Cheryl Lee
Currently I am teaching overseas but would like to have this surgery in the summer when I am off of work. I have applied to my insurance company and have an estimate of what they will pay but not final approval yet. They need information from the surgeon. I have emailed my medical history form and the referral from my PcP....Now just waiting to get a response for an appointment! Wish me luck!!!!
Can you believe that I needed an ELEPHANT to lift me!!! He was glad to put me down too!!!
May 20, 2005
I am approved by the insurance company, but I have to pay up front and then they will reimburse some of the money. I have decided to take my nest egg and use that for the surgery. If I am thinner and more healthy, I can work and replace the money over the next few years.
I have had so much support from all the members on the site. I am feeling much better about how I will handle the surgery although I still have a few questions for the doctor. Here in Asia I have suffered quite a lot of nasty comments over the years about my weight. My only satisfaction is that in the past couple of years I have noticed quite a few Chinese who are now on the fat side and look like they are gaining weight. Also their kids are heavy too. I think that they will have serious problems in the not too distant future. They are where we were thirty years ago. Remember when the Whopper burger came to town, then everything got bigger. It is happening here and people are showing the result.
I think that I can handle the surgery fine, I had a hernia surgery and a hysterectomy and resulting scar revision,(due to the hernia) so, I think that this will not hurt as badly as the other surgeries. I only pray that it is a laproscopic procedure. Having had open surgery twice, I really dont want it again if I can help it.
I got the letters and the tests from the doctor's nurse. Now to print them and begin getting the preliminary work done here in Hong Kong. It is wonderful that half a world away, you can prepare for a surgery, transmit records and talk online. Will let you know what is next in the next installment!
Monday June 6, 2005
I have made the decision to change hospitals and doctors. I was completely frustrated by the previous hospitals lack of transparency for charges, after all, as a consumer you are entitled to know how much you are going to be charged for each thing! Soooo I contacted Oschner's in New Orleans. What a difference, completely professional, up front about cost and the finance end of it was also explained to my satisfaction. This is a major investment, healthwise and moneywise. I feel that each patient should be given the truth. This is only fair.
My appointment is on June 27th. Hopefully everything will go quickly and smoothly. I am in a go mode now, have been since January, and my patience is getting short, always does around school's end. I have less patience with each passing year!!!!
I love to travel, I posted some of my recent adventure pictures on the site, and I have many many more places on my agenda to visit.....Come back soon!
GO DOWN BELOW THE PHOTOS FOR THE REST OF THE TEXT AND PROGRESS THROUGH SURGERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This photo was made at the Taj Mahal in India. I had my photo made on the Princess Diana bench!
At Christmas, we went to Northern Thailand. One of the things we had fun doing was riding an elephant thru the Jungle!!!!
June 10
I went into my primary care physician and had all the blood drawn, EKG, chest xray and spirometer done. Wasnt too bad and she will have reports ready in about a week to fax. Emailed my family and got the usual flack, they do not understand although they are bigger than me..... I think they are in denial....
June 17th
Got all the pre surgery tests done and faxed. They got them and I had my first shake today. I think 50 grams of protein at one time is too much! I thought I was going to explode, so I had soup for lunch instead. I will cut it in half and add some fruit. Should be better. Shake tasted ok though, I think I will order some sample packs to try too. The powder is really expensive..... one week to surgery, time is ticking off quickly!
Tuesday June 21st
Well, I just bought a new life for myself! Sent the money to the bank in order to pay for the surgery. I have been saving for almost a year to pay for this. I will have to fight the insurance afterwards to get them to pay me back, but you know, I don't even care! Life is more important than money.... I have been sticking to the protein and havent had any sugar in more than a week. My husband really asked me questions for the first time last night. He could not believe that I would be so small at the end of the weight loss period. He has always known me when I was pretty fat, so he cannot imagine me being really small, I was about a size 3 to 5 when I married my first husband. How funny it will be to pull a joke on some of the women who work with me. They know nothing about this surgery, always on a diet and I just plan on telling them to cut down on the food and you can lose weight, they have the jealousy syndrome, when I went on Adkins last year and lost weight, even a very skinny woman also went on the diet, can you believe that! But now I have gained the weight back and they are all kind of smug that they are smaller than me. LOL but the worm can always turn, and I smile to myself with that thought. It will be a lot of fun to see it happen!
Of course, another fun part is that I get to buy ALL NEW CLOTHES!!!!!!! Clothes, even custom made ones are cheap here in Hong Kong, and I have a massive wardrobe which would dazzle anyone, but alas, no where to wear all those great clothes. We rarely go out at all, but maybe things will change, In MS, most people dress up a lot, so I guess that I will have to be content wearing nice things when I go home. But maybe a little skinny swimsuit would be great if we go on vacation!
I want to go to Tibet, but I have been having little chest pains. It isnt angina, I think it is a combination of weight and perhaps digestion. It comes and goes, but I think it is a byproduct of the diet pills I took, what poison that was, and I have been through so much since I took them.
My daughter is soooo excited for me. She even has 2 RN's coming to her house to check on me and keep an eye on me. I am enjoying this!!! She now says that she will be the fat one, but she is planning to do some serious exercise and is barely on the bmi for obese. I hope that she can get her weight down and stay there, but I know how obesity runs in our family, Hmmm
Now just counting down til plane time.......
This is me on my surgery day
On June 29th I had the gastric by-pass done. Unfortunately, the staple machine misfired, knicking my lower stomach. The next morning when they took me for the swallow test, which I think I am allergic to the dye that they use, I collapsed, told them I was dying, and they immediately rushed me to intensive care. The films revealed the leaks, thank goodness and they rushed me back to surgery that afternoon to make the repairs. I was on a ventilator, because my o2 was so low and breathing was so shallow. I was in ICU for about 4 days and then went to the floor. It was a struggle to get on my feet, but I managed to bathe myself and move from chair to bed. The nurses helped me as much as they could. They held me a few more days because of the powerful hurricane heading for NO. Finally that Monday I got to go home. I am sooo tired of Crystal lite, Jello and chicken broth. All taste dreadful. Water tastes the best.
At first even the smell of protein shakes was dreadful, but finally was able to tolerate them and drink most of the shake. I have unjury but like Isopure no carb even better. This is a trial and error process!
Did you realize that there is nothing that someone can order at a fast food place, one month out?
August 9th 2005
Now I am doing better, although cannot guage how much food I should swallow. Sometimes I fill up so fast! But I never feel totally hungry, like I used to???? This pouch thing is tough, just takes a lot of patience. I have lost 26 pounds now! Fat globs are disappearing from my legs and the roll around my middle seems smaller. My face is very thin, and I feel like my eyes are so large, just like those starving kids in Africa, although I am not starving LOL!
My husband has been so good, now he is taking so much care of me, and of course asks me, can you eat that???? The best thing that I have eaten is a thin slice of pepperoni I got off of his piece of pizza. Wonderful! But, I am not going to sabatage myself, I almost died getting this far. I am going to lose the weight!!!!
Next week I go back to work at the school, stay tuned for a progress report!
These photos were made last year before surgery!!!!
These photos are of a parade in Hong Kong
This was the biggest thrill, to hold a baby Tiger!!!!
This guy carried this load all the way up a steep mountain. I did climb up but thought I would die before I got down again!!!!
This is the view at the top!!!!!!
This is a photo of me now..... 3 and 1/2 months after surgery!!!!
I am feeling so much better, able to walk more and clothes are very baggy!!! I had to keep hitching my jeans up to keep them from falling off!
I am about 2 weeks away from my 6 month anniversary. I have lost 65 pounds so far and am feeling well. I occasionally have some problems eating certain things. I have added carbonated drinks back to my diet, but only over ice and I cannot drink more than a half of a can anyway. Now I am becoming picky because I feel that I do not have enough variety in my foods.... I have to work harder on Protein, I need to make sure that my weight keeps dropping.........
We went to Hong Kong Disney to see the Christmas Lights. I had a barrel of fun, the most ever, and I felt the best.... Here are the latest photos.....
March 2006
I am now 8 months out from surgery and feeling great. I have lost more than 75 pounds and down from a size 22-24 to a size 14 soon to be a 12. I really concentrate on the diet and avoid sugar like the plague. I try to eat only a small portion of things and to exercise more. My students have noticed the weight loss now and they try to "feed" me. Always offering candy and other stuff. I explain that I cannot eat it, and thanks anyway! I feel that this was a good choice for me, and I have so much energy. Still impatient though, I guess your personality undergoes a revision as well as your body. Dont have any current photos but am going to Spain at Easter so plan to post some new ones on my site.....
Down to 155 and traveling to Spain. Cannot believe that I am now 10 months out and doing fine. Still cannot eat greasy stuff and still occasionally eat too much. WLS is a learning process!!!!
Photos
 230 Burma, the long neck women from National Geographic |  |
Insurer Info:
Blue Cross Asia Pacific, gp-01 Poly U
