princessfrogee
This will probably be drawn out, but who cares, it is my blog page and if you don't want to read it...move on! Sorry to be so crass, but rarely do I ever get to speak my feelings and here I can whether anyone else reads it or not. Though I leave it open for all to read so that if you want to know about me, you can read it. I am doing it (the blog portion) for documentation for myself most of all.
I was born and raised in Norman, Oklahoma. (BOOMER SOONER!) I left just out of high school to go into the Army where I met my husband. We both got out of the military and got married and moved to Oregon where he was from. After a few yrs we moved on to Alaska, where he had lived as a kid. We lived there for ten yrs. We had our first daughter and when she was about two we became foster parents to a sibling group of three children. The children were going to be put up for adoption and it went back and forth as to whether or not we could adopt them as they were Alaska Native. At one point we were told they were being sent to distant relatives in the villages and split up. These children had never been to a village before. So we decided to try for a second child of our own, then when both parents fought for us to keep them so that they could stay together and they would get visitations. So we decided to put baby #2 on hold until things were settled w/the foster children and OOPS! too late, we were expecting. The adoption was finalized the same week my son was born, making us get four children in one week! ha ha Sadly, the parents rarely came to see them and after four years, eventually my husbands job moved us out of state. Through a series of events, we landed in Alabama where we now reside and as with everywhere we go, the in-laws follow. (whole other drama there)
I started gaining weight in middle school. Not necessarily due to my problems, but due to the problems of my siblings, as well as them being favored by one parent or another, whom were divorced, there was little attention left for me so I would turn to food. I was always very shy as a kid and was too embarrassed to even attempt sports to stay in shape and the few times I did try, my mother could never afford it. There were a few times when I was older that I got chances at sports, but was degraded to clean toilets and locker rooms at the private school I went to at the time in trade for the fees. Don't misunderstand me, because I fully agree w/paying my way and working in exchange for something, but it was the way the snobs treated me that made it so degrading. I didn't stay on the team long despite the coach begging me to stay. At 5'11" I was an assett to the basketball team, just had no confidence to stick with it. 
When I joined the Army, I gained confidence I had never had before in my life. The two yrs prior to going in, I had started speaking up and standing up to people, but it was more out of anger than anything. I got my point across, but tended to make things worse or traumatize people that I dare stand up for myself!! ha ha I lost 70+ lbs just to get into the Army and did so by doing Weight Watchers. Let me back up, I started WW my senior yr in high school then my mom up and moved to a honky-tonk town....hmmm not sure I could even call it that....and there was no WW nearby, but there was an Army recruiter several doors down from us. I got in and even attempted jump school. I loved to run and the drills loved when I could be put up front to set the pace. The men hate when women are pace setters because we run differently. I ran fast so they tried to pick me. Well it is a little different in jump school and I was injured twice just trying to keep up with runs. The first time I pulled muscles in my thigh and the second time carteledge ripped from my ribcage and so I was done and could not finish. After that I never could do push-ups or sit-ups and I had always done great on those on PT tests prior to that. It was heartbreaking. Then add to that we were truck drivers in Germany and were never able to eat at a chow hall so it was junk food on the go all the time. If you have ever been to Germany, you would know they don't have an exit every five to ten miles and they certainly don't have a McDonald's at every exit and our semi's were not allowed on most of the exits as our trucks were bigger than their roads or they had ordinances of no semis in the city or village limits. I fought my weight the whole time I was in.
Ever since, I have fought my weight and yo-yo'd up and down. I could lose 50-100 lbs only to watch it creep back. I am told my metabolism is slow. My thyroids have been tested several times as I am one that has to follow a diet strictly and exercize AGGRESSIVELY HARD six days a wk for two hours a day and if I don't the scale shows it. Thyroid was always normal until they did my pre-ops on 6/8/11 to find that the thyroid is elevated. I am hoping it is a fluke in the test or that they return to normal, if that is possible. They said that we would re-test post-op and follow up with my PCP. I just pray it goes away!!
My two oldest are graduated and moved out and I have one grandson. 
The three at home are 17, 14 and 10. My husband has had to take a job overseas as there are no jobs willing to pay enough here. For the past two yrs I have been going back to college (after 14 yrs of being a stay-at-home mom) and am just a few classes shy of my Associates Degree in Elem. Ed. Sadly, my MIL informed us at the end of last yr that she can no longer care for my disabled SIL who was in a car wreck when she was 17 and suffers a traumatic brain injury. She falls through the cracks and cannot live on her own or in a group home and is not bad enough for an institution. So she had to move in with our family. At first we thought we had it all worked out, but we don't and it has put a serious wrench in our lives. Have had to sit out the past two terms. 
I began looking into WLS almost six yrs ago. My husband had insurance that would cover it, but due to his job changes, my mom having breast cancer and having to go help her through chemo and radiation, another move and then a move to Alabama.....it just wasn't in the cards to get it done. Started the process about a yr ago and while husband was home on leave he gets an email stating that his company has lost their bid on their new contract and therefore he was not guaranteed a job past a certain date. So he stayed home and tried to find work at home to no avail. Back overseas he went with another company. This one does not cover WLS. I had pretty much given up on it all when we got our tax return back. Though he is tax exempt while working overseas, he has it taken from his check just in case he gets hurt or has to return before the minnimum days overseas is fullfilled. It paid off on our taxes that is for sure!! He told me to go deposit the check, apply for a small loan to make up the difference and schedule my surgery!! I was SHOCKED!! But he didn't have to tell me twice!! ha ha I started out heading for Lapband, but after much research found that too many get it revised to the RNY anyway so I changed to RNY and am scheduled for 6/21/11...next Tuesday!! 
