Hey, guys, doing my thing, cant wait to graduate soon and get that job to get health insurance for wls. Anyway anyone tried the new WISHBONE SPRITZERS? It's like 'i cant believe it's not butter' spray but with caesar dressing, and vinagerette. They're amazingly delicious, and recommend them, since i think the nutrition on it isn't too bad.  Other than that, joined a Rugby team, although they know i don't have insurance yet, they dont discourage me from practice. I wish i could tackle as it's a fun aspect of the sport for me. But anyway, trying to look into active things, that would benefit me now and after wls.  On other news, did anyone hear of the man who was trying to adopt a child but agencies wouldn't allow it because of his weight exceeding 500+ pounds. As i think this **** is bogus, at least when other surgeons heard this story they offered to give him gastric bypass surgery for free. Seriously, he should allow to adopt regardless. I feel anyone should adopt as long as theyre's a loving family involved and a good home. End of story. But please comment :-)  Full story http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290849,00.html

Joe, That Rugby will leave you bruised and battered! Good running, but tends to come with a lot of contusions and jammed knuckles (if memory serves me right) It does look fun. The story? I think this is the same guy…..

Man Resorts to Surgery to Adopt Child

By GRANT SLATER, AP Posted: 2007-08-25 01:56:01 DALLAS (AP) - A man who weighed 558 pounds when a Missouri judge prevented him from adopting a child he and his wife had taken into their home underwent gastric bypass surgery Friday in a bid to win the child back. Gary Stocklaufer, a 34-year-old truck driver, and his wife claim a judge unfairly discriminated against them because of his weight in deciding to give 4-month-old Max to another couple for possible adoption. The infant from Arlington, who is related to the Stocklaufers, had lived with them since he was a week old. This is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese, several adoption experts said. Missouri officials would not confirm the reason Max was removed from the Stocklaufers' home, citing the confidentiality of ongoing court proceedings in adoption cases. Stocklaufer, of Independence, Mo., dieted before the surgery and weighed 480 pounds when he entered the Renaissance Hospital in Dallas for the pro bono operation that could help him shed more than half his bulk. "They have legally kidnapped this child," Cindy Stocklaufer said Friday as her husband recovered from surgery. "There's no guarantee losing the weight will change anything, but we have to try." The Jackson County (Mo.) court is required "to consider the welfare and best interests of the child" which is a "complicated determination," court spokeswoman Kelley Carpenter said in an e-mail. An adoptive parent's health is one of the factors considered by investigators at the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the department's communications director, Ana Margarita Compain-Romero. She could not comment on the specifics of the case. James Waits, a lawyer for the couple taking care of Max, declined to comment. Max is in adoptive placement with the couple, Cindy Stocklaufer said. The Stocklaufers have been married 15 years and are licensed by the state of Missouri as foster parents and cared for children. In November 2000, they adopted another relative, 8-year-old Robert. The same judge who denied their petition to adopt Max approved Robert's adoption after multiple house visits and background checks, Cindy Stocklaufer said. Even then, her husband weighed more than 500 pounds. "They never even mentioned it when we adopted Bobby, and he was the same size," she said. Lee Allen, vice president of the National Council for Adoption, said he believes the court has forgotten the best interest of the child in this case, considering the Stocklaufers are the boy's relatives chosen as parents by the birth mother with a previous successful adoption. "What I'm really, really impressed with is the fact that this man is willing to go to whatever lengths to adopt Max and raise him," he said. More and more American agencies have started considering the weight of adoption applicants as they place children, said Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center, though definitions of dangerous obesity vary by state agency. The regulations are designed to insure permanency for the child, she said. In May, the Chinese government began considering the body mass index of American parents when screening couples' eligibility for international adoption.    08/25/07 01:54 EDT His whole ordeal has been followed in the news from several angles.  It is amazing that the judge would allow him to adopt once, but not with this one.... Best Wishes- Dx

Hi Joe,

I think I can see the rationale: 

We have surgery with insurance coverage so that we can live a long healthy life.

Judges are blocking obese people from adopting thinking they may not have a long healthy life.

Dave

Hey........try to adopt if you are gay or lesbian.......over weight or not....and yes we can provide stable homes...so there are many reasons they descriminate against people who want to adopt....I work wwith children with psychiatric problems.....trust me that we need more people to foster and adopt........Any stable person SHOULD be able to foster or adopt