Wow, can't wait to see it. Andrea got a butterfly on her ankle also, back in July. What motivated you to do this? It sure seems like the thing that so many of us WLS patients do, I've even been thinking about getting one, I just can't decide where. Congrats hope the DH responds postively.

Guess I could have answered my own questions before I hit submit! Our family is quite large and normally we all get together somewhere and have a big pot luck. THis year, most everyone is going to their in-laws so there are about 20 of us all going out to eat at a restuarant. This is something we have never done! Then we will all go back to my Aunts house and watch the Dallas cowboy football game! Football is very big with our family on Thanksgiving. Last year at Thanksgiving being only 4 months since surgery, all the food we had sort of overwhelmed me. Sorta made me feel sick. I remember trying to find things to do, visiting with everyone, taking pictures, etc. to get away from the buffet and all the food. This year I am most thankful for the results of this past year. Not just the weight loss, that's been great! but the health benifits, the restore mobility, the no more meds I had to take everyday. Yep, it's a good year to feel thankful!

Lisa- It is sad. As someone who used to post very often, I just felt that no one was responding. I chalked that up to us all getting busy and happier in our lives, and accepted it as such. Glad to see your smiling face, though.

Amy We all had our personal reasons for having WLS and the psychological stigma of being obese is a legitimate one. We are all "only human" and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to look better too. Please do not feel that your current medical problems are any kind of payback for being selfish or vain. I pray that your medical issues will be resolved and you gain the health and happiness you desire. Tim

Teen loses 500 pounds without surgery A life can be changed, even saved, just a few steps at a time. That is the story of 19-year-old Justin Willoughby's life. The Bradford, Pennsylvania teen weighed 800 pounds when he was 16 years old. "I felt like I was trapped inside a prison I couldn't get out of," Justin said. Justin said he was always a heavy boy, but his weight really ballooned when he was in junior high school. He said he has an anxiety disorder, and he turned to food for comfort. "In the mornings I'd have maybe three sandwiches for breakfast, or sometimes eggs and sausage. I don't remember how many," Justin said. The rest of the day would be full of snacks like more sandwiches and large bowls of sweet cereal, candy, cookies, and whole milk." On top of that, he never exercised. By the time Justin was in the tenth grade, he was being home schooled and weighed 800 pounds. He was so heavy, his foot once broke through the floor of his home. "I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself," he recalls. "I couldn't bathe myself." Justin admits his parents implored him to lose weight, but he ignored their pleas. "We tried to tell him, you're gaining, you're gaining. You've got to stop," said Justin's mother, Diane. "He said no, I don't have to." The tide changed when Justin had to visit his doctor to retain him. It had been well over a year since his last visit, and his weight had greatly increased. "I couldn't even get down my steps, I was so big," Justin said. Somehow, he made it to his doctor's office, where the reaction was one of shock, and Justin was sent to Presbyterian Hospital of Pittsburgh. There, doctors gave him a stern warning. "Sitting on that bed, the doctors said, Justin, you're going to die if you don't do something about it," said Justin recalling the visit. That's when his three and a half year weight loss work began. Without surgery or drugs, but with the help of a physical therapist and nutritionist, Justin cut way back on how much he was eating, cut out candy and high fat foods, and substituted whole wheat bread and pasta for plain white carbs. He also started moving again, one step at a time. "Taking ten steps and sitting down, getting back up, taking ten steps, and sitting back down," he said. Now he walks a mile or more. Justin also has had two surgeries to remove excess skin from his body. One procedure removed 20 pounds from his chest and abdomen. Another surgery removed more than 10 pounds of skin from his arms and legs, and he faces two more procedures. Justin said he is now down to about 310 pounds, and his dream is to weigh around 200. "You've got to want it yourself," he said. "It's either you live the rest of your life overweight, or you do something about it." Copyright WGRZ 2006. All Rights Reserved Tammy