Beginnings

Wow. I re-read my intro post and find it really difficult to even fathom weight 319 lbs.  Just wow.

I'm a member of an online forum. I was just reading about a lady that had her surgery 2 weeks ago. It is so exciting to me to talk to people who have just had the surgery and watch how they grow and change inside and out during this long process.

Beginnings

I'm in a 5 year program. My final visit will be..should be...June 2014 when I should be discharged.  The program is intense. As everyone else, I went through the physical testing....the sleep studies, the lungs, heart, psych, blood work, etc.  In the beginning it really bothered me. I remember that first visit as if it were yesterday.

It started with my PCM. I made the appointment hoping for a referral for the surgery. I think one of the hardest things I've ever done was talk to the doc that morning. I was so scared. So nervous. I have a great deal of pride. To openly admit to someone I needed help and to actually accept the help is a big deal from me. But I did it.

She asked why I had made the appointment to see her and I could feel the tears. I was fighting them back with all I had when I look her square in the eyes and said "I need help to fix myself". Then I cried. She was so empathetic. Listening to me..why I was there...what I wanted. I talked about my kids and wanting to be there when they grew up. I didn't want to die.

And so it started. I got my referral to the Naval Medical Center Bariatrics Group and I was on my way. She gave me a list of all the appointments I would have to make, all the doctors I would have to see before the surgery would even be considered. She sent me over for blood work and the game was on.