Jenna D.
Hi my name is Jenna,
I have been overweight for several years if we go by social standards I have been overweight since I was 16 ( a size 12) or if we go by my view of obesity ( when you can no longer shop in the misses department and have to head over to women's only) I was 20. I have been comfortable being a plus size woman the majority of my adult life. My husband is also plus sized and it is just part of who we are. I started taking a closer look at my weight after the birth of our daughter. not only did the obesity contribute to problems getting pregnant but after she was born I developed cellulitis on my c-section line and had to spend additional time in the hospital and my recovery from delivery went from a period of weeks to a period of months. while in the hospital with a gaping wound in my abdomen the surgeon told me I needed to have bariatric surgery ... I was devastated and humiliated how DARE he tell me something like that .... I cried for a few days every time I thought about it ... then I thought about me ... after being sick and being able to barely keep any food or liquid down I had lost 50 lb and I was still at 300 lb ... I looked back over the last 10 years and realized I was gaining an average of 10 lb a year which isn't bad until you realize that that is 100 lb in 10 years and I wasn't gaining and losing those 10 lb I was just gaining them. I started considering surgery then but was given my first rejection by the ins company ... I hadn't been on the plan long enough I had a long year to wait and in that year I gained back the 50 lb I had lost and tacked on another 20 due to a medication I was taking and have since stopped... the medication helped me reach my all time high ( or I should say low) of 370 lb ... I started the process for surgery AGAIN in august when I reached the magic 1 year marker and was told that the Mercy center for weight reduction is no longer preferred by my insurance plan and I will have to go some where else... so I cried again and argued with the insurance company where did I have to go how far away would it be ... the closest BCBS center of excellence is 2 hours away ... so time to think again ... we have family in MN my mother actually had a ruen y about 5 months ago and she and my father are willing to take my husband I and our 18 month old little girl in for 2 weeks so we can have surgery together and have help until we are able to lift Mara again. We have our first Dr appointment on Nov 2nd and I am anxiously awaiting the appointment..
