Leesa.W
For some time, I thought about having the WLS. I finally decided to just do the dang thing. I prayed and asked GOD to show me the way and if this surgery was for me. Honestly, I had no stumbling blocks with getting approved or a surgery date. SInce I started with the OH/BAF two months post op, I will take most of my journey/story from there and proceed.
9/22/06 Okay, let's begin. On 4/25/06 I had my appt w/ the surgeon and my psych eval done. ALl went well. On 7/21/06 I had all my pre op testing done. Then on 7/25/06, I had to go to a mandatory nutrition/exercise class. That was informative. On 4/7/06 (I had to bactrack a little bit) I seen my MD and the labs showed I had some inflammation of my liver...oh boy. I had an abdominal ultrasound and things were fine. I was medically cleared. When the devil says no, GOD SAYS YES!!! SOmeone had cancelled in May and they called to see if I was ready. I was not, because I wanted the surgert after my birthday and after my summer college courses. They could not schedule me until all those gaps were filled from May until July. So when they called me in July, I told them 7/31/06. I was fine until the week before my surgery, you talking about anxiety, boy did I have it bad. I kept thinking, oh Lord what am I doing here. Then some of my family, friends, coworkers tried to talk me out of it. There was no stopping me, GOD had showed me that it was okay. So I was not about to listen to man, when GOD had already given me the approval.
My date has arrived. My mom, my son, and my best friend came w/ me to the hospital at 6:15 am. I was a nervous wreck, because I had NEVER had surgery before. Natural childbirth does not oount. My best friend and I prayed like no other. I kept praying, then they wheeled me away. I saw tears in my son's eyes and he said "Mom I love you and I know eerything will be okay" and he kissed my cheek. Okay, I need some tissue again (LOL). I was taken to the surgical holding area, and the anesthelogist started my IV and the nurse comforted me, then the surgeon came and reassured me. Yup, you guessed it, I still had tears in my eyes, rolling down my face. Then I woke up in the recovery room w/ a pca pump and hardly no pain. Wow!!! I walked all three days of my hospital stay.
Home from the hospital. I slept the first couple of days, could barely drink the liquids because I was so full. I followed those instructions to the tee. I had everything at home I needed including love and support. I was still okay w/ the minimal pain. Every night, my son read a certain passage of scripture to me. "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything and GOD will"... He has made a way for me to obtain my health and a second chance.
On 8/10/06, I had my f/u appt and my steri strips were removed. I was told that I don't eat enough. Funny how before, who woulda thought... On 8/22/06 I had an appt w/ my MD and my labs showed my iron was low. A week later I started exercising at the gym, Lord have mercy on my soul and my body. On 9/7/06 another appt w/ the surgeon and I was told to eat every three hours and sip some watta. I never had to take pills before, but now I take my vitamins faithfully.
Oh yeah, after I had my son my metabolism was shot. Then the weight began... I had another appt(12/06) and my labs have improved and my weight loss is slow, but coming off. I purchased some liquid protein b/c I hate the powder and shakes. I found out that I have a fetish w/ the scale. Several times a day, I weigh myself. I know shame on me. I purchased a treadmill and have been working it out.
Until next time...240/193/163.
