** YOU HAVE to go to a OH conference !!***(long)

I HAD SUCH A fabulous time!!!! I adored Jackie & her husband... so down to earth.. She is a RIOT !! When coming to the stage the first time someone in the audience made a comment about her breasts... she made the comment that after going thru & losing ALL THE WEIGHT, she had to get "THE CHERRIES ON TOP" Jackie also shared how fortunate she was that her parents always supported her, and even though she wasnt very good at soccer, her dad was the coach & encouraged her.. she never knew.... Her Mom taught her to come into the room like " ELVIS " She has such a PASSION for WLS, she wants to make a difference! If she raises $1 Million dollars by September 2008 she has companies that will MATCH IT, and she is creating an organization to help people that can't afford this surgery that need it. She LOVES OPRAH, but is very hurt how she has treated the WLS community.. She would like to have a debate on WLS with her... to EDUCATE her on the surgery...... WE ARE LUCKY & BLESSED to have such a spokesperson like Jackie.. she also has a website & radio program... as well as a book.. check out her website http://www.jackieguerra.com/ Dr LoMonaco, a plastic Surgeon in Houston was a sponsor and was FANTASTIC!! He showed pics, and explained procedures. He is also very down to earth. I personally had a Plastics consult on Saturday, he recommends having at least 2, one with another surgeon, to get a second opinion, but I REALLY feel I will be travelling back to have HIM do my Plastics. He is so easy to talk to, and you can TRULY tell he has a PASSION for his work.....he ALSO wants to make a difference.... Yvonne who only lives 1 town away from me, was GREAT!!, this was the first time I was able to meet her in person surprisingly! SHe spoe about the emotional relationship she had with her nneice that she wouldnt have if not for the surgery, and also gave us a demonstration of part of what she does in the 10 minutes x2 segments of YOGA she does each day.... Ramon ** what can I say ** Never forget where you came from... This is A LOT, that a HISPANIC male would be so OPEN about his struggles along the way thru this journey.. I KNOW that it was NOT easy for him to be so open about his past addiction and I APPLAUD & support him all the way, not only is he a fellow WLSer but a friend..He also spoke about how someone had written how he was ARROGANT & ****Y, cause he had spent time more with his friends than other conference attendees at a previous conference... He is new at this, and SHOULD be proud !! MAN he used to weigh 500 lbs !! I applaud you for all you do...thanks DAWG!! ** We had lunch, and it was a great time although it was cut short... Jeremy Gentles ** OH Fitness GURU, this man was SUCH a good sport... Jackie teased him a lot , and he ATE it up, even bent over strutting his stuff, although his FACE was BRIGHT RED!!! He tried to bring the point across that it is so important to workout... I would ask maybe next time he break it down slower and/or in laymans terms.. I as well as others found it a little hard to follow.. Dr Davis ** explained the different surgeries Mary Jo Rapini ** MY MY, I have never seen Big Medicine, but this is a FIRECRACKER, she says she is hard on her patients, because she cares, and wants them to succeed!!!! She is very adamant about how sex plays a BIG part of our emotional well being.. ******* AFTER THE CONFERENCE THE PARTY BEGAN!!****** Thanks to Tracy & Gina, they set up a GREAT dinner at Baby A's, and then OUT to dancin' !!!!!! Even Jackie showed up to eat with us!! At Graham's we danced, and sang karaoke ** here are the highlights: We celebrated Ramon's 40th birthday.... there were 6 different places inside this club.. One was where there were ladies dancin on top of the bar like "Coyote Ugly"... many of us girls went up and danced ourselves.. SO MUCH FUN..I NEVERE had done that before.. Then came Ramon, they found out about his B-day, and got him on top of the bar!! One of the ladies the work thee, actually TORE the band out of his underwear, bent him over pulled his pants down a bit, and wrote, "This was my first Time!" in black marker on his backside!!! I almost fainted.... it was a KICK!! He was a great SPORT! Karaoke was next and many sang, I sang Call Me by Blondie, and the OH Girls, sung, Girls Just want to have Fun(even though they wanted to call us the OHHHH Girls..LOL!!), and then Ramon & the OH Girls we sung Margaritaville.... so FUN!! In another part of the Club, Ash, Tesha, Rachel, Me and one other WLSer, took to the cage and upper stage to dance together around a POLE... what a KICK!! Together we had lost a little under 700 lbs!!!!!!! All I kept thinking when all the guys were drooling over us, was what Jackie had mentioned about a poll that was done with Men.. They had a blind girl, one in wheelchair, and an OBESE woman... guess who was last picked??? The MEN chose the wheelchair girl FIRST over the OBESE woman.. it's much easier to be overweight as a man, than it is a woman.... I wanted THOSE men to eat their hearts out.... you can see the look on my face in the picture, it shows how ****Y I was feeling... I NEVER wore anything this racy since I was in my 20's and cant believe I did it... My self esteem has really IMPROVED by leaps and bounds due to the 184 lbs I have lost !!! I RECOMMEND TO ALL to go to a OH Convention!! It doesnt matter that you havent had surgery, are thinking about it, or are 6 years out... We are a community and NEED TO STICK together, we have common issues and need to FIGHT for our needs, and the needs of Obese & Formally Obese individuas... as well as SUPPORT each other through all stages in this Journey... Take a look in my profile, I have a slideshow of some pics I took!! I hope to see you in the Next OH Conference!!!!

Wow sounds like you had a wonderful time. Your in for many more good times ahead. That was just the start. You seem so happy !!!!! I danced on the bar at coyotte uglys last year in feb boy that is fun. Then we went and got tattoes. I wish I hadnt done that but stuck with them. It fun to let lose and be yourself and have fun. Hugs barb