KDHeckman
Background...I was not a heavy child. I was thin and active. During my high school years, I started to slow down, and put on a few pounds, but I was only wearing a size 14 at the time. After high school, I went to work, and put on a few more pounds, now up to a size 18...not huge, but uncomfortable for y 5'4 frame. i wasn't happy in my life and wanted a change. i decided to moev to Charlotte, NC and start a new life. Taht's were the trouble for me really started.
So, my story begins over 10 years ago (1994)...I got married and it was not a good marriage for me. I began eating to make myself feel better. Food was my friend. I was far away from family and friends, and knew very few people where I lived. 2 years after I was married, I got pregnant with my first child (1996). My husband at the time was not home much. He travled for work (unknowing to me, illegal work). I was left to go through my first pregnancy with few friends, no family and no husband around. I was miserable, so I ate. Most of my pregnancy, I was sick, so everything that went in, came back up, but that didn't stop the amount I ate. It didn't take long for me to get into a routie of eating what and when I wanted. And why shouldn't I? Well, because I couldn't stop! My son was born January 26, 1997, and I was on a road to self distruction. After several years of a bad marriage, I had put on a lot of weight. I ended up going from a size 18 to a size 24.
Fast forward to the year 2000...I had lost a few pounds with yo-yo dieting over the years, so I was down a little to a size 20/22. My husband and I have separated and I now have a 3yr old child to take care of by myself, a home to keep up, and only a part-time job. Talk about depression! And who was there for me, my oldest and truest friend, FOOD! It was then that I realized, I am fat & ugly and no man will ever want me like this. I then decided to speak to my doctor about my weight and to look to him for a solution. After a complete physical, my doctor recommended a drug called Fastin. I tried it, but had very little success. So, after a couple of months, he then put me on Meridia. I had a good deal of success on the Meridia, but it didn't require me to completely change my eating habits. I did lose weight, and I could wear a size 20, so I was happy with the results I saw. Finally in December of 2000, I met a man. Someone I knew through work. I enjoyed his company, and He made me feel likeable again.
Now, after spending a little over a year with my mystery man, We will now call him Dave. In 2001, Dave and I found out I was pregnant ....OH MY! This was a good sign for me, like my last pregnancy, I can eat and not gain weight, and that is what I did. The only draw back was, I was gaining, and gaining, and gaining. March 21, 2002, my second son was born and I weighed in at more than 250 pounds. Thankfully, Dave stuck around, and when our son was about 6 months old, Dave brought me a package he had gotten in the mail. It was an instructional video and supplements for the Atkins weight loss program. He said he was concerned for me and that he wanted us to do the program together. Well, needless to say, I was surprised, but it was worth a shot. The diet was a success, I had gotten down to 212 pounds, and I was feeling better about myself and looking better. I was able to maintain my weight for sometime, but when the first major emotional obstical hit, I was back to my old ways.
Eventually, I gained so much weight, I weighed 285 pounds. I wore a size 26 and felt HORRIBLE!
Now, it's July 2006...I have been obese for a number of years and I have resloved myself to living the remainder of my life as such. So, I am at work one day, I worked at GNC (go figure) and a lady I have never seen comes in looking for protein supplements. I show her the ones we have and we began to talk. She tells me that only a couple of months ago she had gastric by-pass surgery. Well, I had heard of it, but didn't know a lot about the surgery. We spent a great deal of time talking and she gave me a card for the surgeon that did her surgery. I immediatley called and made an appointment with the Doctor. I will admit, I was very nervous before meeting the Bariatric Coordinator, but as soon as she and I met, my worries were gone. They were so nice and gave me so much hope about what I could expect.
Over the next several months I go though a battery of tests and doctors. The psycharist, respiratory therapist, sleep study, nutritionist, and my general doctor. Finally, they have everything they need to submit my papers to the insurance company. I am given a premliminary surgery date of October 10, 2006. Talk about nerves and excitement.
Well, little did I know that it was going to be an up hill battle. The first of October comes, and I called the Dr's office to see if there was any word from the insurance company. I was told no, and they would let me know. Something just didn't feel right about the conversation, so I called back, and I explained to the Coordinator my concerns, and it was then that I learned that she had not submitted my info to the insurance company and would not be able to do so because the hospital had stopped all gastric by-pass proceedures indefinatley. My surgery was cancelled. I was DEVISTATED! I got off of the phone and cried so hard. All of my hope had disappeard. I told Dave about what had happened and he suggested I call around to other Doctors and see if I could be recommended to someone else who would do the surgery.
I began to make call after call. Finally, I called the nutritionist I had seen and she told me about another doctor in Greenville, NC that had done the surgery for another client of hers. I then called Southern Surgical and spoke with the lady there. I explained the situation to her and she was very helpful in scheduling me an appointment to se the doctor there. Well, I had my appointment with Dr. Chris Mann. I was a little dismayed because they were requiring me to have more testing done in addition to everythig I had already had done. However, they immediately filed for insurance approval and scheduled my surgery for November 2, 2006. It wasn't a week later, and I received a call from their office sayiing my insurance had approved the surgery, and everything was set to go.
SCARED? No way, not me.....YES WAY!!!! We arrived at the hospital on November 2, 2006 at 6am. My surgery was scheduled for 9am and was to be 1 1/2 hours long. The prep for surgery was the normal, all the general questions, the IV, the anestologist visit...all routein. I remember going into the operating room and being moved to the table. The next thing I know, I am wakiing up in HORRIBLE pain. At that time, they have already started my moriphine pump and they hand me the buttom and tell me to push it every 8 minutes. Well, you don't have to tell me twice. I was watching the clock.
I am finally moved to my own room, and the pain is somehwhat under control. The nursing staff took great care of me, and once I was able to get the liquid, oral moriphine, my pain was controlled much better. I found it very difficult to drink anything, even water. I hated tring to get out of bed, and everytime I did try, my heart rate would shoot up sky high. I was eventually able to get myself up about the 2-3rd day.
My surgery was done laproscopically, so I really had a hard time with the gas pains. It made for difficult walking. My total stay in the hospital was 4 days. I wish I could have stayed 1 more day, but once I got home, my recovery was much more speedy, and I began to feel like myself.
