Shannon R.
My name is Shannon, and I'm 39 years of age. I currently weigh 409 lbs. on a 5'2" frame. I have struggled with obesity since the birth of my eldest child in 1987. I have tried several different diets over the years where I failed to lose a significant amount of weight only to gain it all back again and then some. I was hospitalized this year in January for severe osteoarthritis of both my knees, with extreme pain, causing me to become unable to walk sufficiently. The orthopedic surgeon stated that I needed surgery on both my knees, but that he would not operate on someone of my size. The 100 lbs of sudden weight gain put a toll on my body. After many years of research, I have decided to get a gastric bypass. I have several co-morbidities and am afraid my ailments will result in sudden death! I am so ashamed of my current condition, but I have raised beautiful, unselfish children, and I'm blessed to have them. If it weren't for my children and my mother and sisters, I wouldn't be alive today. I was the sole provider of my family, and I very much enjoyed taking care of my patients as a nurse. I never complained, and I always put 100% of my love into caring for them. It is so hard for me to see myself as the patient. I feel trapped in my body and helpless. All I want to do is be able to return to my career as a nurse, since it is my passion, and also to provide for my family again. I need the surgery to help me regain my health and to survive. I want to see my children graduate from high school in a couple of years and I want to live long enough to see my unborn grandson start school. I want to be able to go places and do things for myself without needing any assistance. I try to move around as much as I can in an effort to keep my blood circulating and keep air in my lungs. I still need my family to assist me with my daily activities, but whatever little movement I can do by myself, I feel good about it.
After my third and last child was born, in 1992, I was diagnosed with having Protein C Deficiency and required to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. Although I was meticulous with monitoring my blood levels, I was unfortunate to have the bad side effects of the medication that caused me to be admitted into the hospital with a diagnosis of Coumadin toxicity in December 2005. They discovered I had an abdominal hematoma that ruptured causing a significant amount of blood loss that required several blood transfusions and extensive pain control. I was in the hospital for a month, and I had to learn to regain my endurance to carry my heavy frame. At this time, I was approximately 320 lbs. I eventually returned to my position as a Registered Nurse on a Med/Surg unit but had to reduce my hours to PRN instead of full-time, because I wasn't able, physically, to work for two days consecutively. Unfortunately, I lost my medical insurance because of the reduced working status. I continued to work a shift or two per week throughout the year, but it became too painful and unbearable for me to continue to work because my osteoarthritis became too severe to either stand or walk. During 2006, I ballooned up to 420 lbs before I knew it. Yeah, I knew I gained a little here and there, but not 100 lbs!! I couldn't believe it. No wonder I was unable to continue to work, I had excruciating knee pain and dyspnea from the fluid on my lungs. I guess the weight slowly crept while I was trying to deal with my pain and not moving around as I used to. When I weighed 320 lbs, I was able to be more active and able to work, at least. I was miserable at that weight, but it was manageable to deal with my daily activities. I can't do anything physical now and it hurts me so badly to stand from sitting.
