According to the news and the PA at the surgeon's office where I *had* an appointment for next week, on February 21st the announcement was made that "Medicare would cover some procedures only at hospitals considered "centers for excellence" by the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery." Hospitals were given no time to apply for certification from either organization. We ALL need to contact our federal congressmen and senators about this. The more he11 we raise, the more likely it is the rule will be reversed or revised. Here are some things to point out in your communication (preferably by phone): 1. There was no notice given for this ruling. Hospitals should have had time to apply for certification. 2. Obesity is a life-threatening disease and this ruling has dramatically reduced the facilities available to perform bariatric surgery for months to come. 3. Waivers ARE available and you should urge your politicians to push for a waiver for your particular hospital. Here's the list of US Senators. Just find yours and slam them with emails & phone calls: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Here's the list of Congressmen. Ditto above: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issuesaction/alertlist/?issue=30

Clothing needed for Ohio family. Original Post by Loraine May at 3:59 AM EST on 02/24/2006 Byesville, OH - RNY (05/06/2005) - Dean J. Mikami, M.D. I have been so busy trying to get this Extreme makeover home invasion pulled together for my friend Patty that I am plum tuckered out. If anyone is interested in helping with some gently used items for this needy family it would certainly be appreciated. Patty is my neighbor *****cently lost her funding for home health care, and a home health aid. She is homebound and super morbidly obese and can no longer move around. She is responsible for caring for her adult mentally retarded brother and is having real difficulties doing so. I have been working with all my gastric bypass support groups to collect size 6 x women's clothing and size 55 jeans and 3 x shirts for her brother Leonard. They are in desperate need of gently used towels, wash clothes, dish clothes, and personal care items. Baby wipes and Gold bond powder. Toothpaste, shampoo and toothbrushes as well. Since becoming homebound Patty has gotten very depressed and suffers greatly from celulitis and chronic severe lymphadema . I have been helping as much as I can by doing her grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. When I was doing their laundry that is when I discovered that all of their clothes were stained badly and torn apart. Even at this size, these people deserve the dignity of having decent clothing on their bodies. They are unable to afford personal care items like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, Laundry soap, bath soap etc. They are both in need of undergarments and socks. Patty wears size 6 x and Leonard wears size 55 jeans and size 3 x crew neck T shirts. Since they are homebound any magazines, paperback books, Music CDs and used DVD's would be greatly appreciated. Next Saturday March the I have arranged for a group of volunteers to help deliver these items, and we will clean their home from top to bottom. I have a local beautician who will give them both haircuts, manicures and a day of beauty treatments while we are busy scrubbing and doing laundry etc. I am feeling so blessed by being able to do this for this wonderful dear lady. She is just my age and suffering so badly. I wish that I could convince her to look into gastric bypass surgery, but that has to be her choice. I guess what I am trying to do by "project Patty" is to show her the kindness of complete strangers and that people care about her.and that with the love and support that she can return to life outside of her living room again. I thank you all for listening and hope that you can help by sending any items that you can find around the house that they might be able to use. If you are interested in helping or just sending a card of encouragement please write and ask for my home address. Please pass this information along to anyone who might have gently used items to contribute to help make this project a huge success. If you are interested in being on the cleaning crew please contact me as soon as possible We need all the hands and strong able bodies we can get to help with some spring cleaning and delivering the clothing etc. We are also in need of someone who knows how to hook up a dvd/vcr player up to an older television set. Thank you all for your help. I knew I could count on you to help make this happen. Lots of Love and Hugs, Laura I thank you all for your help.

I certainly will send her belated congratulations

Do you look at the before and after pictures of others who have had WLS and wonder if the surgery will work for you? Dr. Lawrence W. Smith tells OH readers how to build a supportive team and to be clear about why they had surgery among other very helpful tips. This article plus photos from the OH Costa Mesa event; cardiorespiratory training; and how to select the right bariatric surgery center are all featured in the latest issue of OH Magazine, which focuses on nutrition for a healthy lifestyle. If you are already a subscriber, tell us which article you found the most interesting or helpful to you. If you have not subscribed yet, it is easy to do. You can log onto http://oh-magazine.com or call toll free 1-866-297-4966. You will receive a one year bimonthly subscription for only $25. And remember, if your doctor is not a subscriber pass the word on to his office staff.

Ronda Einbinder
ObesityHelp
Public Relations/Staff Writer :type:

Over the past few weeks True Lemon has been sending out many of their product samples. If you have received or have used the product in the past, take a moment to give your review. You can do this by going to this link:
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