FART - Time for my 15 Minutes of Fame...

Well it looks like I'm really the poster child for WLS now.  Check out my OH profile page to see the ad that Duke has started running in local magazines of me and my old walking buddy Jack the wonder lab. They have also added my WLS story to their website. I knew they were working on it but the CEO of my company emailed me Friday afternoon with a note that he had seen the ad in the local Triangle Business Review. So I guess all I can say is "I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Deville"!! I did go to Duke last weekend and talk with about 30 pre-med students that are interested in weight issues as a focus. I must be getting old or college kids are just getting a lot younger. They asked a lot of good questions and we had a very interesting discussion of the mental and physical aspects of having WLS. Couple of FART to mention today –   I played softball last night for my company team. It felt really good to be back on the old diamond. I played a lot of softball in my 18-30 years but have been a way because I was so overweight I could not bend over to stop a grounder or run to a base. It is the first time I have played in over 18 years and I did pretty well, I think. My goal was to sustain no injuries and to not embarrass myself or my team, anything beyond that was gravy. I went 2 for 3 at bat with two RBIs plus I shagged a couple of nice hits into deep right field. I would have hit 3 for 3 but the sun was setting over the pitcher’s head on my third at bat so even with good sunglasses any pitch in the strike zone was just an orange ball. I picked out what I thought was the ball and ended with a popup to the shortstop.   I broke my previous hike distance/speed record of Saturday. Me and two buddies did a moderate rated trail hike of 7.5 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes which is almost ten minutes faster that our previous time from six months ago. I’m not ready to go trail running yet but I am up to 4+ miles per hour non-stop for ten miles now.  It so great to be back to living my life again. My two year surgiversery is tomorrow and all I can say it has been a really great ride so far. For those that have the commitment to eat right and exercise regularly after having WLS you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!! Two year ago I could barely walk to my truck at the end of the workday and now I climb mountains. Good Luck, Tim