martitalinda
It is Martita's time!!!!!! I am thoroughly blessed. I was able to see both my kids through college while battling with my husband's failing kidneys - after 8 years of having him on dialysis God blessed us in 2003 with a brand new kidney for Al. We got a call at 2:00 am from the Transplant Unit and we rushed him over as they were flying a kidney in all the way from Kentucky - it was rough the first couple years but now he is fine, no rejections!!!! and no more amputations. The kids are doing great! Kenny (23) called me last night - he proposed to Lisa so I guess there are wedding bells ringing in the horizon although I believe my baby is still too young but he is a sweet boy and a gentleman as I raised him. My Candice is beautiful and strong - a daughter to die for - and both of them are over 6 ft tall. I have no grandchildren. I forgot about me over the years and took care of my family - a lion protecting her cubs yes - my two little ones and the big one (Al) too - and I am young!
In doing all this, I let myself go. Workaholic mother of two, caregiver of a diabetic with shut down kidneys - who had time to think of herself? But here I go again talking about them when it is MARTITA'S TIME NOW!!!!!!
My name is Marta - my dad to this day calls me Martita (little Marta) and my sisters call me Tita. I came to the US 26 years ago from Panama and when I got off the plane I weighed 98 lbs - believe it or not! I had a x-tra tiny waist, nice rounded buttocks and a shape to die for - where did it all go? At the term of my pregnancy with my baby (23) I weighed 200 lbs. I managed to lose it. When I met my husband (#2 - the first marriage is too traumatic to talk about) I weighed 157 lbs. My son was two when my Ex left us. And I met Al - I met him at a time in my life where I was most vulnerable - I was mean and angry but he remained a steady true friend always thinking about me and my kids that weren't his - and love prevailed - it won me over. Al was a Gourmet Cook (he is disabled now) - he worked at an exclusive sea food restaurant and he cooked for us - yes he cooked and I ate. He has been cooking for the past 16 years of our marriage and I have been eating - good food - I do not like sweets nor junk - I like a good meal. So he cooked and I ate and I ate and he cooked. Since our marriage in 1989 he has been bringing me breakfast to bed except the times when he was hospitalized, he cooked on all the holidays and every day of the week - he took over the kitchen and I let him - he is real good - so good that over the past year he has been cooking healthy and nothing out of my diet plan and I managed to go from over 270 to the 242 lbs that I am starting out with.
In 2004 I developed so much pain in my knees I started not being able to go up the stairs. I went to a rheumatologist that summer thinking I had rheumatoid arthritis. At that time my blood work came back with a blood sugar level in the high 400's. I got a call from their office on my job to see my PCP STAT. That is when I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. My blood pressure was sky high too - so I started on beta blockers. Prior to this all I had to worry abot was Asthma, and Spleep Apnea. I was in trouble - I knew it - me who came to America as a Registered Nurse pursuing a NY license - unbelievable - I had gained so much weight I went from size 4-5 on arrival to a whooping size 26 that was begining to fit kinda tight. On labor day 2006 I was rushed to the hospital - I had a lower GI bleed of sudden onset after I took a couple of Aleve's - ended up with transfusions of 2 units of blood. Oh' and I forgot about the hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) and GERD for which I was also on medications.
A couple of friends had the procedure done and I had been toying around with the idea for a couple years. After the big scare with the blood last September I started getting pretty serious about it. I had been dieting like crazy but the weight was not coming off fast enough. At my Thanksgiving Dinner (2006) I made up my mind. I spoke with Jane, Dr. Duffy's nurse manager who had come to see someone on the floor where I work. We spoke about RNY and she asked me what type of insurance I had. I told her I had the Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO through Yale - I gave her a copy of my card, she said she would call the insurance carrier to see if they will cover my procedure - they told her if I met the qualifications they would cover me 100%. On December 8 I attended the seminar given in Dr's Bell and Duffy office. On December 20 I saw the psychiatrist and on December 22 I saw the nutritionist. My PCP faxed over a referral letter and in the second week of January '07 I got approval and a date. Tomorrow 2/5/07 I am the first case over at Yale for R&Y at 7:30 a.m. It happened fast.
MARTITA STARTS HER JOURNEY - I AM ON MY WAY - LOOK OUT HEALTH - HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!
NONE OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT THE HELP OF GOD WHO IS ON MY SIDE - I THANK HIM AND I GIVE HIM BACK THE GLORY FOR BLESSING ME AND MY FAMILY TREMENDOUSLY - I ALSO THANK HIM FOR OPENING THE DOORS OF HIS KINGDOM FOR ONE LIKE ME AND GUIDING ME TO HIS CHURCH WERE I FIND STRENGTH IN HIS WORD - BECAUSE OF ALL THIS AND SO MUCH MORE I WILL NO LONGER ABUSE MY BODY WITH FOOD - I WILL USE THIS AS A TOOL TO CHANGE MY LIFE AND TO ADVOCATE TO OTHERS WHO ARE AFFLICTED BY ILLNESSES RELATED TO OBESITY - INCLUDING DEPRESSION AND LOW SELF ESTEEM WHICH THANK GOD I DID NOT HAVE - BUT I WAS THE BRUNT OF SO MANY JOKES. BUT MY FAITHFUL ALONZO NEVER CALLED ME A FAT UNGRATEFUL "b" WHICH WAS ONE OF THE FAVORITE NAMES THAT I WAS CALLED BEFORE.
MARTITA IS BACK ON TRACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
About Me
Before & After
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