Joni, I am so excited for you. I didn't realize you might be having the surgery at Shelby instead. That is like 10 minutes from my house. The 1st is my daughter's birthday....but she will be in school, ect.. so count on my being there if that is still ok. You just need to tell those docs that we are your family and we can see you...LOL I would offer to take you in for a night but honestly Joni, my son's would drive you nuts. I know how your nerves are with kids and all so I didn't offer on that account. Plus...I know my kids...hehehehe I will do everything I can for you otherwise. I just can't wait, I'm so excited for you... Beth

Oh, my sister DOES know and she's supportive and my nephew's wife knows. They are both RN's so they know it would do wonders for my health. And they will be able to cover for me with my mother so she won't have to find out. The hospital will be, I think, Shelby. I had told them I wanted Brookwood at first, but now I want Shelby because it's easier to get to and it's easier for all you to get to. The address is.....hmmmm, let me see....can't find it, BUT.... The doctor's address (and he is right there by the hospital) is: Richard Stahl, MD 1004 First Street North, Suite 250 Alabaster, AL 35007-8798 So if you use that address, you will still be able to find the hospital since it's right there connected to the building. Oh my go****his is going to be wonderful to be able to see some of you all as well as get my surgery. But dang it all, you won't be able to bring me a cheeseburger! Hopefully, they will get your background check done quickly and you will be on your way to a new life! Here's to us all and our new and better lives! Love, Joni

Congratulations Joni! I'm so happy for you! You'll be in my thoughts on the 1st! Becky

It is your decision and business who you tell and who you do not tell. Im behind whatever you decide 100%. You have your reasons and I respect them even tho my common sense is telling me to persuade you to at least tell your sister, you must do what you feel you have to do for YOU and no one else. NOW, if my plans go according to how I want them, this would be the perfect time for you to have surgery and I will not call until Im pulling out the driveway which would be on the 3rd , unless they call me tomorrow and I can go ahead and turn in my notice THAT would be PERFECT! Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeez how long does it take to check out a background, this waiting is the pits. If you have the address of the hospital, send it to me so I can go to yahoo maps and print out directions. Dont worry bout nothing, you have come too far to let anything screw this up and NOTHING will screw it up so get those thoughts out of your head, right now, you hear me. Its ALL GOOD and from here on out it IS going to stay GOOD! Love Ya! Sandy

Well, I never thought I would get the chance to post those words, but I will be having my WLS on September 1st! 3 weeks from tomorrow. I could have had it on the 18th, but that's when I'm having my D & C. I could have had it on the 25th, but my court date for the foreclosure is on the 24th, so I have to get that done. Plus, I need to get my September check to be able to rent my hotel room, etc. Can't go down there penniless, although I will be penniless when I return. I don't know what I will do about my bills for the rest of the month. At least I won't have as big a grocery bill! Anyway, in the scheme of things, with all I have waited these long months, 3 more weeks...and just knowing it's GOING TO HAPPEN, I can deal with waiting until September 1st. My birthday is September 4th, so no birthday cake for me, but I will be getting the best gift of all. I decided NOT to post my approval and date to the Bama Board because I don't want some of those people knowing anything about my situation. I thought about it and then just cringed at the thought of it, so I did not post to them. Instead, I just sent an email to a few of the people I still keep in contact with. I think that's the best thing to do. I'm still trying to decide whether to tell a friend of mine in Alabaster. She has been my friend since grammar school and I know she would help me and might even let me stay at her house for a few days, but I am just wondering how much I can trust her. I am sort of wondering if she would call my parents behind my back. I do not want my parents to know about the surgery until after it is over...if then. So, if I do call her and tell her...and I really do want to...I think I will wait until maybe the day before the surgery or even call her from the hospital AFTER the surgery. I don't know. I think maybe if I make her promise not to tell my parents, she won't do it, but some people think it's just horrible that I'm not telling my parents. But they don't KNOW my parents. If I tell my parents, they will make my life a living hell up until the day of the surgery and will make my sister's life a living hell, calling her behind my back telling HER to stop me from doing it. Then they will be all up in the air talking about how they will have to come to Birmingham and there is no way they can travel to Birmingham at their age. And they don't need the worry, again, at their age. I am just so afraid of someone telling them. And now I have to make some sort of excuse to leave the city limits. My mother has a follow-up appt. with her doctor on September 1st, but it's not for anything in particular. She went yesterday and they scheduled her for an appt. on the 1st as a follow-up. So she will be expecting me to tote her there. Also, my sister's MIL is at death's door and if she passes away, I will be expected to be there at the funeral. But I swear....I have spent my life bowing to my family and giving in when they tell me what I cannot do. And if I DON'T give in, they never let me forget how I let them down. This surgery is for me. I am going to have the surgery for me. I need this. I will not allow anyone to take it from me. I don't know what I am going to tell my parents about where I am going to be for those few days, but dammit, I deserve this. This is the one thing that can save me and I will not let anyone stand in the way of it. Anyway, didn't mean to ramble on and on, but I am in this depression...since nothing ever seems to go right for me, I am trying to think about what will happen to keep me from having this surgery. I know for one thing, my mother will throw a holy conniption fit if I am not there on my birthday. I'm thinking of telling her I am going to be in Birmingham for tests....routine tests because of my disability. Since I have been on disability for two years, I can say they are doing a bunch of tests on me, more stuff to verify my disability. She'll throw a fit on that one too because she throws fits all the time because I go to the doctor every two weeks in Cullman. She doesn't know I see a psychologist and that it's in Decatur now. Too damned much to explain and she will hit the friggin' roof if she ever finds out I'm seeing a psychologist. She just goes on and on about "Why can't they let you see a doctor here in town?" I tell her over and over and over that there is an Aetna Center in Cullman that I have to go to to have my blood pressure taken and blood work every now and then and they just have to see me every two weeks. She is elderly and I realize I have to explain things to her repeatedly, but I have had to do that all my life, even when she wasn't elderly. I'm just sick of it. Anyway, I will shut up. Even though I am having to wait until the 1st to have it, I know other people have had to wait longer and after all these months of fighting for it, I am just glad to be getting it. And 3 weeks isn't that bad of a wait. It's just the fact that I could have had it on the 18th that gets me. But I have a lot to do to get ready...get my clothes together, eat all the foods in the house, check out the clothes I will be able to wear before long! And I will be able to throw away some of my bras! My bras are the most pitiful group of things in the world. They either have no support or they're torn from my yanking them off. I have had to throw away three of them lately. Since I am always in pain with this fibromyalgia and arthritis, I have such a hard time putting on and taking off bras. I will get home and be drenched with sweat and I can't get my bra to slide around where I can undo the hooks and I will just RIP it, tearing the hooks and there goes another bra. I have TWO that are front hooked that work well, but since I have to wear the others while those two are getting washed, I have to deal with bra hell most days. Hopefully, the surgery will make me feel better where I can deal with it better. And if I freeze to death like everyone else seems to after surgery, maybe I won't be so damned drenched in sweat all the time. Ok, I said I was going to shut up. Love you all and hope everyone close by will come see me in the hospital... Joni