Anna G.

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DIANE H. 24 years, 7 months ago

ANNA--I was so glad to get your message--sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. My daughter was sick with the CRUD last week and now I am fighting it off. I hope that you hear from Dr. Clements soon and can GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD! I know how hard it is to wait and that when you want something as badly as you and I wanted this the waiting can seem like it is taking forever. I haven't been to Doc since Aug 15 and at that time I had lost 22 pounds since surgery. I have come off all blood pressure medicine (none since the day of surgery!) and I have also stopped all oral diabetes meds. I'm still on insulin but have cut it in half and will eventually (hopefully, soon) stop it also and go back to the oral meds until I can wean off of those. I heard about the support group meeting through this website but until recently never could find out where the meetings were held. I am planning on attending the meeting on Sept 8 since my husband has National Guard drill and won't be at home. Also, my sister and mom both live about 2 miles from Medical Center East so I can use it as an excuse to squeeze in a visit to them, also! By the way, do you know what time the meetings start--that is the only thing that I have not been able to find out yet. If you get the chance, check out Rita Williams' story on this website. She has had a very difficult time getting her surgery done (basically, her surgeon bailed out on her while she was being prepped for surgery). HOW TERRIBLE!!! Anyway, I have been sending her some messages trying to encourage her and have suggested that she get a second opinion. I referred her to your story and have told her how wonderful Dr. Clements is and that we feel that we have the best surgeon around. I strongly encouraged her to contact him and at least see what he has to say. She has sent me a message saying that she has already contacted Dr. C's office and she will be seeing him soon! Please pray that everything will go well for her and that he can give her the answers that she is looking for. In addition, I have 2 friends here at home that are contacting him for surgery, also. I think I'll tell him on my next visit that I'm going to have to start charging him a FINDER'S FEE!!! HA-HA If you get the chance before this weekend let me know what time the support group meeting is. If I don't hear from you before then, I'll call the hospital and find out. I hope to see you there--I have been looking forward to finally meeting you. Take care. Diane Harris

DIANE H. 24 years, 8 months ago

ANNA-I hope everything is continuing to go well for you and that the days are not too excrutiatingly long in waiting until you get to see Dr. Clements again. I know that the waiting is hard but believe it or not, August is already half over and September will be here before you know it. I saw Dr. Clements on Wed, August 15--he said everything looked real well except for my incisions. He thought that they should been well on their way to healing by now--they still look kind of rough but I do heal very slowly because of my diabetes. I've also had a few problems with dumping and he told me to get to my diabetes doctor immediately and get my insulin dosages adjusted. I saw Dr Heckemeyer the next day and I have now come off all oral diabetes meds and have cut my insulin dosages in half. I have also come off of all blood pressure medicine as well as my water pill. Oh and by the way, I HAVE LOST 22 POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS!!! Everything is still going great except for the occasional dumping but Doc says that this will get better in time. He also wants my excersizing 1 hour per day by the time I come back on September 26. Continue to keep your chin up and keep your spirits up--YOUR TIME WILL COME!!! If there is anything I can do for you let me know. I will keep you posted on when I move--it will only be about 12 miles from where I am now. I just wish that FHA would get the lead out!Talk to you soon. DIANE HARRIS

DIANE H. 24 years, 8 months ago

08/10/01--Anna: I just received your message a little while ago and I got your letter a couple days ago. You are still very much in my thoughts and prayers--I know how depressing this must be for you. I was so psyched and ready for my surgery that I don't know what I would have done if I had woken up and found that the mission was not accomplished! I am glad to know that you have finally found out what is wrong and that it can be fixed, and most of all--that you can probably proceed with WLS. I, too, have had a problem with elevated liver enzymes for the past 5-6 years but not enough to be really concerned about and it apparantly did not have the same effect on my liver as what you have. Hopefully, after Dr. Clements gets moved to his new office he can get you well on your way to your surgery. I, too, am a BIG Dr. Clements fan--he has fast become one of my favorite people--he just has such an infectious smile and personality!! I think that he would probably blush if he knew some of the things we patients say on the internet about him but I tell everyone who will listen about him and especially people who may want to consider this surgery to give him a call. About 3 years ago I checked into this same surgery and was referred to Dr. Laws by my orthopedic doctor. At that time it was not being done by laparoscope and my husband just wasn't crazy about the whole entire thing so I just forgot about it for a while. I am a firm believer that everything is done according to God's perfect plan and I started reconsidering this again back in March but my husband didn't want Dr. Laws to do the surgery (no particular reason--he just thought he was too old and needed to retire and go home!!) Anyway, my diabetes doctor is on staff at Carraway and she recommended Dr. Clements since he has doing the laparoscope. I knew from the first day that my husband and I met him that God had led me to this man's office and that he was just what I needed in a doctor. After all, even after the surgery is over and done with you know that we have a long road of aftercare ahead of us and when you are dealing with someone who cares as much as you know that Dr. Clements does, then you look forward to seeing him! Like I said, I believe that he would blush if he knew some of the things that we say about him but it isn't anything I wouldn't say to his face (MY HUSBAND CALLED HIM DOUGHEY HOWSER TO HIS FACE!!!) My husband told me after our first visit with Dr. Clements, "Well, it looks like we have gone from Methuselah to Doughey Howser!) Dr. C just laughed! I can't say enough about him because I truly believe that he was a God-send. I honestly believe that any other surgeon would have gotten inside me with the scope and bailed out in a hurry. But Doughey (I mean Dr. Clements) stuck it out and committed to finishing what he started with the laparoscope becaused he knew how I felt about being cut open. I really hope everything goes as well for you when you have your surgery as it has for me. I have only had a couple of times where I felt like I would get sick after I ate but I never threw up. I think it may have been because I tried to sneak a small sip of something to drink while I was eating but after a few burps (GROSS!) I was OK so I'm not real sure what was causing it. I'm a littled bit concerned because I'm having a little trouble getting in as much fluids as I would like but I'm so used to drinking a lot throughout the day anyway and this is probably something that will get better with time. I see Dr. Clements back in his office on Wednesday, August 15 and I'm really looking forward to seeing him and following up and checking progress. I'm trying not to have any unrealistic expectations but I can tell you that my whole entire mindset has changed just because of having the surgery. It has been a tremendous shot in the arm for me just because I know that I have done the right thing and that I have done something that will change my life for the better. I am so sick of merely existing--I want to go shop somewhere besides the Lane Bryant catalogs, I want to be able to just get out and go shopping without giving out, and most of all I want to be able to go to Six Flags next spring and actually be able to get on the rides (you know--all the little things that so many people take for granted). As I said before, you and your husband and the rest of your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I know that it is a tough decision to make just to have this done and then for something to go wrong must be devastating, but just know that God has a plan and a purpose in everything. My patience has been tried and tested many times in the past, so maybe this is just testing time for you. You know--this is only a test--do not adjust your set, do not change the channel, do not contact a psychic, keep believing in me that I know what is best for you kind of a test!!! Please keep me posted on how things are going and when you may get to have your surgery. Since you won't be seeing Dr. Clements again until after he goes to UAB, does this mean that you will now have the surgery at UAB instead of Carraway? Let me know how everything is going with you. I truly know what you are going through and I care! Diane Harris Proverbs 3:5-6

DIANE H. 24 years, 8 months ago

ANNA--I AM SO, SO SORRY THAT YOUR SURGERY HAD TO BE ABORTED. PLEASE REALIZE THAT THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY THE END--IT ONLY MEANS THAT DR. CLEMENTS HAS YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART AND THIS IS ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF WHAT A CARING AND COMPETENT SURGEON HE IS. MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND I PRAY THAT THIS PROBLEM IS ONLY A TEMPORARY SETBACK AND THAT YOU CAN PROCEED WITH YOUR WLS AS PLANNED. I HAD MY SURGERY ON 8/02/01 AT CARRAWAY WITH DR. CLEMENTS (WHO HAS QUICKLY BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE) RIGHT BEFORE YOU WENT INTO SURGERY. YOUR FAMILY AND MY FAMILY WERE IN THE SURGICAL WAITING AREA TOGETHER AND GOT ACQUAINTED WITH ONE ANOTHER. I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN YOUR SURGERY BEGINNING BUT THAT MAY BE SOMEWHAT MY FAULT SINCE I WAS IN SURGERY BEFORE YOU. DR. CLEMENTS BEGAN WITH THE LAP RNY BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW FOR SURE IF HE WOULD BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE SURGERY WITHOUT OPENING (I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL I GOT TO RECOVERY HOW IT TURNED OUT). HE LATER TOLD MY FAMILY AND ME THAT THE OPERATION TURNED OUT TO BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT BUT HE STRUGGLED WITH IT AND GOT IT DONE EVEN THOUGH IT TOOK AN ADDITIONAL HOUR OR SO. THE SURGERY WENT WELL OTHER THAN THIS COMPLICATION, I WAS SENT TO ICU AT 2:00 PM AND GOT UP OUT OF BED AND WENT TO THE RESTROOM IMMEDIATELY. I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW EASY THE RECOVERY HAS BEEN SO FAR AND I HOPE THAT IT CONTINUES TO GO WELL. I HAVE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN MEDICATIONS SINCE RECOVERY AND HAD NO DIFFICULTY GETTING UP AND GETTING AROUND. DR. CLEMENTS CAME IN AROUND 4:30 PM AND TOLD ME "YOU'RE GOING HOME ON SATURDAY, YOU'RE DOING SO WELL YOU DON'T NEED TO BE IN THIS HOSPITAL!" I SEE HIS BACK IN THE OFFICE ON AUGUST 15. P.S. ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON MY SISTER (WHO HAD TALKED WITH YOUR FAMILY IN THE WAITING AREA), MY HUSBAND, AND I WENT WALKING UP AND DOWN THE HALLS AND WE STOPPED AT THE NURSES STATION TO SEE WHICH ROOM YOU WERE IN SO WE COULD STOP BY AND VISIT. IT WAS THEN THAT WE LEARNED THAT YOU HAD BEEN SENT HOME THE DAY BEFORE SO WE REALIZED THAT SOMETHING MUST HAVE GONE WRONG BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT. I WAS HOPING THERE WOULD BE SOME WAY THAT WE COULD TRACK YOU DOWN AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU ALL THE ENCOURAGEMENT THAT I CAN AND TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR CHIN UP. I KNOW THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS SURGERY AS I WAS BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT GOD'S DELAYS ARE NOT NECESSARILY GOD'S DENIALS!!!!! I KNOW THAT THIS HAS BEEN RATHER LENGTHY BUT I DID WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU AND YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS. I DON'T HAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I AM USING THE COMPUTERS AT THE LIBRARY UNTIL I GET MOVED NEXT MONTH (TO OXFORD) AND I GET ONE OF MY OWN. JUST LEAVE ME A MESSAGE LIKE YOU DID PREVIOUSLY ON THE OBESITYHELP.COM WEBSITE AND I WILL RESPOND OR FEEL FREE TO DROP ME A NOTE AT MY ADDRESS: 2396 BYNUM LEATHERWOOD ROAD ANNISTON, AL 36206 OR CALL ME AT 256-237-9155. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Vickie C. 24 years, 9 months ago

Anna, I am so sorry to hear about your bad luck. You are in my thoughts and prayers. A WLS friend,

lovebug2 24 years, 9 months ago

Anna, You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there!

Linda T. 24 years, 9 months ago

I spoke with Anna's husband, Sammy and she had a complication and they had to abort her surgery. She will go home later tonight. Anna is a Godly woman and I know she will depend on Him to help her through this. Please pray for Anna and Sammy. Thank you - Linda

Alicia V. 24 years, 9 months ago

Well Anna, Your "Day in the Sun" has arrived!! Hope everything goes smoothly and that your body heals as well and as quickly as possible. We will all be thinking of you and saying pleanty of prayers. Best wishes! Wish it were me!

GG B. 24 years, 9 months ago

Dear Anna, You made it. I know we wait and wait and all of a sudden it's here. I am thrilled for you. My date is August 16, 2001. I pray for a speedy recovery. God Bless you. Love, Gena Pope

Denise C. 24 years, 9 months ago

Anna, best of luck with your surgery tomorrow. I'm sure everything will go well. I've heard wonderful things about Dr. Clements and Dr. Laws. May you have a safe journey to the beginning of your new life!