Kaiser says I am eligible!

Whew, I realize I am not over all the hurdles by any means, but this seems like a second shot at life. My letter says it could be up to a year before I am contacted to go through the Surgery Connections program, but that's ok. I've lived in this whale of a body for over a decade, way over, so another year is fine with me. I think it will give me time to plan and learn, and ask a lot of questions. Liz

Liz I am also a kaiser patient. I am 4 days post-op. I waited on the list about 11 months before Iheard from them. Then it all happened so fast from there.They have a great program. Really. I have read so much on here about people having problems with trying to get paper work together and having this dr. call that one. You deal with none of this with kaiser. Once you start the program you work very closely with Barb and Shannon. They tell you when and where all of your preop stuff is. They really know their stuff. They also teach all of the classes. So much great info. They also have increased their class size and brought on another experanced sergon. So they are really trying to cut the time on the list down. I actually got my surgery date beforeclass had finished. Not everyone did but some of us did.Can you tell I had a great Kaiser experance????? LOL E-mail me with any ??? Amy

Liz, The time will go quicker than you think! It took me almost a year of waiting but it was well worth it! I am 5 months post-op as of yesterday and am down 112# YIPEE!!!! Kaiser has a wonderful program and Shannon & Michelle are wonderful and have great information! As a nurse, I ignorantly thought there was nothing they would teach me, was I ever wrong! Natalie is also a great source of information. Dr. Brown is a wonderful man and a very capable surgeon. His compassion is second to none. Start with the wieght connections class and prepare yourself in advance. It will help change your mind set.

Thanks so much for the encouraging words. My surgery will be in Colorado Springs, Kaiser has recently added Penrose to it's list specifically for this as they are a center of excellence. Do I need to call Kaiser about the Weight Connections program? I would not mind starting that now, ESPECIALLY if it will change my mnindset. That's a big one for me to deal with.

Liz, I am new here, and just got approved with Kaiser last week myself. Congratulations! (And yes, my letter had that year date on it, too.) I'm also in the Springs, and since I had already attended the Orientation with Fran, I was able to make my appointment with Dr. Fedorak immediately and saw him for the first time yesterday. (By the way, I am told that all of the doctors are excellent, and I really enjoyed meeting Dr. Fedorak.) There are support groups that meet at Penrose. I will be going for my second time this Friday night. If you haven't already heard of them, I highly suggest you attend! God bless you!

Hello liz I am also thru kaiser and waited a year and a half before I started surgery connections. I have finished everything and my surgery date is October 17th just a little over a week away. I am so excited and nervous at the same time.