I have a date: 10/10; but still feeling hesitant

I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR SWEET WORDS. IT IS MY PLEASURE & DELIGHT TO HOLD YOU UP IN PRAYER! IT HAS TAKEN ME 38 YEARS OF SEARCHING & STRUGGLE TO COME TO THIS PLACE IN MY LIFE WHERE I'M RELAXED, ENJOYING LIFE & LIVE BY FAITH IN MY GOD. I LOVE WHERE I AM IN LIFE NOW! &, IM EXCITED & YEARNING TO EXPERIENCE WHAT IS AHEAD DAY BY DAY. I WAS SO BLESSED TO FIND THE MOST WONDERFUL MAN (MY HUSBAND) 5 YEARS AGO ... I'M PRIVILEDGED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO MY PARENTS BY HELPING THEM NOW AS THEY HAVE HELPED ME ALL MY LIFE (MOMMA HAS HAD STROKES BUT IS DOING SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANYONE EXPECTED) & I'VE BEEN BLESSED WITH 7 GROWN CHILDREN & 6 GRANDCHILDREN (FROM NICK) EVEN THOUGH I'VE NEVER BEEN BLESSED WITH MY OWN CHILDREN. I LOVE BEING "MAMaw" TO NICK BEING "PaPaw". OUR SWEET DAUGHTER, NATALIE, CALLS ME "MOM"; HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO KNOW SHE LOVES ME ENOUGH TO HONOR ME SO EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T SHARE THE SAME BLOOD LINE. WE WERE ABLE TO BUY THE CUTEST LITTLE HOUSE ON A POND JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM MY PARENTS ... LIFE IS GOOD. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE MAJOR CHALLENGES IN OUR LIVES, BUT I SEE THEM DIFFERENTLY FROM A STANDPOINT OF FAITH. IT IS A CHANGE OF MY MIND, NOT A CHANGE OF CIR****TANCES THAT HAS BEEN THE DIFFERENCE ... I NOW KNOW THAT THERE WILL NEVER BE A CHALLENGE THAT WILL EVER STOP US. AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH MS SHERYL & I'LL KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS ... GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK PS: WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRAYERS OF THOSE CARING PEOPLE FOR YOUR BABIES!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Sheryl! My surgery is scheduled the same day as yours and I too am still hesitant. I'm having some of the same feelings you are. I'm starting from a "lower" morbidly obese BMI and I often wonder "Have I really tried dieting enough?". However, I have the unique perspective of having watched my mother for most of my life struggling with her weight. She had WLS in 2003 and her only regret was she didn't do it sooner. Almost 2 years later she's doing great and has lost ~160 lbs. In the end, the following facts weigh very highly in helping me be comfortable with this decision: a) my mother has done so well and I've seen her progress from all liquids to a semi-normal diet so I know there is "light at the end of the WLS tunnel" b) i have an excellent surgeon who I've felt a rapport with since my first visit to him and c) i have to have my gall bladder out regardless Hope this helps! Feel free to email me via OH's website.

Hi Stephen, Wow, your first paragraph really spoke to me. I keep thinking the same thing: I know I can lose weight if I diet, maybe I should give it one more try. But then I recall what happens: I lose the weight and almost immediately start regaining. It's slow, a pound at a time, just the way it came off. But always more than the time before...talk about an incentive NOT to diet! Your perspective with your mother's experience must really be helpful. I am not close to anyone who has had WLS, though I know of a few people, friends of friends, that sort of thing. However I did lose my favorite aunt, in her early 70s; she died of complications from diabetes. I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ME. (Yes, I was speaking loudly there.) One of the big motivators for me to move ahead is something a surgeon said during a seminar (not the surgeon I ultimately selected, but I liked his point): he said that a person who undergoes WLS can potentially increase their life expectancy by 20 years. Twenty. I like my life, and I want more of it. Your comment that there is light at the end of the tunnel helps; as you may read in one of my prior replies, some of what I'm struggling with is giving up food, because it has been such a source of pleasure for me. Thanks for sharing your perspective, I appreciate it. Best wishes to you, Sheryl