khaupt

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To Whom It May Concern:

I never thought I would one day find myself in the position I am today, looking towards having weight loss surgery. However, I am thankful that the opportunity is available to me and I am excited about the possibility of having this surgery done. By having this surgery, I know that my life would be forever blessed - through hard work and dedication I would become the person I've always dreamed of being, the person I know is inside of me.

At 22 years old I am not where I had hoped to be in life. I spend most of my time alone, or with my parents, and am afraid to venture out and seek new friendships because of my appearance, I am embarrassed. I am not nearly as active as I had been before in the past when I was thinner, nor am I nearly as happy. Lacking an active social life as truly affected me. By being in better shape, and feeling more confident, I know my happiness would once again return as I become more active and return to the social scene.

I have been overweight for much of my life and never have been truly successful in any previous weight loss attempts. I have depression, PCOS, borderline cholesterol, and I'm morbidly obese. I don't socialize as much as I have in the past and haven't been in any serious relationships in nearly 3 years. I'm constantly tired, sad, and stressed. I get winded when I walk, esp. if I have to climb a staircase. Both of my parents are morbidly obese, and so I have genetics working against me. I frequently get sick, and I'm tired of it. As of now I am not physically able to have children, and that breaks my heart.

I am a nursing student at Hennepin Technical College. The more I've come to learn about the workings of the human body, the more my desire is to be healthy. I have finally come to the realization that I need to do something about my obesity now so that I don't suffer its consequences later down the road, such as forming Type 2 Diabetes. I want to be healthy, active, and full of energy. My life could be so much more full, and I know I have yet to reach my potential in life.

I have many goals I would like to accomplish during my weight loss and once I have reached a healthy weight. Out of all the things on my list though, there is one that means more to me than anything else - and that is becoming a wife and mother.

I think I am an ideal candidate for weight loss surgery because not only do I qualify, but I am younger than most patients and would heal faster. I've never had any serious surgeries or illnesses in the past, and believe that would prove to be beneficial during surgery and recovery. I also understand that bariatric surgery is a tool, not a solution, and requires a complete lifestyle change. I am dedicated and determined to succeed, and would put my whole heart into making the changes necessary to be successful.

I would like to thank you for your time in considering my application for bariatric surgery. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Katherine Haupt

So, after exactly a month I finally got all my papers together for my weight loss surgery application. *smiles* I could have had it done sooner, but I continued to put it off until I decided that I really needed to get busy with my life.

I'm a strange creature. I put off change, even if it will be postive. "I'll get a job.... next semester." "I'll go to the single's ward... next Sunday." "I'll go on a diet.. tomorrow." I like I do that because I don't have enough confidence in myself to do it, or I'm just plain out scared. But by holding myself back, I've been living down my life.

I figure I'm 22, and I need to get the ball rolling. There's so much I want to do and see, and I only get one shot at life - so I better milk it for all its worth.

So, if everything comes together smoothly with this surgery thing...

I should have an appointment to go meet with a bariatric nurse sometime in July. When I meet with her we'll set up appointments for a number of tests I'll have to get done, which will all probably take place sometime in the months of July and August.

Once the tests are done, then the hospital will complete a letter to send to my insurance asking for approval for the surgery, which I think they will give. It should take 1-3 weeks to recieve approval, after which I'll meet with my bariatric surgon -  probably in September.

When I meet with the surgeon we'll make a date for the surgery, which is usually within a month, which brings us to October.

The only thing I have to worry about is how all this is going to affect school, though I think I will be able to work around it. If I give my teachers plenty of notice I should be able to complete some assignments ahead of time or online. I'm not really that worried about it.
It should take about 2 weeks to recover and that I'll be good to go. And once that surgery is done the weight is just going to come flying off.

Even though every body is different, I've noticed that those that stick with the program and work hard can loose 100 lbs in 6 months - so I've made that my goal. So, by next April I'd be back to looking like I did my senior year, and come next summer I'll be able to walk around wearing shorts WILLINGLY for the first time since elementary school.

Then, finally by the end of summer next year I'll be at a healthy weight for the FIRST TIME in my life. My goal is to reach 150 - which I know I can do.

I really am excited, my life is going to completely change. Katherine is getting an extreme makeover, heh.

And you know boys, once I slim down... I WON'T BE ON THE MARKET MUCH LONGER! MWA AH HA HA HA!

I just thought I'd mention that

Well... let the game begin. Bring it.

So, in just a few more days I'll be at the informational session - which, from reading posts from people who have gone to the same meeting - is actually really benefical. I've also been checking up on people who used the same insurance that I'll be covered under, and it sounds like I'll have a smooth ride.

I have to admit though - I'm nervous. I've never been a fan of surgery. The last and only real surgery I've had was to get my tonsils taken out. I was so upset and stressed they had to give me something just to make me calm down... the surgery went fine, of course, but I woke up with the worse sore throat of my life. Bleh. I guess after waking up from WLS I'll have the worse stomach ache of my life - yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. Woohoo.

I still want to go through with it though - and am looking forward to the support I'll receive not only from my family and friends, but from the medical staff and fellow WLS patients.

Well, I'll let you know how it goes....