Terrif
My story starts when i was a kid growing up in Green Bay wisconsin. I was always very active and thin as a child. NOBODY would have looked at me then and thought I would end up where I am right now.
When I was about 9 my mom noticed i was walking 'funny' and started the long journey to many medical professionals to find out what was going on with me. As i grew and got older, i started having a lot of pain in my knees. Sometimes the pain was so unbearable I couldnt stand it and yet all my tests came back negative. They started treating me for arthritis but I didnt have that.
Finally when i was 13 a friend of our family suggested we go to chicago to get another opinion. So I went down and stayed at a children's hospital there for 2 weeks. They finally diagnosed me as having Legg Calve Perthes disease which is a disease in children that makes their hip joint necrotic. My poor hip bones were basically eaten up by this disease and thats why my knees hurt so much (later to find out its a classic symptom of hip disorders). But even more crucial is they found out that my spine had started to slip forward from my body being off kilter and it was about to sever itself. I had an emergency spinal fusion and thus the beginning of the weight problems for me.
Obesity runs in my family so with my limited mobility and the chronic pain i was having, each year caused me some weight gain creeping up on me. By the time I was 35 i was 200+lbs and then i got pregnant. I only gained 10lbs with my baby but after that my body was really drained and in pain. My mobility went downhill quickly from there and i ended up not being able to walk much at all and having to use a scooter.
I really needed hip replacement surgery but they wouldnt do it because i was too young. over the last 10 years my weight went up and up and now im at 307 lbs. and oh yeah i forgot to tell you im only 4' 10.5 inches tall!!!! Cant have the hip surgery now because I am too heavy and I cant lose weight because i cant move.
Finally I decided to check into the WLS. My two sisters (who dont have mobility issues) had the open RNY done and lost a lot of weight!. I figured out that i really cant do this any other way and started to actively pursue getting it done. Lo and behold, my health insurance from work changed their policy the year before to exclude WLS of any type!
I was very familiar with vocational rehabilitation and i decided to get some help from them. I discussed the surgery with them and they agreed as long as i was physically a candidate for the surgery.
Of course the process has taken me years to get to where I am now and now its just a matter of two more evaluations and then a date (I hope). Then on to the next phase of getting my life back!
I cant wait to be a more active mother and spend more time with my daughter pain free and able to get around! I know I will always have problems related to my orthopedic issues but nothing compared to where i am now! This is like a fairy tale granting all my wishes!
My partner in life is my sweetheart Tim. He is so great and loves me as is but I know he will love me just as much or more when i can feel better do more and maybe even sit on his lap now and then!
