[X-Post]: My One Year Anniversary

Tomorrow is my official one year surgiversary.  I have considered many ways to format this post; A year in a day - playing it out chronologically as if the past 12 months were 24 hours; "**** Skinny People Say" (The **** XXXX say is a tired men, so I will stay away from that).  How do I best describe a single calendar year that has been so transformative?  The last year that saw so many changes for me started with a sperm cell fertilizing an egg.  SERIOUSLY!

I tried to get all of the before an after pics together.  I simply avoided the camera too much before this for that to be successful.  I couldn't get all of the different photos from various surgeons in time.  Maybe for a year end post.  I wish now that I had done a better job of documenting my transformation.  Take that as a lesson new people.  You may have body image issues, you may hate how you look right now, but when you come out the other side you will want a record of just how much you have accomplished.  

So lets recap:  I have had five surgeries over the past 12 months.  Yes, five.  I have been doing extreme makeover the home edition.  My journey started last September.  I was traveling for business.  I had just paid a ticket for running a red light in Chicago (Damn Red light cams).  I ran the light because I couldn't see it.  My vision had gotten that bad.  I had a mouthful of loose teeth.  The teeth would vibrate and hurt when I spoke in a certain way.  I had hypertension that was controlled with drugs.  I had  Type II diabetes that couldn't be controlled no matter how many injectables and oral meds I tried.  The next month would see me start on insulin.  The diabetes was leading to circulation and neurological issues.  Neuropathy, lymphedema, and probably gangrene were not far off.

I was aging at a rate roughly 30 years ahead the clock.  I was having problems that my parents were only starting to have in their late 60s/early 70s.  I was dying, and I wasn't being slothful about it.

I started looking into the lap-band.  Incidentally enough, my PCP told me about a study at Vanderbilt where they were seeing bariatric levels of weight loss by using one of my diabetes meds off label.  He suggested I might be able to get into that study.  When I asked about the lap band and mentioned my research, he recommended the doctor who would eventually become my surgeon.

In the next 6 weeks, I did my initial seminar, psych eval, and initial consult.  That consultation was on October 25th.  I was crestfallen when I went to schedule and the first available date was a month away. I asked if there was anything sooner.  From my lips to God's ears.  Not five minutes later one of the assistants came in.  Another patients surgery had to be cancelled because of a problem with his meds and labs.  That patients surgery was to be scheduled the following Wednesday on November second. They gave me that date.

The next week was a whirlwind.  Labs, pre-op testing, etc. - You all know the drill.  That week was emotionally terrifying for me.  I knew that I would die on the table.  I would be the one in a million, the curve breaker.  The night before my surgery I wrote my farewells to the people I love.  I was oddly excited - it would be over one way or another soon.  I would succeed or I would die.  I slept like a baby that night.

The most nervous I got about the surgery was the morning of in the OR Waiting area.  I was alone - no one to be brave for.  I was the first surgery of the morning and I was waiting to be taken into the OR.  I could hear the nurses gossiping.  They were talking about how big a previous patient was.  I wondered if they would be gossiping about me later that day.  Did you see the guy with the jacked up teeth?   God how did they get him on the table?

Finally I was taken in.  The last thing I remember was them putting the arm rests under me.  I woke up at about 10:20 am in recovery.  The first thing I did was to look for a clock and then realize that I had a foley catheter in.  Damn I was hoping to avoid that.

That day was the beginning of my journey.  The feeling of Anesthesia would become all too familiar over the next 12 months.  In addition to the sleeve gastrectomy I would have: months of oral surgeries to fix my teeth, surgeries on both my left and right eyes to remove bilateral cataracts, and finally my lower body lift last month.  That surgery was probably the most extensive, taking 8.5 hours.

The cost of obesity?  For me 90% of my stomach, 2 teeth, the lenses in both eyes, 7.5 pounds and counting of excess skin.  And lets not forget a sum of money in the high 5 figures.  I'm not done yet.  I have one more surgery to go.

So what is the result of all of this (Click on the links please, OH wouldn't let me actually insert the image!)

Before:

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Today:

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Most of all, I am thankful; so very thankful.  My journey has been populated with amazing people to help me every step of the way.  Not the least of which is my ever loving Thomas who has been with me every day, encouraging me and loving me, never letting me doubt myself or be down on myself.  I have been blessed to work for an amazing company who has given me the time to work on myself and who has supported me amazingly at every turn.  My parents have given me room when I needed it, and complete unwavering support.  I have never doubted their unconditional love for me and never will.

Finally, there have been the people at the Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity as well as others.  So here goes:  Thanks and all of my blessings to Dr. Hugh Houston, Kathy Hungerford, Dr. Janice Livengood, Pamela Helmlinger, Audrey Turner, Dr. Shaun Bivens and his staff, Dr. Erich Groos, Dr. Philip Fleming.  Everyone on that list has been a part of being my own personal Rudy Wells - Helping me rebuild myself better, faster, and stronger.  I did the work, they set me on the path and help me keep to it.

Popular media has portrayed the bariatric surgery process as being "the easy way".  As I mentioned to someone earlier today I want to dropkick someone into another time zone every time I hear that.  This has not been easy - either physically or emotionally.  I have had to face parts of myself that I have run from since third grade to get healthy.  I have had tears and pain - both physical and emotional.  I have also had great victories and joys.  Most of all, I have my life back in a way that I can live it an love it now.