purplerose730
I am 29 yrs old, recently moved from NJ to FL. I moved here in Mid November and in Jan of 2005 I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with Congestive heart failure. I had fluid in my lungs all the way up past my chest. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks the 2nd week I was there I was weighed at 626 when I saw those numbers I almost collapsed on the scale. I didn't know I weighed that much. This was after they had drained about 8 or 9 gallons of fluid out of me. After 2 weeks they let me go home and the Dr sent me home with NO prescriptions!! I was back 2 weeks later because I had gained over 50 lbs in fluid back. I was there for another week this time I was sent home with prescriptions.
Ok Where shall I start? Well I been overweight pretty much all of my life. I really got heavy I would say in 2000 when I had my own first apt. I lived alone and I would say it's not a good thing for me to do. Being that I lived alone, I didn't feel the need to cook entire meals if I was the only one eating so I lived on frozen foods and dinners. NOT A GOOD THING!! I started researching WLS when I met this woman online named Ann and she was going to have it also. So for months I researched it and tried to get some kind of assistance because I worked but I had no insurance, I could not find ANY help.I even wrote to talk shows. So eventually after trying and trying I figured god didn't mean for me to have this surgery.
Once I moved here to Florida, I applied for disability being my situation had gotten worse I was now disabled. It didn't take too long for me to get the medicaid card, Still waiting for the other part to come through.
I went to my first info session on March 24. I had already met Dr. Cox in the hospital in January. I have to say he is the nicest man. So now my journey begins I have a pulmonologist appt on March 30, I need to do a sleep study ASAP.
Well on March 30 I went to the pulmonologist and he sent me straight to the ER, I had fluid in my lungs again! I was hospitalized for a week. Doctor put me on a protein diet and wants me to lose 100 lbs before surgery, honestly i'm starting to feel discouraged. :o(
Well I was in from March 30th to April 5th, went back in the 19th and was admitted until April 27th. I have been diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) I was sent home with oxygen and have to wear it 18 hours a day. Meanwhile I'm still waiting for Disability to come through. I have to have a sleep study done on May 6th to get fitted for a CPAP. On the bright side I lost 14 lbs in 7 days and am now under 600!!
Went to see Dr. Cox on May 18 lost 30 lbs in 21 days~!! That brings my total up to 44 lbs.. 56 more lbs till surgery~ Current weight 566
Went to Dr today.. June 7 lost 10 more lbs!! yay me
45 more to go before surgery.
June 19, 1:37 AM... Still no word from disability but I might have a little at home job thanks to SusanMaria from Bariatric eating. I have met the nicest people on this website. I wish the days would go by faster.
June 25, 2005 Today I met Susan Maria.. one of the sweetest people I have met. I have said it before and I'll say it again there is a reason our paths have crossed. Still no word from disability.. but my future is looking brighter.
STILL NO DISABILITY MONEY as of July 23!! I attended an info session in Hollywood FL for a Dr. Thomas Bass.. I am scheduled for a Consult on August 26. He informed me I'd have to have the VSG first because of my weight and because I am a high risk patient. I can't wait to get this started.
August 19, 2005 Well I finally recieved my disability money. What a relief. My consultation with Dr. Bass is on Tuesday the 23rd of August. I am nervous but excited.
August 23, Well I had my consult today it went pretty well. Went through hell to get there but I made it. I lost 24 more lbs and am now 541 I know it's still alot but I was close to 700 in January. Now my family is gonna pull together to get my 1/2 of the money I need for out of pocket costs. Wish me luck!!
Well as of Today Sept 17, I have had blood work done, went to a support group, saw the nutritionist, the psychologist, and being treated for h pylori and this thursday i go for my gall bladder ultra sound. I lost 6 more lbs and am down to 535 when I saw the nutritionist. All these appts are driving me crazy!! But in the end I know it's all worth while. I can't wait till I get a date!
Sept 26, Well I had my gall bladder ultra sound on the 22nd and everything looked good. Now I have to see the nutritionist for clearance and make another appt. with the surgeon... hopefully soon I will have a date.
Well today is December 20. I have been offline since about the end of October. I moved to a new apartment on October 23. October 24th Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, we lost power at about 6 am that morning. We had no power for about 10 days which was not long compared to some people. It was rough, it was so hard to get ice and water and the gas station lines were blocks long. On November 1st about an hour after the power came back on as I was rejoicing in front of my fan and enjoying the air conditioner talking on the phone with a friend, there was a knock on the door. It was a sheriff's deputy and he said mam you have to grab some personal belongings and any pets if you have any and evacuate the building. I said why? and he said well the roof is caving in, I said I have nowhere to go and he said there are buses out front if you need to go to a shelter. They evacuated 2 buildings because of roof damage, a total of 84 apartments. I hurried to grab some clothes, my purse and my cat. I called my boyfriend at work and told him what was going on they let him go home early. I called my friends that we used to share an apartment with and told them they said they would be there ASAP to pick us up. As I sat in the hallway watching people run in and out frantically hauling things from their apartments, tvs, computers, stereos, I thought to myself do these people know what a few PERSONAL belongings mean?? I wondered if things could get any worse. Well my boyfriend got there grabbed some more things and we left with our friends to go back to our old apartment where there was no power but we stayed there and eventually moved with them to their new apartment. Well to make this story a little shorter we kept getting the run around from our place about when we could go back one story after another so we just luckily found a new place and if it hadn't been for the money we got from FEMA I don't know what I would have done. We were displaced for over a month, we moved to a new apartment December 3rd. Ok now onto my other problems lol My full medicaid coverage ended in September. I currently am suppose to be taking 2 water pills twice a day, a lung pill once a day in the evening and 3 heart pills a day. Due to the fact that they put me on a share of cost plan with medicaid. I have been taking all my meds only once a day which in turn has caused me to start retaining water again, and now my lungs are acting up. I'm getting the coughing the shortness of breath. I'm tired all the time, no energy. I have posted a few times on the board to see if anyone can offer me any advice any ideas on what I can do. I fear that they med supply company might knock on my door one day and take back the oxygen machine because medicaid is not paying them. I have so much to write but I grow weary... I wrote to montell williams today and to Richard Simmons. I hope to get an answer from someone. Well in a day or 2 I will write more...
Dying to live
Rachel A. Perez
Well Today is March 19, 2006. I have not posted since December. I guess by this time I was hoping to have had surgery but that dream was crushed when they switched my medicaid plan. My close friend is going to Mexico in June to have her lap band done. She wants me to look into it. At this point I think I just might. I am just worried about being able to pay it off. I did recieve a response from Richard Simmons. We emailed back and forth a few times he suggested I go to a rehabilitation place in Brookhaven NY but it's not something that is feasible for me. I just need to get surgery and recover at home. God give me strength ...
Well today is April 16, 2007 1:18 pm
I am sitting here waiting for PT and decided to update everyone or anyone who reads my profile lol. I found a new primary dr. he set me up with some home health care and they asked me if I wanted physical therapy which has been helping me. I have been doing it for the past 3 weeks not much just little excersices but little by little. I am currently waiting for my surgeons office to become a center or excellence otherwise Medicare will not pay for my surgery, one headache after the other right?? lol Well now being that I am on Medicare as of March 2007 my medical supply company which supplies my oxygen and bi pap wants me to go to another sleep study UGH cuz I just love them so much. So they called my pulmonologist which I have not seen since August of 2006 to sign some paperwork but they will not sign anything until I come in to see him.. another problem.. I have no transportation.. I signed up for paratransit... so now they sent me a letter after I went to the Dr. and had him sign the papers stating I was not physically able to use public transportation because of my lung issues and due to my inability to walk more than 100 feet. So now they want me to come in to be evaluated to prove that I cannot use public transportation so I have to drag myself there with my wheelchair which was delivered about 2 weeks ago and I still have NO LEG RESTS for it lol. So that is pretty much where I am they said I need a valid FL id but all I have is my NJ one..
They said it was ok.. I was thinking I might have to go to the DMV to get one which would have been another headache LOL... Well I guess that is all for right now. I will update more as soon as some changes occur.
Take care for now
Rachel...
