Hi Nancy:
I'm just dropping in to wish you the best, you will do just fine, the most important thing is to keep a positive attitude. Trust me girlfriend this is the BEST thing you can do for yourself and family. It will change your life in so many ways and all it does it get better and better as the days go by.
As far as your freinds, don't let that bring you down, your doing whats best for you, who cares if they say it's the easy way out, that means they truly don't understand what a person like ourselves go thru with being obese and they definately don't understand the thousand of times we've tried to lose that ugly weight. Some people you just can't get thru to so there no use in trying.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you, keep smiling and just think in a couple more days you'll be on the other side, when Andrea gets hers done will all have to meet for lunch, will be cheap dates, buy one meal and will all split it.