As a pre-op I live to look at the pics and profiles of all you beautiful people.. By all means I am not gay but some of the men on here have made great changes in their lives and I strive to be like them.. I want to be able to do things that I can not do right now and being able to dress nice is one of them. Bubba's tent and parachute shop only has a limited amount of nice things.. I want to be able to look good. As far as being "catty" about some of the women I can not believe someone would do that. Hell we are all in the same boat it is just that some have been sailing a little longer than the rest of us and we will hopefully all get a chance to capitan the ship.. I enjoyed the little time I spent there.. and I do believe that all the women there were beautiful no matter what stage in the journey they happen to be at.. PEACE

Hell we consider ourselves lucky to have you on our board.. Come on over anytime.. PEACE

Hey there Mrs Cheryl.. Let me start off by saying that you are a very special lady to me.. I am so glad that we started emailing each other. I want you to know that you have been about half of the reason I have continued by WLS Journey. You have been so good to me. If you all didn't know Cheryl helped start a support group in Waco and I have attended a few meetings, but Cheryl and I email each other about 4 times a day. And she is a very nice lady. Although she will have her surgery 2 weeks before me.. But that just means she will be a loser when she comes to see me in the hospital. Cheryl, like my angel Tx Rachel, were the two main reasons I went to Arlington and I am so glad they "convinced" me to go.. Cheryl thanks for everything and tell Devin I said hello.. PEACE

Yvonne I have to admit when I first emailed you I was intimidated simply by the fact that you could pass as a fashion model but the more we emailed I started to feel like a person, not some huge ogre. Well I am still huge but I don't think I look that much like an ogre..LMAO.. It feels so good to read all the kind words from you and all the other people here on the board. I have to work on being able to take a compliment and not going straight into the "aww shucks " mode. As far as driving over and "blessing" you with my presence thanks, but I am just glad that I had the common sense to drive over because it made me feel like a totally different person. Seeing all the ladies was so nice but seeing how Bo and Crow were treated made me feel really good.. And for once not be embarrassed by being big.. Once again thanks for every thing.. You are a wonderful lady. PEACE

Deb I felt lucky to be in that circle of beauty.. I am still on cloud nine thinking about how the people were so genuine. I was sure that people would still look at me funny because I am PRE-OP but that was not the case. It was so nice to put a face to name. All the women were so beautiful. I am so glad my angel talked me into going. PLUS all the wonderful ladies in the Waco support group. They are such awesome people. Once again thanks for allowing me to dance with such a wonderful group of women. And like you I am starting a OH fund right now.. Feel free to email anytime.. PEACE

I went to the Luau Saturday night in Arlington and words can not explain how much this event has impacted my life. Although it was only a few hours out of my life, it will have an impact on the rest of my life. At first the only reason I went was to meet a very special person, my angel Rachel, but I am so glad she talked me into going because the people there were so nice. My angel is a God send I bet I haven't had my picture taken so many times or even danced that much in the last 10 years simply because I was so Damn big. I mean don't get me wrong I know I am still big but you all didn't care... That was the best part. No one at that event judged me. I mean if nothing else they made me feel like a normal person.. It was so great to see all the people there from the board. The ladies from the board made me feel so good. I have such a great respect for them it isn't funny.. On my way home I cried because I realized how bad I had been treated over the years because of my size. But that was not the case at all at the luau.. I felt so special. The staff from OH were so great. Bo and Crow have become an inspiration for me. Thank you so much for having a great place for us Pre-Op people to feel welcome. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL PEACE

Do you realize how much grass I would have to cut down in order to make a grass skirt? That would create another desert. I do have a Hawiian shirt though. I hope to make it there.. PEACE

I will just give you **HUGS** and say a prayer for you. You are too sweet of a lady to have anything like this happen to you.. PEACE

May God Bless you and give you strength in your time of need.. PEACE

Even if you lose 100 pounds and still have a BMI large enough they should do the surgery. I started my six month diet plan and dropped 44 pounds and still qualify for the surgery. My insurance requires a BMI of 40 or 35 with co-morbidities. ( joint pain, depression, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc) Make sure your pcp documnets any of the above. I hope this helps.. PEACE

My grandfather was just diagnosed with cancer and I know he will never use your hair. But now that I have become part of the group affected by they ugly disease I thank you from the bottom of my heart. GOD BLESS YOU PEACE

all I had to get was a referral from my PCP and I was basically done.. But then again I had a BMI of 62 with diabetes and joint pain. Plus my insurance is Scott and White insurance and they are the one's paying for me to go their hospital. I am sorry I can't help you. But I finish up my 6 months next Tuesday and I have to wait until July 7th for my surgery.. PEACE

Mija you look muy bonita.. PAZ