George Hosler
I've been morbidly obese for as long as I can remember. At age 7, I weighed approximately 150 pounds. At age 14, I was over 300, and by 16 I was over 350. At 19, I weighed 415, and by my late 30's I was over 550 pounds. Over the years: I've dieted, exercised, lost weight, and gained it back. Usually gaining back more than was lost. I've had problems with my blood pressure since I was young, and at 30 started treatment for type 2 diabetes.
Growing up fat, I had it luckier than some. Due to my height, and over all build, I didn't get bullied a lot. People were afraid to mess with me. I knew they said things about me behind my back, but it's easier to put up with it when it's not being rubbed in your face. When they did say something to my face, I could usually say something that threw them off, and because of my size they'd back off.
When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I lost weight, and got it under control. But as time passed, I took it less seriously, and consequently started to develop problems. I knew better, but sometimes things have to be learned the hard way.
I say that I knew better, because I had a prime example of what awaited me. My mother is a type 2 diabetic, and over the years has lost body parts due to infections. It started with toes, led to parts of her feet, and got all the way to loss of a leg. At first she was able to continue living at home, but over time she lost strength. In early 2009 my father could no longer care for her, and the family had to make the difficult decision to put her in a nursing home. At about the same time, I had a sore that developed into an infection. There it was staring me square in the face! And I had to do something about this, or I was going to end up exactly the same way.
I began dieting and exercising again, and gained better control of my diabetes. But, I knew I needed to lose more, and as usual, I hit the weight-loss wall, and stopped losing at about 30 pounds down. Around this same time, a family acquaintance had a RNY gastric bypass and was very successful. My wife and I did some research into the surgery and attended an information session presented by St Luke's Center for Surgical Weight Loss in Kansas City. At the time, my insurance didn't cover the surgery, so my wife started the program in January 2010, and in July 2010 had her surgery. She's been very successful, and I'm very proud of her!
In July 2010, I had insurance that would cover me for surgery, so on 7/20/10 I had my first appointment at Dr Price's office. On my own, I'd been able to lose approximately 30 pounds since the beginning of that year. To qualify for surgery, I had to lose approximately another 60 pounds. With the help of the staff at St. Luke's and the inspiration of my wife, I reached my goal in Feb 2011.
I received approval for surgery within a few weeks, and it was scheduled for May 23. 2011. I kept off the 90 pounds I'd lost while I waited for the surgery date. This was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I couldn't have done any of this without the inspiration and support of my wife. I'm looking forward to losing even more, and all the benefits that will come with it!
