April Henderson

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To the Many Important people in my life,

If you are receiving this email & letter, it means that first off, you are special to me. It also means that I want you to know about my upcoming life changes. As some of you may already know, I have a leave of absence scheduled for 02/05/08-03/19/08. This letter is to inform all the people that I think need to know or that I want to know of what the leave is for and also to hopefully give you an understanding of why. This also allows me a forum to explain my reasoning and to hopefully answer questions that some of you may have. This may be a lengthy letter, so please bear with me.

I have always been the funny, outgoing, pretty-faced fluffy girl. I have never had a problem with that and have maintained a sense of who I am throughout my life. I have never not liked myself or wished that I could be somebody else or in someone else’s body. I have always had good self-esteem.

What you may or may not know however, is that because of my weight I suffer from Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. This condition is where I have many cysts on my ovaries which makes me unable to ovulate. This has led to infertility for me and Jayson. Without a dramatic weight loss, I may never be able to conceive, which would be absolutely heartbreaking for me. I also have severe family history in almost all of the women on my mother’s side of diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure and some cancer. It usually starts rearing its ugly head around 30 years old, so as you can tell… I’m not too far off from that. I have also been limited by my weight to do the things I love: rollercoasters, acting (they hardly ever cast the fat talented girl ☺), skydiving, etc.

It is because of these things that I have decided to have the Rou-N-Y gastric bypass. My surgery is scheduled for 02/06/2008 at Memorial Medical Center with Dr. Patrick Coates, a leading bariatric surgeon in our area. For those of you who don’t know, gastric bypass is a procedure in which the surgeon will lapriscopically (through tiny incisions instead of a big open cut) insert 6 instruments, go inside my body separating a small portion of my stomach into a new “pouch” that will only be able to hold about 1oz. of food at a time to begin with. This “pouch” will then be connected to about 18” of my lower intestine, thereby making a “New”, smaller stomach. This procedure is both restrictive (meaning I will eat less), and malabsorptive (I won’t absorb the same nutrients that we do now).

The surgery is very serious and is by no means an “easy” task. Many people have a false conception that gastric bypass is an easy way or a cop-out for fat people. However, after researching the surgery for 2 years, I know that it is certainly not either of those two things. I will have to work harder at my diet and lifestyle than I have ever done before, being constantly vigilant about what I eat, taking important vitamins EVERYDAY for the REST OF MY LIFE, making sure I get enough water, protein, and exercise. I will also have to change my way of thinking concerning diet and exercise and take the important challenge of making sure I remain mentally healthy and prepared for such a dramatic change. Like I said, this is NOT an easy way out.

Some people ask the question to many gastric bypass patients, “Why not just do it the old-fashioned way? Through diet and exercise?” I can honestly tell you that those two things aren’t all that it adds up to. Being overweight also comes partially from environment as well as genetics (ask a Dr. if you don’t believe me). And as far as diet & exercise goes, I, like most other g.b. patients have “Done it All”. Weight Watchers- 3 times, Jenny Craig- 3 times, Atkins- 1, South Beach- 2 , Metabolife- 3, Curves- 3 (and still going), Slimfast- 1, Cortisol- 1, Richard Simmons- 2, Regular ole’ diet & exercise- 3 times. And the result has always been the same. I can lose some weight, but as soon as the program, pill, book, whatever ends… it all inevitably comes back plus some more. The Bariatric doctors say that with all the perpetual dieting that we have done, most of us have pretty much messed up our metabolic system. The gastric bypass gives us a new “tool” to use that will tell us when we are full (which I can honestly say most of us don’t have now) and that can’t handle certain things (sugar, high carbs, etc.) which helps us to eliminate a lot of what made us fat in the first place. Now don’t get me wrong, I know that there are certainly people who have or can “Just Do It”, and have been able to change their lifestyle completely and do it on their own. However, that percentage is only about 5% of the people who try. For the other 95% of us, it is a vicious, vicious cycle. And if you have never been overweight, you will probably never understand it.

I will be taking a 6 week leave to allow my body to heal and to also get used to my new way of eating. Through the next 2 years of my life, you will be seeing me going through a dramatic change. I ask that even if you don’t agree with the surgery or if you have reservations, that you please respect my decision. It is a very personal one and was not easy to make at first. When my Dr. first approached me about it in 2005 I told him that I wasn’t ready for such a dramatic thing, that I thought it was a cop-out and that I wanted to try it again on my own. I did. I did not succeed in that attempt, and last year I  made the decision that I was ready to take such a dramatic step in order to gain my health and to hopefully give myself and my family a future. 

This surgery has many very serious risks, and I absolutely have studied them and know them well. Yes, I am scared of dying. Yes, I am terrified of blood clots going to my lungs. No, I don’t want my hair to thin for a couple of months. But for me, in my personal situation, the long term benefits far outweigh the risks.

I am asking that through this time in my life, you support me. I need each and every one of you to understand why I am doing this. Like I said, you don’t have to agree with it, just support me. You may be tempted at times to ask, “Are you supposed to be eating that?” I will try my hardest to answer that question if I think it is a legitimate one, but please don’t do it to be rude. I am going to do my absolute best to make this tool work for me. I plan on staying on track and making the most out of the time that is my window of opportunity. But after awhile, I will be able to eat “normal” again, but in MUCH smaller portions, so please be aware of that. Accountability is an important tool, so if you think I have a real issue that needs to be addressed, feel free to hold me accountable, but do it out of love and support. Please.

Well, I think that is pretty much it for now. I will leave you by saying thank you ahead of time for your love and support and that I will make us all proud. I also want to leave you with some resources to investigate the gastric bypass for yourself if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to ask me any question you have as well. This is by no means something I am embarrassed or ashamed about, and I would love to answer questions if you have them.

Thank you all so much for being a part of my life.

April Stevenson

www.obesityhelp.com

www.bariatriceating.com

www.bariatricsrus.com

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