11 months later.....February 15th ! (long!!)

Well, Hello fellow VSG'ers for February ! 

I started this adventure when my arthritis took a sharp turn for the worse after contracting the H1N1 virus ( and losing my dear younger brother at 49 years old to this deadly virus).  The virus attacked my joints and that coupled with a fall brought me at 300 lbs to see the orthopedic department of my HMO, Kaiser.  The bone doc told me that my knees were perfect candidates for knee replacement, but that I was not, cue to my super mobid obesity.  It was like having ice thrown in my face. 

So, I had to face either being in a wheel chair and in pain or doing something drastic about my obesity.  The lowest I had been able to diet to was about 255 three years earlier.  I knew the time had come. 

I went back to my PCP to ask for a referral to bariatric surgery, he agreed, and wrote the referral.  With Kaiser there are no insurance hoops, just the internal built in hoops...so I took all the tests (ekg, stress cardiac, non stress cardiac, upper GI, abdominal ultrasound, 19 vials of blood, urine test to insure I wasn't pregnant (I am 54, and had a hysterectomy 3 years ago !) and the 12 week Options class.  I lost the required 5% of my body weight; and have kept losing (very slowly) but not gaining ! 

So, here I am.  Matched with an outside contract surgeon, who I have met, and liked but whose office only schedules his Kaiser patients one day a month.  And he was going out of town in January. 

I would have been scheduled for January 18 -- and that had been "my date" but now it has been put off til 2/15/11. 

The hard part has been switching my brain from the January 'countdown' -- which was almost completed.....to a full month later.

The only positive that I can think of, is that each week I am managing to lose 1/2 to a 1lb, so I hit my own goal of getting below 50% bmi a couple weeks ago, and hit my next mini goal of losing 30 lbs pre surgery (made it yesterday !)  My next goal ?  To hold on to my job long enough to get this paid for ( I will put COBRA on a credit card if I have to ! ) and get this surgery !!!  

That is my long story in a nut shell.  Next weight loss goal ? 267 by surgery date.  

So sorry to hear about the difficulties you've had thus far. But so happy for your upcoming procedure, success, and mini victories along the way!

I saw your post of the new date. 1/24...wow!!!! Lucky girl!!! I'm a little green with envy!    Congrats! Can't wait for you to start rockin' that sleeve!

i hope you get your new knees soon! and a new figure, and less hospital bills. its all coming soon.