Pat A.
My story, like most others, start as far back as a young child. I was just "chubby" then, "pleasingly plump". As a teenager I was a thin 110. But, my life got turned upside down at age 18 and from then on my weight just kept climbing, and climbing which brought me to where I am now. I fought the battle with so many different diets, I'd lose and gain it all back. So, yeah, I'm still quite a skeptic with this surgery.
You see, I didn't think I was heavy enough for gastric bypass surgery. Oh yeah, I had co-mobilities like sleep apnea, type II diabetes, hypertension, trouble breathing, etc. I was really in bad medical shape. So, my son suggested this surgery. This lead me to ask my PCP (knowing that he would say no, that I wasn't heavy enough, I was already at 259 lbs). Surprisingly, he said yes, this surgery would be a big help to me in all my illnesses! So, the process began.
I finally got approval and a surgery date on 08/11/08, the day before my son’s birthday! My psych evaluation was done; my appt was kept with the nutritionist. My surgery went good and my only problem was in X-ray the next day when I had to drink all the “stuff”. I was allowed to go home after two days.
I have now lost a total of 111 lbs. Whereas I couldn’t walk across the room without losing my breath and I couldn’t get in and out of my bathtub alone, I am now walking 1 ½ miles or riding my bicycle or roller skating now each day. I wear a size 6, my blood pressure is normal, my cholesterol is at 131, I no longer have diabetes or GERD! Imagine that! I have no breathing problems where I was once told that I was in cardiac failure.
I love life now, it’s worth living. And, I want to help others get to their “WOW” moments and cheer them on in their goals.
