Todd3434
Hello, I live in NE Ohio with my wife and our 4 children. I must say I never thought I would be here. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. My story begins much like a lot of others. In my younger years throughout my teen years, I didn't have a weight problem. I always did well in school,I was raised a good home with my parents. I was very active in sports.Growing up I could eat what I wanted with no problems. I began to gain weight in my 20's . I married my wife,graduated College, we had children and I started my career all in my 20's. I started to notice myself gaining weight.. My Mother had a weight problem for most of her life. She developed High Blood Pressure at an early age,so I started to watch what I ate. I'd lose weight only to have it come back,usually with more. This became a cycle of gaining,losing,gaining more. I am still a very active person. I still enjoy coaching my son's AAU Basketball team. My home life is a good one. I have a wonderful wife who holds everything together for us especially the times I have to travel for my job. I really enjoy my job. But My job is a stressful one. It requires my full attention at any given time, as people's safety and lives depend on it. It requires me to travel a great deal at certain times as well. This is difficult because at times I will work 80 hr weeks and of course become physically and emotionally stressed. When it comes to eating I just grab whatever is available at the moment. I know this is wrong and of course it began taking a toll on my health. My wife demanded I see our family Doctor for a complete physical. I knew I was at my heaviest. But I was still shocked to see what I weighed. My cholesterol was so high the Doctor said I could have a Heart Attack at any time. I'm killing myself. That's not what I want,but That's what it comes down to. I want to be here to see my kids graduate college and be at their weddings. I want to sit next to my wife and rock our grandchildren together. I know if I don't get a grip on my health and have this surgery ,I will be losing years of my life and not only for myself,but my wife and children don't deserve that. So,that is my story to this point. I will continue to write about the upcoming events as they happen to me. I have found a great deal from reading others stories. Here goes..... 4/11/07 I attended the 2 hr St. Vincent Hospital in Cleveland, information class that is required to have surgery. Even though I have read a lot of information on the subject of gastric bypass,this class still touched on things I hadn't known. My wife brought along a tablet and took 5 pages of notes. I thought I had my mind set on having LapBand surgery. After attending the class,I am leaning more towards Laproscopic Gastric Bypass . I filled out the papers for St. Vincent to contact my Insurance company for my having surgery. They said I should hear within a week if and what my Insurance will cover. That call is when I have to have a decision made. So far so good....