My RNY Story

Mar 28, 2009

  If you have read my previous blog you would know that I needed to get my weight under control and down in order to have another surgery I desperately need. This is what started me looking into other forms of weight loss. I've heard many stories on weight loss surgeries. Some good and some really bad but I wanted to research it for myself.
  So 2 years ago I started checking where here in Canada first. Of course this is where I live and someone has to do weight loss surgery here. Yes....we do Mrs. Babcock I was told, but you have to pay for the lap band and the RNY has a 10-12 year waiting list. What! I don't have 10-12 years to wait an have my medical condition get any worse. So back to the diets. Still nothing was working for me,and guess what? I'm now well over 350 lbs.
  I continued on this path until a friend of mine, a well known dieter by everyone... If it's out there she has tried it or bought the product type of girl. She too struggles with her weight and has reached an all time high. She stops by one Sunday and tells me about a seminar that was held at a hotel here in our hometown of Kingston Ontario. It was about the gastric bypass, and was performed in the United Sates by a Dr. Graber. Of course I asked for more details, but what got me excited was the fact that Canadians were covered, and there was no waiting list. You could be done within 3-4 months....That was it! I was on the phone by the next day calling to get information, and even booked an appointment to see Dr. Graber. I also looked  into our Ontario Health Insurance, and set up an appointment with my family doctor. She was on board with me, because she could see how unhealthy I had become. I was weighed at her office and OMG! I weighed in at 380 lbs!  All my paperwork for coverage was completed and sent off within days and all I had to do was wait for approval. My approval came within about a week and a half. Fully paid no question asked. Now just wait to see Dr. Graber.
  My husband and I drove down to Utica NY on November 19th 2008 for my appointment. The weather was a little nasty, but nothing was keeping me from having my consultation with the good old doctor. I was pumped and ready for this. I went through all the weighing, and information with his nurses first, and then it was time to meet the doctor....smile...He wasn't quite what I was expecting. Here was this man with the funniest little bow tie I have ever seen. I had to control myself. I just wanted to chuckle. He introduce himself to me and my husband and proceeded to explain the surgery, and what it in tailed. Dr. Graber is a very straight forward doctor. He tells you how it is and what he expects from you. The one thing that sticks in my mind the most is when he told me "This is not a cure it is a tool." .....(I believe this to be true as well.) So now I had my consultation, and my surgery date February 20th 2009. I was ready for this. I now weighed 384 lbs and didn't want to get any heavier.
  Christmas went by...I was eating smaller portions, Lean Cuisine's but no weight loss. Well I hadn't gained. During this time my friend that had given me the information was also planning to have the procedure done. My  sister and brother as well were interested in looking into the surgery. ( Most of my family have a weight problem.)
  January came and went.My friend, sister,and brother had their appointments booked and approval their for OHIP coverage. When February rolled in so did my nerves. I think it was worse because everyone where I work was excited for me but also worried from stories they had heard and people they knew that had issues. Well I kept assuring them that I had an excellent surgeon, and he specialized in this field. He was one of the best. Don't worry. My sister and friend on the other hand were as bad as the rest of them with their craziness. I was scheduled first for the surgery so I told them I'll be the guinea pig. You'll see I'll be just fine so stop the talk I just want to get through this.
  Finally it was time to head to Utica. We were leaving on the 18th because my first appointment was so early the next day, and we were concerned about the weather conditions. I was a little emotional when I got in the car that morning. Why I really don't know, but I felt like I was never coming back. Crazy I know! I was suffering with the worst headache, and I had had it from the day before. I believe it was a combination of the liquid diet, and the fact that I was a huge diet Pepsi drinker. With drawls... I slept most of the way there and glad because I'm not good in the car. That's where I have most of my panic attacks, and it snowed like crazy my husband informed me. We found our hotel, and settled in for the night. I slept not to bad but still had the crazy headache.
  We arrived for my first appointment with the anesthesiologist and it hit me. Nerves...WTF am I doing? I sat there thinking this to myself. Never saying anything to my husband who would understand since he has never had any kind of surgery, and knowing he would understand. So I sat there keeping this to myself. In walked 3 girls and sat close by where we were sitting. I could tell by looking at the binder the one girl carried that she too was going for the same procedure. Come to find out she was scheduled for surgery the same day and was booked ahead of me first thing in the morning. I could tell she was nervous as well, and then it hit me...I'm not alone. I've met this girl, and there is another gentleman sitting over there who is going as well. I slowly eased into the acceptance of  I'm doing this and all will be fine. More calmer now we talked back and forth about the surgery, because one of the girls sisters had the surgery a year prior. She looked great. The more we talked the better I felt about what I was doing.
  The morning of surgery I was actually pretty relaxed. We arrived at the hospital in lots of time, and went to the waiting room. No one was there but me and the hubby so we waited alone. The nurse came along and took us to a room to change into a gown, and receive medication prior to surgery. She was so good to me. Very comforting, and funny. We had a great chat before I was wheeled away for my surgery. I have to admit that I hated to leave my husband because I was more concerned about him waiting alone than me going down to have it done. Until I got there!
  I would have been fine had I not been wheeled in to some kind of medical issue in the room. There were doctors and nurses rushing about. Some woman was having complications from here surgery. I had no idea what surgery she had, and in my mind I thought that the only surgeries being done that day were what I was having. I was about ready to jump off my stretcher and head for home! I think the one nurse at the desk saw my panic because she came over and assured my the woman was fine, and that it had nothing to do with what I was having done. What a relief....Things calmed down and the woman was taken to another facility to have another type of procedure. At this point everything was pushed back a little so I was not taken in right away, but I got a chance to talk to some of Dr. Graber staff, and was assured I was in good hands. It also reminded me that I knew this and that was why I chose him in the first place. I was going to be fine....so off to sleep I went.
  The first day of the surgery is all fuzzy to me. I remember bits of it but I can remember I was so tired, and I felt bad for my husband sitting over me while I slept. I didn't have enough whits about me to tell him to go to the hotel room. He finally asked if it was okay to go late that evening when I finally came around some. Poor guy.
  The next day the dreaded gas pains...OMG! Not nice at all. The worst for me is I can't make myself burp like most people, and I couldn't fart so save myself today. Late that night it finally started to move a little. Thank God!
By day three I was tooting up a storm. What a relief!.. By noon we were discharged. We spent the next couple of days relaxing at the hotel, we even did a little extra walking at the Walmart in Utica. I was feeling pretty good. Before we left for home on the 24th I had my checkup at Dr. Grabers office and got weighed again. Down 10 lbs!....Awesome.......I'm on my way!

                                                    Thank You!  Dr. Graber

1 Comment