Nichol H.
Hello all! My name is Nichol and I am 30 years old. I currently live in Lincoln, Nebraska with my fiance, David, our two dogs Dakoda and Violet, and our cat Murphy!
I had gastric bypass surgery on February 5th, 2003 in Leeds, England while my ex-husband and I were stationed at RAF Mildenhall, UK. I had mine done by a top British surgeon and the US Air Force paid for it. Or rather, Tricare, our military insurance paid for it!
After surgery I had 4 strictures of the intestine which eventually were corrected but long after they should have been. I threw up more than 5 times a day for 5 months straight and by the time my military doctor listened to me I was quite literally dying.
I woke up the day after the 4th of July and couldn't walk. I fell out of bed and thats when my ex-hubby took me to the ER and they immediately admitted me. After they ran the gamet of tests, they determined that my kidneys and liver were in system failure and I had developed Peripheral Neuropathy.
I was rushed to BUPA Leeds Hospital which was 4 hours away and my surgeon, Dr. Pollard told me that he was going to go in and stretch my intestine back out and if that didn't work with in the next few days they would have to open me back up and do a reversal of the surgery of sorts.
The next morning after the stretching I was able to have a couple very small bites of food and was FINALLY able to keep it down. Well they kept me hospitalized for almost 2 weeks to monitor my intake and my health and I was gratefully finally able to actually eat and drink for the first time since before my surgery.
I was in a wheelchair until October 2003. It was hell for me and my ex-hubby. My best friend in England, who was also a military wife and had GBS, was there the WHOLE time to help me through it. I told my neurologist that I WOULD walk onto the plane in November when we moved back to the USA!
He just smiled at me and patted my back and said, "I have faith in you Nichol but chances are you won't, so I want you to be prepared for that!"
So imagine his shock and surprise when I DID walk into his office for my last appointment!! He absolutely couldn't believe it! He told me I was one of the very lucky ones but I would also have the Peripheral Neuropathy and have to take monthly B-12 and Iron injections for the rest of my life.
To this day, I still "dump" and I still get sick if I'm not careful about eating enough, too much, etc.
But, I HAVE lost and kept off 235lbs!!! I went from a size 32 to a size 4/6!! What an incredible feeling. People STILL comment on my weight loss and how sweet it was at my 10 year reunion!! WOO HOO!
Just recently I have gained some weight and when I first noticed it, I kinda freaked out! I thought, oh please don't let me be gaining back the weight! (My best friend gained all her weight back and then some.) But as I gained a little more and other things started becoming more noticeable we went to the Dr. and found out that we are pregnant!!! So you can imagine how relieved I was that I was gaining baby weight!
So that's where I'm at right now in my life. I have a fantastic fiance and a baby on the way.
David had proposed on my 30th birthday(February 20th, 2008). So we had planned our wedding for February 21st, 2009. Then we found out that we were pregnant and our due date is February 22nd!! SO, needless to say we have pushed the wedding date back a little bit but we are even more excited about having a family than the wedding now!! LOL!
So far my pregnancy hasn't been too bad although I did have a subchorionic hemorrage which is the placenta tearing away a little from the uterus. But I have been on bedrest and my Dr. said that they are very common and it should heal itself! I have just been very tired and nauseous, other than that not too bad!
Well, if you have read this far, thanks for taking the time to read about my surgery and life! I hope that if you haven't had your surgery yet, it happens for you soon and if you are post-op, I hope everything goes well in your weight-loss!!!
To all "Skinnies-on-the-inside!!" 
The best is yet to come,
Nichol
