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Hope this helps!
The day begins with our expanded 3rd annual WLS Educational Workshops, which will include breakfast and lunch. The evening includes social hour, silent auction, dinner, music and dance.
Everyone is invited to join us at this MINNESOTA event for ALL WLS patients, supporters, and the WLS medical community, as we continue to learn about and celebrate our new lives.
Mark OCTOBER 8TH on your calendar and sign up ASAP in order to get your first choice of workshops and/or find a spot at the Celebration Dinner and Dance that evening.
We will be at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West Hotel & Conference Center in Plymouth, Minnesota (formerly Radisson). If you wish to stay overnight, guest rooms are available for a discounted rate.
Check this website for more details and in order to sign-up: www.allina.com/ahs/bariatric.nsf , look under "WL Journey".
We also have a website for information only. Check it out at: http://WLSFallGala.com. We will be updating and adding more information to this site in the upcoming week.
I don't know how you made out in this plight since it seems like no one responded to your post. I don't know if you realized that there is The Military Standards of Medical Fitness document of which lists items that need waivers (harder to get) and those that need a medical evaluation board review (easier to get). I also know that they state that WLS is not waiverable. However, I found a large discrepancy in the document. It states on page 5 that you would require a waiver for :
"i. Other. History of any gastrointestinal procedure for the control of obesity does not meet the standard. Artificial openings, including, but not limited to ostomy (V44), do not meet the standard."
However, they also state on page 22 that you only need an MEB (medical evaluation board) for
"e. Gastrectomy, subtotal, with or without vagotomy, or gastrojejunostomy, with or without vagotomy, when, in spite of good medical management, the individual develops “dumping syndrome" which persists for 6 months postoperatively; or develops frequent episodes of epigastric distress with characteristic circulatory symptoms or diarrhea persisting 6 months postoperatively; or continues to demonstrate appreciable weight loss 6 months postoperatively."
The procedure that they describe in this second item that only requires a review is essentially the same procedure that is performed in WLS, but not for weight loss. Hence, the military is discriminating against a surgery because it is for those who are obese. And that is inexcusable. It would be the same as saying that someone with high blood pressure could not get in because they are on medicine that now normalizes it. This is a blatant demonstration of discrimination against the obese who seek to cure their disease through surgery and the diet and exercise that follows. I am disgusted by this. The following website will direct you to the medical standards of fitness that are listed online so you can see that this is true! The military discriminated against gays, and now too the obese!The full document can found at: www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r40_501.pdf
So hopefully more people will respond and push this issue. Has anyone gotten anythwere with this?
The support group in Chadron, Nebraska is starting again. Those of you in Northwest Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming are welcome to attend. Adele Huls, RD PhD and I are the leaders. We are having our meetings the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Chadron Community hospital in the conference room. Anyone who has had banding or is wanting information about surgery are welcome. Hope to see you there. Mona Urwin RN, CBN
Veteran Bandster 2002
Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!
glad to hear your weight loss is going OK. I self paid for a VSG down in Mexico because I haven't had health insurance for a long time. oh, well, better to be thin and poor than fat and poor!!! I have been at goal for awhile but hang out on OH everyday. it's a great source of info & I've met some nice peeps.
I am still job hunting but will probaby move West if possible - maybe Oregon or even Nevada!
once upon a time I had a group to talk about Binge Eating Disorder, and later one about Clean Eating.
PM me if you are interested in either of these.
size 8, life is great
Ha - yes, no mosquitos is NICE! We LOVE to sit out on the back porch when it's nice and just enjoy the air and watch our dogs play like crazy.
I'm not sure if OT is for Occupational Therapist or not, but in case it is and you're still looking, if I can be of any help, let me know. I work for the largest employer in Rapid (Regional Health) who owns 5 hospitals and gobs of clinics. I'm in the IT department, so not directly with patients or anything, but I know some people here - I've worked here for 6 yearsish.
On the weight loss side, I was very lucky to get LapBand surgery when I did - I have some disc problems in my lower back and because of those expenses in that year, I'd paid my out-of-pocket maximum for our insurance for the year ($1700) and since my surgery was before the new fiscal year, I didn't pay a penny. So far my entire cost has been the pre-diet food (about $100) and so far $20 for a fill (though I've had 6 fills now). Not bad at all. I'm 66 lbs down so far and thrilled! I'll admit, there are some doctors in our "network" that I simply do not like at ALL, but our bariatric staff is freaking amazing. They are so kind and so sweet and encouraging they make me look forward to my appointments.
Good luck and I hope things are going well for you! I wish you much luck in your journey!
April
very interesting, actually, I think it's cool you live in a log cabin and can still get pizza delivered!
I have visited the area and I know it's beautiful - I also remember camping in the Black Hills and there were no mosquitos, that was impressive!
once upon a time I had a group to talk about Binge Eating Disorder, and later one about Clean Eating.
PM me if you are interested in either of these.
size 8, life is great
I don't know if you're still looking for a response or not, but thought I'd give you my impression. I like Rapid City. I moved here about 7 years ago after visiting for a family reunion. The weather isn't bad for a northern place - Rapid City is in the banana belt so we get sheltered by the Black Hills from a lot of nasty weather and temperatures. The next few days should be in the 40s and it's February! We get our share of hot and cold, but it's not extreme and not too often.
For me, the city is a great size - not too small, not too big. We have lots of great restaurants because Rapid City is a tourist town for the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and the Sturgis motorcycle rally (Sturgis is 1/2 hour away but most folks stay in Rapid.) There are lots of nice lakes for boating or fishing and the people are nice. I notice your username indicates you have pets. If you have dogs, it's such a great area. We have several leashless dog parks - the closest to me is about a mile away and has a lovely shallow brook for dogs to play in and lots of room to run and you'll find friendly people and dogs there. The terrain is gorgeous - I live in a log cabin in a canyon with rock walls on all sides - just beautiful. We get to see some wildlife - my husband pets the deer, but not the Bighorn Sheep! We don't hear traffic, it's peaceful and the neighbors are nice and we're just a mile out of the city AND we can still get 2 different delivery pizzas out there. There's lots of shopping, which is growing and there are lots of things to do. Geocaching is awesome out here and a great way to get fun exercise.
I hope this helps and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
April
Sarahlicious · 0 replies · 5405 views
