Chere S.
I'm Chere. I am a wife, mother of 3 beautiful children, a critical care nurse, and I'm overweight. I don't remember a time that I was ever thin. However, in retrospect, I would be happy to still be the 170 lbs that I thought was so grotesquely fat when I was 19. Somehow over the last 20 years, I've managed to gain another 120 lbs, which leads me to this site and seeking the help of Dr. Lord.
In the past, surgery had been a remote, far away idea for me. I thought only those who hadn't really tried to lose weight got surgery. What a crock that is. I, like so many of you, have tried every diet possible to lose weight and I've failed miserably.
I moved to Pensacola in 2004, a few months before Ivan hit. I was working at a hospital and saw many gastric bypass surgeries that went terribly wrong. I can't tell you how many people I saw die. I then thought that was the norm, and I thought why would anyone get surgery if this happens so frequently. Surgery was still at the back of my mind. Then one day I saw Dr. Lord at my hospital rounding for another surgeon. Someone commented that he was from Sacred Heart and I'd probably see him around. See, I was just getting ready to start a new job at SH. I jokingly made the comment that I hoped I never saw him and qualified it by saying I didn't want to see his patients in the critical care unit. He made a comment that at the time I thought was very arrogant, "My patients don't end up in critical care." With the recent experiences I had, I didn't believe him, but just smiled and said, "OK." I wonder if he heard the sarcasm in my voice.
Well, I've been at SH for over a year now and he was right. I still have not seen any of his patients in my unit. I talked to other nurses that had been there if it was true and none of them could think of any patients that had been in there. So last summer, I went to his seminar and started really considering gastic bypass surgery. I found a primary care doctor, talked to him about surgery, he was in agreement and the process began.
If I hadn't missed one weigh in, I would've been eligible for surgery back in Dec/Jan. But that's OK, it gave me more time to accumulate time off at work, and to make sure it was the right decision for me. I see my PCP May 17 and that will be my last weigh in. Then the fun begins...I hope.
My husband has been supportive of my decision. I am certain that my weight loss will drastically improve my life in so many ways. I can't wait to run with my kids and not get tired out playing with them. My house needs to be redecorated/walls painted and I'll have the energy to do that. The list goes on.
I am having a hard time being upfront and honest about getting the surgery done with most. I don't want to hear the bad comments and have people tell me that it can be done with diet and exercise. I am living proof that it can't always be done that way. I need to learn to embrace this part of my life and not worry about what other people think. I've shared it with the important people in my life and have received mixed reviews. But it's easier to disagree with the ones you love and get them to see your side rather than having acquaintances give you their opinion when they know so little about you.
Anyways, that's my story...more to come in the next chapter.
