benefit, and they were not very helpful at all. Next I looked into the CORI CENTER, and found their staff to be very professional and helpful. I was assigned a coordinator who walked me through the approval process. They sent me out a packet which I completed and submitted. I then went to my physician and explained that I wanted the surgery and she agreed . She then submitted an letter to my insurance. After that I was in the waiting game. I waited for about a month before I heard word that my surgery wasnt a covered benefit. I was disappointed but I had said previously that Lord if this is the way you will guide me through. Well I had basically given up on the surgery because I knew I didnt have the money to pay for it myself, when one day at work and administrator from the corporate office came to visit our building. Many of the staff were congratulated her concerning how much weight she had lost. At the time I didnt think anything of it till my girlfriend said you know she had gastric bypass too. I then proceeded to ask her how, I was told our insurance did not cover it, she said well you better ask her because I am sure the insurance paid for it. Well I did just that, I went and spoke to her about my difficulties in getting approved and she told me that the surgery is covered and I needed to contact the insurance representative for the company and get it straighted out. I did just that and in a matter of two weeks I was approved and surgery date scheduled.
THE SURGERY
Well the time had finally come for my surgery. I had gone through all the preliminaries, such as the pyschological evaluation, orientation, meeting my surgeon and discussing my goals, and submitting all medical documents requested. I was almost ready to go but during this time I was concerned with who would take care of my son while I was in the hospital. Along with that concern was how would I get around because my car wasnt working at the time. So, along with being excited about begining my new life I was stressed about my current situation. Well once again I turned to God and said Lord if you made a way for the surgery you already knew I would need someone to look after my son. I called his dad and he agreed to look after him till I was on my feet, so I was most appreciative, since he was ill himself. As for the car situation God made a way. I stayed at the house of my Angel the night before surgery and she took me to the hospital. The surgery went fine and after three days or so I was released. To my surprise my other angel took off work and picked me up ...I was again grateful that God had worked it out.....
RECOVERY
My recovery went very well, so well I did it all by myself. I would get up and take my shots, walk several times a day around my living room and dining area for exercise. I was on clear liquids so meal consisted of sf jello and sf popsicles. I dont think I have eating another cup of sf jello or popsicles again.....lol. Anyway after I had been home about a week my nine year old who was seven at the time came home and he was my little helper. We got through it all with the help of the Lord. I still didnt have a car but God continued to make ways for me. I told one of my neighbors that I had the surgery and I needed to get to Dr but I didnt have a way and she let me take her care while she was at work. Now I know that may now sound like a big deal but since I didnt really know my neighbor the fact that she handed her car over to a complete stranger and trusted me to go to the Dr and come back and pick her up ...is absolutely a big deal. Any way I made it through....God made the way.
POST OP
My post-op experience went just as smooth I didnt not have any problems after surgery at all. I returned back to work in about six weeks. It wasnt a problem since I sit most of the day infront of the computer taking calls.I began loosing weight at about 20 pounds a month. Oh if I didnt mention it before my starting weight was somewhere over 310 pds. Over the next few months I lost steadily going from 20 pounds to 15 pound to 12 pounds etc. I started my process on July 18, 2005 and by six month anniversary I had lost about 70 pounds I was ecstatic. I had lost my goal of 100 pounds in January of 2006. After that the weight loss slowed down quite abit and I had to rely on using the tool properly as weight wasnt just falling off. I also discovered that my tolerance for sugar was very high. I mean I can eat anything, nothing makes me dump. To this day I have not had a dumping experience. Now you might say thats a good thing but it has turned out to be just the opposite. You see even though we are on this journey life still happens, and we can say that for me ....I was still going through, and as a result I picked up my bad habits with eating. Now I couldnt eat as much but I put myself into a plateau that I never quite recovered from. Let me explain, up to this point I had continued to accomplish the goals I set back on the November evening. I got my divorce about a year later and I filed for bankruptcy, so those goals were completed. However I met a man....
DATING
Well yes I met a man, or should i say and old friend I had known some years previous..Now we dated for short time when i was heavy so i didnt feel like he was with me because of that. However when you have WLS if you dont work on the mental transformation as much as the physical, you will find yourself in some of the same situations you face before the surgery.You have to begin a process in getting to know the new you and learning to love your self. See for me I didnt do that, I thought that when I started to loose weight my struggle with myself would be over. Can we say together NOT SO!!!!....lol See even though I wasnt as big as I used to be, to the outside world they still saw a big girl. So you have to know on the inside that while the transformation is happening it may take them (the world) a minute to catch up. Meanwhile you have to learn to love the new you, the new attention, and the loose skin. Yes the loose skin is enough to depress you. When you take off those clothes there is nothing desirable to see in the mirror. It almost puts you back in the state of mind you were in before surgery. That is where I find myself to day, unhappy with where I am at this moment. So what did I do, well I am glad you ask I made the same declaration I did in 2004. Lord I am unhappy with myself...help me. Again I ask myself what am I going to do about it and I decided to do my first works over. Meaning I prayed and ask Gods direction and forgiveness for taking this blessing for granted. I ask him to help me as I take off this last 35 pounds. I brought myself back to the boards so I could be around like minded people, and I am going to get back to the basics. Now I know this isnt going to be easy but I am going to continue to motivate myself and get motivation from the family here on obesity help. I hope my story has been an encouragement and i hope you take the time to say hello...I be back soon to update you on my final stage of WLS. By the way I am gettig ready to start the next phase of surgery approval for my tummy tuck ...I have a horrible apron which should make the surgery medically necessary. Please keep me in prayer and by faith I wil do the same for you...God Bless
