Today Is The Day!!

Hello all!  I am finally here!  Today is a day that is going to change my life!  :-)  Travis and I have to be at the hospital at 11:00 this morning, and my surgery has been moved to 1:00 pm.  I haven't been allowed anything to eat or drink (not even water) since midnight, so I'm trying not to think about how hungry and thirsty I am.  Thankfully, I slept VERY well last night...feel like I am well rested.  I'm actually surprised by how well I slept!  :-)

I want to thank you all for the many, many well wishes, hugs, prayers, kind thoughts, words of encouragement-you name it.  Thank you, thank you so much.  They mean so much to me.  There were a couple of you who posted to my wall on Facebook...please do not be offended or hurt but if you don't see your posts anymore, it is because I removed them.  I haven't shared my news with world of Facebook yet.  I will eventually, when I'm ready.  I've chosen to surround myself with the people I love dearly..people I know who have my back and support me and lift me up in prayer...I believe that the Facebook realm may open me up to some negativity and unwanted opinions, which is something I really want to avoid right now. 

So, off I go.  Thank you all again-I love you all.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers.  I will update again as soon as I can. 

3 DAYS....

Well here we are..."IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN"!!!  Tomorrow is my last day of the full liquid pre op diet.  Tuesday I will be on all clear liquids.  And Wednesday, my life changes forever.  :-)  It's been tough this weekend...yesterday, I learned that one of my best friends passed away, just 5 days after giving birth to her baby girl.  I am heartbroken and shocked.  Yesterday, I fought a big battle against turning to food for comfort-like I would have in the past.  I fought and won. 

My heart hurts for her family, and her sweet baby girl.  My heart hurts for me and for the rest of her friends that will miss her so much.  But I am so thankful that I had her friendship, for however brief a time it may have been.  I am so thankful for her support and all of her encouragement during this journey. 

I will continue to keep the blog updated as much as I can.  Please remember me on November 17th.  My surgery is scheduled for 4:00 pm, and I have to be at the hospital at 1:30.  Thanks for reading!

11 Days....

Day 4 of the full-liquid, pre-op diet.  So far, so good-although we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, and there is a Subway there...and the smell of the bread literally made my mouth water!!  :-(  I walked past it very, very quickly.  This week I have been through hopefully all of my pre-op testing.  My endoscopy was on Wednesday and it went well.  I had blood tests, a stress echo and a chest x-ray on Thursday. 

It's hard to believe that in 11 days, I'm going to change my life forever.  I'm nervous, but very excited too.  I'm getting ready to put an end to a 16-year struggle...and I will win the battle and the war!!  :-)  I'm so happy that I've made the decision to do this.  I am so thankful for my wonderful, supportive husband (who is doing the liquid diet with me, by the way), and the support of my family and friends. 

I'm also finding that the closer I get to my surgery date, the more I see dissent and disapproval starting to creep out of the woodwork.  People ask, "Isn't the surgery too dangerous?"  No.  No more dangerous than having your gall bladder removed.  How many thousands of people have that done in a day?  "Will you ever to be able to eat again?"  Yes.  Absolutely.  I will eat again-I will eat normal foods again...just in much smaller portions, and I won't have to fight the mind trick that I need more.  "Can't you just lose weight the old-fashioned way?"  No.  I've tried that for 16 years, only to watch myself gain weight year after year. 

I'm ready to have my life back.  I'm 35 years old, and I want my life back.  I have a fabulous husband, a fantastic family, friends, church family, etc.  I have so much to be thankful for.  I am so blessed-and I am ready to live like the blessed girl I am.  I have no doubts that God is with me on my journey.  So I don't have much time for nay-sayers.  This is a path that I chose for myself.  With God's strength, and with the love and support of all my "cheerleaders"....LET'S DO THIS!!

15 Days and Counting

Hello all!  It's only Monday and a lot has happened!  My surgery has been scheduled for November 17th!  This week I go through some pre-op procedures.  Wednesday I go in for my endoscopy, and Thursday I go for blood tests, stress echo and chest x-rays.  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers....it's gettin' real!!

WOWZERS!!!! BIG NEWS!!!

Just a small blog tonight...but we just cleared a major hurdle!  Right at the end of the day I got a call from the Weight Management Clinic.  My insurance has approved my surgery!!!!  I am over the moon!  I'm amazed....I've worried and worried and worried about this.  It happened so fast...the clinic just submitted my claim yesterday-and they had the approval TODAY!  Wow.  I love Blue Cross Blue Shield!  :-)  Now it's on to pre-op testing and scheduling the surgery.  I should know my surgery date Monday! 

And the Countdown OFFICIALLY Begins....

I met my surgeon today!  Wow, he is wonderful!  I had visions of some House-like character.  (House-the arrogant doctor many of us love to hate).  But he wasn't at all like that.  He was laid-back, down to earth, very warm and compassionate.  I was blown away.  Also very impressed...a surgeon has to have performed 100 laparoscopic gastric bypass surgeries to be considered an expert.  My surgeon, Dr. Christopher (Chris) Edwards, has performed over 800!!!!  So I think I'm in very capable hands.  Needless to say, I feel so much better after getting to meet him, talk to him, ask a hundred questions, etc.  He really put my mind at ease about a lot of things.  Travis went with me to my appointment and he liked Dr. Edwards as well.  He said that as of today, we are about 3 weeks away from surgery!  I have to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery-during that time, I will be undergoing pre-op testing to make sure I'm in good shape for surgery.  Wow...I just can't believe I'm here.  I'm here!  Today was a good day and I'm feeling very good about my decision-but I have my moments.  I have my moments when the gravity of all this hits me.  I've learned so much over the last few months...about myself, about my body and strain that it is currently under, and about the revolution it will undergo during and after surgery.  I'm still nervous about the surgery, but I'm anxious to begin this new phase in my life.  Rephrase that-I'm ready to get my life back.  I'm ready to get ME back. 

Mishaps and Moving Foward at Warp Speed

The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster.  Monday was my final doctor's appointment at the weight managment clinic.  When I checked out, I was informed that that they had not received any medical records for me.  The insurance lady was in a tizzy, freaking out and in a panic...and told ME that I needed to do something about this, because without medical records, my insurance would deny coverage for my surgery!  Then she proceeded to argue with me about what my insurance policy guidelines were.  Needless to say, all of this made me very upset.  Here I am, ready to get in line to meet my surgeon and get down to business...and they have no medical records for me!  What really upset me, was that the clinic has had THREE MONTHS to obtain my records.  That's how long I have been in the bariatric program.  I felt helpless. 
The next day came..after a lot of talking, venting, crying and praying, I made a phone call to one woman-and it turned out to be the best call I could have ever made.  :-)  I called Margaret Bumgarner, Director of Physician Services and Adult Care Services for Mission Hospital.  I explained to her what was going on..that I, as the patient had done EVERYTHING that was required of me, by the program and by my insurance-now only to face a delay due to lack of follow-up from the clinic staff.  Let me tell you, this lady is a miracle worker!  Within the SAME DAY, she intervened on my behalf-the clinic staff obtained all of the medical records that were needed.  My file was sent to the surgeon's office and yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from the surgeon's office to schedule my consult!  Amazing!!
I spoke with Margaret again today and thanked her profusely for all of her help.  She is continuing to intervene for me-she instructed the clinic staff that if there were any problems whatsoever with my case, they are to contact her directly.  She also asked me to keep her phone number, and if I had any problems-with the surgeon's office, the hospital, clinic staff, whatever, to call her.  I know she will never read this, but Margaret, THANK YOU SO MUCH.  She really went above and beyond to help me. 
So...my final nutrition class is tomorrow.  My surgery consult is next Friday, October 22nd.  My surgeon Dr. Christopher Edwards, and from everything I've heard, he's a phenomenal surgeon.  :-)  The countdown is close!!  See you all back on the blog soon. 

My First NSV!!!!

This morning I have had my first NSV!  (Non-Scale Victory).  :-)  I am all smiles about it.  My bariatric program required me to lose 5% of my body weight before I can be sent to the surgeon for a consult.  I am happy to report that I am 4 pounds BELOW the goal weight they asked me to get to.  And...(drum roll, please)....this morning, I put on 2 pairs of jeans that I haven't been able to wear in over 4 years!!!!  They've just been hanging in my closet, waiting for me to get small enough to wear them.  And this morning, I threw away my bigger jeans, which are now hanging on to my hips for dear life so they don't sag to my ankles!  Yippee!!!  I threw them away, because I AM NEVER GOING BACK THERE.  :-) 

Tomorrow, I go for my final doctor's appointment at the weight clinic, and Friday is my final nutrition class.  After that, I will be scheduled for my surgery consult.  Wow, this is happening so fast...a month from now, I will either have recently had surgery, or it will be fast approaching.  So thankful for my wonderful, supportive, husband, family and friends.  Before surgery, I have to do a 2-week straight liquid diet.  Travis has committed to doing the liquid diet with me.  I love him.  :-) 

That's all the news for now...I will keep the blog updated as things develop!  Thanks for reading!

2nd Doctor's Appointment Down

One more to go!!  Today the doctor went over all of my lab work with me...everything is normal, which is great.  He also gave me the results of my psych consult, and apparently I'm not crazy!  (No comments, you guys)  :-) 

My 2nd nutrition class is scheduled for September 27th.  My final doctor's appointment is October 11th and my final nutrition class is on October 15th.  After that, it's on to meet my surgeon! 

First Blog Post...only 2 months late!

Hello everyone!  Forgive me if I'm awkward-this whole "blogging" thing is new to me.  :-)  I've created this blog to journal about a journey in my life that I began 2 months ago, in July.  My sweet hubby, Travis suggested that I begin a blog so that at the end of my journey, I can look back and see where I've been, as well as share my journey with dear family and friends. 

I have decided to undergo weight-loss surgery.  Some of you may remember my skinny days.  Some of you may remember the days when I was energetic, vibrant and full of life.  I remember them too.  I haven't seen those days for quite a while, but I remember them fondly.  For the past 16 years, I have gained more and more weight...year, after year, after year. And yes, I have tried just about every diet there is.  A few years ago, I paid a visit to a doctor for a sinus infection.  Of course, at every doctor's appointment, you are required to weigh-in.  So I did....and for the first time in my life, I was classified into a group that I never imagined I would be in.  I was classifed as "Morbidly Obese".  Morbidly Obese means that your health and your life are in immediate danger-simply because of your weight.   I was crushed..devastated.  I kept thinking, "My God, how did this happen?  How did I get here?"  Anyway, that was a few years ago.  Since then, I have attempted dieting again-with no results, other than to regain the few pounds that I lost plus some.  This is what has brought me to the beginning of this journey.  For the sake of my life, for the woman I know I can be, and for the sake of  my husband, my family and my friends, I have finally reached out for help. 

Like I said, I actually began this journey in July.  After a lot of talking, thinking and praying about this with Travis, I attended the information session and orientation at Mission Hospital's Bariatric Center.  Since then, I have attended a barrage of doctor's appointments, gone through a psychiatric consult, bloodwork, meetings with dieticians, a sleep study, nutrition classes, you name it.  THANKS BE TO GOD that as of now, there appears to be nothing wrong with me related to my weight.  No high blood pressure, no diabetes, no high cholesterol, no sleep apnea...NOTHING.  The absence of what are referred to as "co-morbidites" do not change my decision.  If something is not done about my weight, these health issues are out there waiting for me.  It's not a matter of if, it's when. 

I had originally decided to pursue the Lap-Band form of weight-loss surgery.  Basically a band would be placed around my stomach, making it smaller.  The band could be adjusted with injections/withdrawals of saline to either increase or reduce the restriction around my stomach, controlling how much I could eat. 
However, after meeting the doctor and the dietician, they have suggested to me that for various reasons, the Lap-Band is not a good option for me.  They have asked me to consider Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery.  In the beginning, I was dead set against Bypass.  I have now done a whole lot more research, and have talked to people I know personally who have had Bypass.  I can tell you this:  Gastric Bypass is not nearly as scary and horrible as the media has made it out to be.  Like any surgery, yes, there are people who suffer complications from it..and they tend to be vocal.  :-)  What I have found from my research is that the vast majority of those who suffer complications either 1) are suffering from other health issues prior to the surgery; or 2) are not following the food plan that the Bypass requires them to follow, and they have made themselves sick.  Being that I have no health issues, Gastric Bypass is very low-risk for me.  The surgery is laparoscopic, so I'm not going to be filleted or anything like that.  5-6 very tiny incisions which usually aren't visible after a few months.  I have attended a support group, which is required by the weight-loss program and have spoken with many bypass patients-who have been successful and are so happy that they made the decision to go foward with it.  Every single one of them started out wanting the Lap-Band, and changed their minds and did the Bypass instead.  Not a single regret in the group-I take that back...they all had one regret-that they hadn't done it sooner. 

I have to jump through many hoops to satisfy my insurance...all of the meetings, doctor's appointments, nutrition classes, etc., but if all goes well, I hope to have my surgery some time in November.  I have my next doctor's appointment this Monday, September 20th.  Within the next month or so, I will hopefully be able to finally meet my surgeon. 

Okay, so there's my first blog.  :-)  Sorry, it's a long one...I just wanted to give everyone a glimpse into my journey so far.  Lots of thoughts and prayers are certainly appreciated!  :-)  This has been an emotional journey, but an exciting one.  I'll keep the posts coming as the journey progresses.  Lots of Love to all of you.  Thanks for reading.