Mary V.
My name is Mary. I am officially morbidly obese. I am 52 years old, 5'2 and 1/2 and weighed at my first weigh in at the doc's 290lbs. I have never looked at myself as being morbidly obese, but, according to the numbers, I am.
So, let's go back to how I got to be so; I was a chubby child, a fat teen, a "fat" adult and now a morbidly obese middle aged woman. As a young teenager I used to dread school clothes shopping. My mom would berate me, (she was 4'10 and weighed around 125lbs. She berated me so much during those trips to get clothes, that I would cry while we would be picking out my clothes in the "adult" section. Back then, the clothes actually had quite the "old lady" look to them. Thus, when I went to school the first day, I always felt out of sorts. Never had trouble making friends, since I used my heavyness to my advantage and would joke about how "if I got into the desk, I might not get out!"...just to give you an idea.
At home, all I ever got from my family was teased about being fat from 3 brothers, my mother, cousins, and then there was my dad who never really had much to say. Dad remarried when I was 11 years old. His wife was the closest I have ever felt to having a mother figure who was a friend too. She understood me and my insecurities, since she was an overweight kid growing up too. I wanted her to take me school clothes shopping when I was around 14 years old, and my mom would be so jealous, she wouldn't want me to go....yet, money was tight, so she let me. Mom didn't know how to deal with my obesity, and her constant belittling of me just enforced and ensured I would remain overweight. Those days were nice with my step-mom. Good memories. To this day, she has a special place in my heart for always making me feel good at being me. Thank you, Kathy
Still the stigma of being overweight was a large part of me and has remained so to this day. I look in the mirror and I see this woman who is overweight, not morbidly obese! Yet, I know now that I have Diabetes, and all the other things that occupany this illness are frightening, I need to do something to make a change in my life. I've been through a divorce, 22 years ago, and I got lucky 3 months after we filed and I found a man who has loved me as I am, the whole package, even if he is not without flaws, he has always been there for me, thank you, Lupe. He understands my need for this surgery. My children even understand the need. So, with God's help, I am going to look at this chapter in my life as my saving grace. I am going to give it my all to do the best I can and try to be the best that I can be. My faith in God is strong and my faith in myself to be able to follow this through as a life long journey is tremendous. I look forward to a new me, a new future and for once in my life, I am going to be proud to be me, completely. I thank Dr. Zare' for giving me this opportunity. I thank my family for supporting me in this journey. It is going to be tough going, but, I'm ready.
