kathy oh
i am a 41 year old woman who had surgery 2/22/06. i weighed 431 when i had surgery. my heaviest weight was 485 about 6 years ago. i was on oxygen when i walked and was what my sleep apnea doctor told me, within a year of death. i was so badly incapacitated that i really wasn't living at all. i had withdrawn from my friends because i couldn't join them. i was so exhausted - all of the time.
i started three years ago working towards surgery. the first year was just trying to find out about surgery, what to expect, could it be right for me.... years 2 and 3 were spent obtaining approvals, switching hospitals, and finding the right surgeon. it was three years of ups and downs.
before i could have the surgery, i had to lose 40 pounds. i thought that was ridiculous. why should i lose weight if i was going to have surgery. i did it. i finally got my surgery date. i had worked so hard to get to this day that when it was over, there was a little bit of letdown. the day had come and gone. now what was i going to do.
what i did was exactly what the doctor's said. walk, exercise, move, drink alot of water, eat protein, ..... i did that too. all of that. i have lost 153 pounds in the 9 months since surgery. it has been an amazing journey!
i would do this again in a heartbeat! it was the best decision of my life. it was the only decision for me. i am beginning to have a life. a really wonderful life - one that i truly deserve.
1/13/07 - wow....so i will finally realize one of my goals within the next week. 3 years ago my brother and i had a 3 hour conversation - a come to jesus meeting if you will. after my aunt died he decided he needed to have this conversation with me. my health mirrored hers. she died of diabetic complications. he told me that he didn't want to lose me. he wanted me to be around to be the best aunt that i could be. play with his kids, go bike riding, hiking, and be their confidante. he told me that i was the best and it would be unfair for his kids not to get to know me. get this - he wasn't married at the time and had no kids.
so this week i am going to arizona for his second child's baptism. he has three older boys whom he loves like his own and two smaller boys. i will be going with the group on a hike and a bike ride once i get there. i can roll around on the floor and chase the merry band of munchkins around. i will be the kick butt aunt that he knew, expected, and wanted me to be. it was this conversation that i attribute the biggest kick in the butt and boost. my brother rocks! my whole family has been awesome.
the other really cool thing that is happening all of the time now is that people do not recognize me. these are people that i have known for 20 years. i walked up to a man that retired fron my company last year. he had no idea who i was. it was so gratifying. i can't believe it when i get the blank look like who the heck is this person that is talking to me like i should know them. people are so embarassed when it happens. i am so flattered. i don't want them to remember the way i used to be. i want them to see what i am morphing into.
something else that happened is that i got a new job. i am with the same company but in a different capacity. i made this job happen for me. it was my idea and was given to me because of all that i had accomplished this year. the only reason for the accomplishements was the wls.
i am so very excited. these are the things that make wls the absolute best thing i have ever done. i wish you all well. it is an amazing journey.....it is worth the wait and money.
