6 Years Ago , My New Life Began ..

Today is my 6 year Surgiversary . It is a day I will never forget as long as I live . I went into this weighing right around 309 , but my heaviest weight was 349 ,
Here I am with my grandson at Halloween, I was supposed to be Baby from Monster inc , Then you see the one of me in the hospital bed , that was the day of surgery in ICU .., wanting more pain meds ... Of course ...  ..




SO Here I am today ... I am down to 125 pounds . While I have had no complications from the RNY , I have Addisons Disease. I have no adrenal glands. I have a hard time keeping weight on because I take a boat load of steroids and it has my metabolism whacked ,

I want to thank God for getting me through this , My family who doubted this from day one , who are now my biggest fans . To my surgeon , Dr, Neil Hutcher I will never forget you telling me I brought you to your knees . I had a lot of hernias to repair and he was in there 7 hours.  

Today I sit here weighing 125 pounds . I have had all if my plastics done , Breast Lift , Silicone Implants, Butt Lift ( Used my own skin no implants ) Bracchioplasty ( Arms ) Abdomnioplasty , All I have left is my legs , and I have had people tell me I do not need to do them , but we will see ,

I am the happiest I have ever been in my life ,. I have done things I could only dream of doing , I have snorkeled almost the entire Caribbean , I have learn to run with out getting out of breath , I am a support group leader as well as a Bariatric Life Coach. My goal in life is to give back to those that come after me ,
I remarried in 07 to a man that sometimes I feel I do not deserve. He treats me like a princess  . I am a grandmother of 3 beautiful boys , who with out this surgery I would not be able to play with and enjoy . The list goes on and on ....
I just want to say to those who are thinking about this surgery , what ever type .. do your homework . Make sure you pick the surgeon that is right for you , choose the surgery that is right for you .,., and Never  Ever let anyone tell you you are cheating . This has been the hardest thing I have ever done . No diet out there was this hard . So with that ,I just want to say thank you again to all my friends here on OH ... to my Support Group Leader Mentors who had faith in me to bring me back into the group .
If you find you need help , you can reach me at www.vawlsevents.com  , I also run an on line support group here on OH called LIFESTARTS.
. You may visit the group at http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/LifeStartsWLS08/.
If you are interested in joining I would love to have you . I am also getting ready to partner up ad restart my group in the TRI City Area in Richmond VA Area . This will be announced soon as we get a place to hold our meetings .

Happy i am ... Excited about my life .. knowing that I received the ultimate gift and tool . One I refuse to abuse . You can say pounds gone forever , but I am here to tell you , that is a lie ... you must always fight to keep the pounds off , Nothing is forever with out hard work  .

SO , here is me today .... Yes I am very proud of my accomplishments ... So today I go and celebrate . My Hubs is taking me to Bonefish Grill , where I will have the Chilean Sea Bass , my favorite .
So again .. Thank you to all that have supported me here , and abroad . I love each and everyone of you . I will be your Always Tink ! 

Proud Obesity Help Bariatric Life Coach

Looking good Natalie.

Tink.....you're one of the many WLS folks I've always wanted to meet face2face so this will have to do for now:
YOU ARE A TRUE INSPIRATION.
Let alone the "visible progress".....you're an EMOTIONAL SPIRIT, inspiring me all the time.
I never saw that "in bed" before picture and all I can say is.... YOU GO GIRL!!!! 

May you live in nothing but health and happiness.....YOU'VE WORKED FOR IT and EARNED IT !!!

Hugs,
Karen