New to the Board

Hello, everyone! My name is Alice and I am new to the message board. I am from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and will be having WLS in May with Dr. Ozment. I am a teacher/coach and have scheduled my surgery the end of May so I will have the summer to "rest up" and loose weight! I am coming to Little Rock to have my surgery at St. Vincent's with Dr. Ozment because my insurance excludes WLS. The self-pay cost in Tulsa is around $24,000. The cost in Little Rock is around $16,00, I believe. Dr. Ozment seems to be a wonderful surgeon. (If anyone knows any different, PLEASE let me know). I look forward to participating in the board in the future. I have been researching this surgery for over a year now. May seems like a lifetime away - I hope it goes fast! Alice Schneider

Alice, I am so excited for you. The wait will go quicker than you think and give you time to look around this site before hand. I have found valuable and encouraging advice on the board and other places on this site. I had my surgery done 6 days ago and can't believe how good I feel, although I do still have a few down times, like today I am more tired than yesterday. I still can't believe how well it all went. I am already thinking about when I can go back to work, at least part time. Keep posting and learning and the time will fly by. Take Care, Bobbi

Alice, Welcome to our group. There is a lot of Info. Here. And congratulations on you surgery date. If you have any questions just ask and I know someone will answer. Good luck on your journey Debbie Moya Dr. Baker -98 Lbs. surgery date was 9/22/03 14 Lbs. of that was lost a week before surgery

Alice, Welcome, I had surgery on Aug 5 of this year. Its such a life-changing experience. Its wonderful. I also had Dr. Ozment as my surgeon. He is very competent and a wonderful person. I'm very pleased with my weight loss. I'm not really hung up on the amount of pounds like others on this site. I weigh 1 time a month and can tell by the way my clothes fit that I am losing. I didn't gain it overnight and it just takes patience. I will hit the century mark by 1-1-04! Before surgery I spent ALL of my spare time on this site, now I'm too busy living life. Things have changed so much. Its something to look forward to and hopefully for you the time will fly till May! Vicki