"rnrn rnrn Hi Everyone on Obesity Help! I am writing this today to give a testimonial about the experiences I had with the Mount Sinai Medical Center Surgically Slim Staff, in particular, Dr. Kini and Jennifer, Fonda and Amy! These people have helped me so much, that I posted the following post on the VSG board today, after my 1 month Post Op visit...rnPost Date: 9/18/06 7:13 pmrnHey everyone! Got some GREAT news today. Since I began my journey at 320 pounds on 8-17, I have eliminated 28 pounds!rnrnI love this operation. I feel so much more control of my life. I am feeling energetic like I cannot believe. The other day I realized that I can now make it up 3 flights of stairs without stopping! This is major. I used to get so winded and have to stop a couple of times!! Now I am no spring chicken, I am 47 but I mean I have seen some 70 year olds move quicker up my steps.rnrnI really really am so excited and so happy. I havent seen the \"Two Hundreds\" since before all my kids were born! I am exercising at a cardiac rehab gym so that my heart is gonna get healthier now. And, I am optimistic, about being able to keep this weight off forever! I just feel so much stronger!rnrnNow I want to say a little something about my Surgeon and His Staff. First, though, on this post, if anyone wants to chime in about their surgeon and why they feel he or she was the best, please feel free, but I just gotta talk about my Doc!rnrnrnHe was so understanding about my troubles preop. When I began to talk to him you know, I began to cry and he held me. I mean really held me. And I was crying like a baby, probably got all my tears on his beautiful suit, but he didnt seem to mind at all. He kept telling me that he understood and that he knew what I was going through. His Assistant, Jennifer...God, if an angel was ever made it was definetly her. She was the most supportive Nurse Practioner I have ever met! So dedicated!!! She called me back everytime I called.rnrnSome of you remember, I had to wait almost a year for medicare to cover/for Mt Sinai to become what Medicare calls a center of excellence...imagine here I was ready to do the surgery mentally, and I had had all my testing, and medicare at the last second decides to require everyone to become a Center of Excellence. I called Jennifer crying about it. I called Jennifer to bug her to bug the powers at be at Mt Sinai, to hurry them to become certified..as if she could do that, but you know what, no matter what pain I was...she was sooooo sweet, so professional, so understanding that I was hurting so bad and just needed that surgery so much. Jennifer was my rock, during the storm for real!!! Her calmness and her careful thought on how to attack the problems at hand, were what I needed! I thank God she was there for me!rnrnFonda the Medical Assistant was always so on time. Things I didnt think of, Fonda did! She asked the questions for me, when I forgot. She went the extra mile to find out how I could go about getting my coverage and when it was out of her league she showed me how to find out from the administration of the hospital. I needed letters, lots of them, to docs that had given me my tests almost a year ago, asking if they would see me again, as a followup, so as not to totally have to be scoped again excetera, she arranged it all for me! Fonda was truly the Bomb! She got things Done!rnrnAmy is my Nutritionist. Everything that Amy heard about my pre preop diet was true...it was terrible. And I knew it. But I had cemented such bad habits that I truly justified alot of them. Amy was beyond reasonable. She knew she was dealing with someone who had talked herself into \"I am a failure\" kind of spirit. She was there to talk me right out of that! Everytime I told her things like, \"Oh I hate diet food\" she would come back with \" yeah I dont blame you, but if you try it this way, you will not hate it, I promise\" and she was right! The encouragement from Amy, that I could really do this, was incredible. She didnt flinch when I told her what I thought of food, or shall I say the bad foods I used to eat. She just understood where I was coming from and told me how to get out of the rut I was in. She asked me to trust her, to allow her to take me out of the horrible eating habit place I was in. I couldnt refuse!rnrnrnWhen I went in for my one month Post Op today, Amy gave me the first good news! I lost some weight! I am walking differently!! With a spring in my step! Fonda took me next and congratulated me the whole time! As we saw my blood pressure in the normal range we cheered together! Then it was Jens turn! She looked at my inscisions and asked me how everything was! I told her I was beyond happy. I felt like this was a dream. One that I never want to wake up from, and she knew exactly what I meant!rnrnLast I saw the man, Dr. Kini! He came in beaming! His face is just so sweet and full of compassion! You know, I saw him, got up and we embraced and I began to cry again. He understood. This is the first day of the rest of my life!rnrnGod Bless You All!rn"
