KimmyGee
Golly, where do I begin? Ok, I started suffering from obesity as a teenager...and the rest of the story is familiar for most...the endless ridicule and lack of support carried on into my young adult years and then motherhood. Now, 20 years after my 2nd child was born, I have ballooned to a weight that my body can no longer handle. Currently, at 46 years old, I am borderline diabetic & hypertensive, have reflux, and suffer from chronic back, knee, and hip pain. My metabolic system has nearly shut down over the past two years, leaving me terribly frustrated. Earlier this year, a trip to the hospital emergency room for chest pain (with no abnormal findings, thank goodness) was the final push I needed to finish my research and ask my family doctor for his support in getting me approved for the gastric bypass surgery. I saw him in March, did the preliminary testing in April & May, saw the surgeon (Dr. Ben-Meir) in June, had various clearance testing over the next few months, then last week on Thursday, 8/23/07, my insurance company and the surgeon's office called to congratulate me on being approved! Since then, I've been on an emotional roller-coaster! They needed to see me the very next day for pre-admission testing if I wanted to have the surgery on September 13th...well...heck yah! So, I rushed to Cleveland very early the next morning, with very little sleep (over-excited), where I got the rest of my file and myself prepared for surgery. I had a little run-in with the financial people, but am not letting it get me down! Everyone else was wonderful and sensitive to the near-chaotic 24 hours I was living. I'm now ready to celebrate what I consider to be a NEW birthday to begin my NEW life.
