windstorm
My journey started about four years ago when my doctor suggested I go for gastric bypass. My initial reaction was...HE'S CRAZY!... All the horror stories that I had heard about??? and he was making this suggestion??? Not that I didn't think I was overweight.... the mirror, the inflexibility's of my body, the dimples in my butt and legs, shortness of breath, lack of energy, and the tightness of all my clothing among other things all proved and confirmed to me that I was overweight. I finally got up the courage one day to ask a girl who had the surgery about it. That's when I started to change my mind. She was so enthusiastic and energetic. Still not quite at her goal yet she said it was the best thing she had ever done for herself. I began talking more about it with family and friends. Most of what I heard was how everyone was scared because of all the bad things they had "heard". I sat on the idea for awhile...meanwhile putting on more weight and feeling frustrated. At some point I talked to my doctor again and asked him to make the referral. He suggested EMMC and said they were the best and that they would know how to take care of me. I trust my doctor....he took very good care of me when I had leukemia 10+ years ago. I would say about a year and half ago I finally went to the class and the mandatory support group meeting. Wow...did I have a lot of misconceptions! I began talking more and more to people and starting meeting people in my own town who had the surgery. I was surprised how many I actually met. All of them said the same thing. It wasn't the easist thing to do but it was the best thing they had done for themselves. While doing through all my pre-op classes and testing I ended up getting into a car accident on the way home from my sleep study. I broke some bones in my foot and had to have surgery for that so this has postponed my gastric bypass. I'm not dissapointed about that because it gave me even more time to be prepared and work on myself. Since June of this year I have lost 23 lbs. I feel so much better now that my sleep apnea is treated and I'm going to the gym on a regular basis. Everyday is a struggle trying to remind myself that every bite counts and I'm doing the best I can and I know the surgery will be a great tool it helping me be more successful at losing and keeping it off. I'm so thankful that my husband has been my biggest supporter. My daughter is a great supporter even at the young age of 14. Tomorrow is my big day.....
