The Nature of the Game

 Hey everyone I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack after being MIA for months.

Ive missed you guys a lot and life basically went on and I went on with it and I kept meaning to come back and share with my family here at OH and you know how procrastination likes to snowballs.

I took a minute to glance at the board. Doris and Derek you two are on FIRE. I'm beyond proud of you guys.
Derek especially, bro, you are inches from the finish line. I'm so happy for you and I'm really excited to follow you on your journey and learn from your experience. You're the closest guy to my age here and for this to be happening for you, it hits home for me and inspires me. Save me a seat on the loser's bench :) (btw i saw your vlog on youtube and loved it, very beneficial)

Before I really get into the meat and potatoes of the post I wanna give you guys the most recent update on my journey. I got a call mid-january ish regarding my surgery. They took all my info and put me on the official list. Since I seen the dr in november, i'd already waited about two months and the lady on the phone told me I would have to wait about twelve months for the surgery. 
So in January 2012 two things could happen. The world could end. OR I could get my VSG. I'm sure either choice will be life changing ;)

Now to get to the actual post. The game I refer to in the title of the post is the waiting game. Its a reference to the extended period that we have to wait between seeing the doctor, being put on the waiting list, and then actually doing preop tests, optifast, and ultimately the surgery.

I have to admit, I did not expect it to be as depressing as it is. On one hand, time is literally FLYING by. It feels like yesterday i got that call in january. But still sometimes it hits me that I have such a long time ahead of me, 4 months down, 10 to go, and thats before I actually start the process of losing weight  and working down to goal and maybe, dare i say, onederland. (which ofcourse is a lot more fun than waiting for surgery).

Not one day goes by that I don't think about the surgery and what life will be like after. The drive to the hospital, waking up from surgery, loosing the weight and seeing people's reaction to the new me, rubbing cocoa butter on the stretch marks as they slowly but surely and finally fade away with the weight, working out to fill out the loose skin and get the body i want.....the list never ends...

Sometimes I wallow in my fears a bit and start dreading gaining weight while I wait, Ive stayed constant so far but  what if I gain a bit and they take off the day program and I have to wait even longer. I know being 18 with no comorbidities is also a big factor but I always wonder what if. Thank god I am managing to stay constant and lose a pound here or there but I am an emotional eater so I do go a little crazy if something drastic happens in my life. 

Another thing is that I smoke occasionally, not a pack a day or anything heavy like that, i want to say social smoker but that label can mean 50 different things. Its not a huge concern for me since its not something that I am at all dependent on, I just definitely need to cut down totally for good or at least for a nice long period before and after to ensure that my surgery and recovery go fine.

So here I am waiting and waiting and waiting for the next step. I want to call someone to check up on things but I have no clue who to call, if anyone knows that would be really great. The nurse said they would call 6 month prior to the surgery for pre-op, which by my current estimation is june. I'm happy though that I have amazing friends and a very active academic and social life to keep time  flowing smoothly and to keep me distracted from over-thinking everything. I also have all of you to confide in and bounce my concerns off of you as we are all on that journey together.

I miss you all and I will definitely be on more often I promise :)

Hey Dude! 
Welcome back! I'm only 13 days away from surgery! It's so close I can almost "feel?" it? Your thought process right now is spot on with many pre-op'ers. I went through the same process. Some days/weeks/months are easier than others but every day that goes by is one day closer. Some it's longer. Some it's shorter. But in the end, we will all get what we want and that is our health back for good! Please do checkin more often dude. It's amazing how much you will learn on this board! Those 2 years I waited were definitely worth it.

Derek