Question:
Seeking Humorous / Inspirational Experiences
Hello. We are seeking member contributions to be included in our publications and would love to hear from you. We're working on two sections we want content for. #1 : "What was the funniest thing you've ever experienced or heard of in the weight loss surgery experience?" Share your experience. #2 : "What was the most inspirational or touching thing you have ever experienced in the WLS process." Please share with us! Thanks. — ericklein (posted on May 15, 2003)
May 15, 2003
The most inspirational experience for me has been the WLS members that
belong to this site! I had WLS and it gave me my life back and my family
back. I could not have gotten through many emotional times without the
support of my family and other post-op WLS members. Thank you for getting
me through this wonderful journey!~ Sandy 7mo post-op open rny lost 119#
— Sandy M.
May 15, 2003
When the nursing staff first got me up to take a walk, a few hours after
surgery..they kept saying, "Get up..let's take a little walk." I
kept telling them, "I can not get up." They thought that I was
just sore and meant that it hurt (which it did! HA) Finally, my sister
says, "Her hair is hung on the trapeze bar! I literally could not get
up. Too funny.
Most touching moment...a few days before the surgery, my mother gave me a
necklace that had a small mustard seed enclosed in a glass pendant. It had
been her necklace. She had won it in bible school as a young child. She
reminded me that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, that everything
would be fine. It was a great comfort to me.
— rpoepke
May 15, 2003
Well, here is a funny, but kind of blonde momoent on my part (no pun
intended, Iam blonde). Everyone told me to take tongs to the hospital with
me to reach the lower extremities because of abdominal discomfort, so I
did. NOt thinking I took a pair of the metal ones like they use at buffets
etc. Needless to say my aim was not good and the first time I had to wipe
my bottom I really scratched my bottom. One hundred and sixty pounds down
and it is still there.
— Jennifer E.
May 15, 2003
My most inspirational experience in this process is about a month prior to
surgery I almost backed out, thoughts of what or who am I to change what
the Lord provided for my body. I really was torn between thinking I doing
the right thing and going against what the Lord wanted. So I did alot of
praying and asking the Lord if I was doing the right thing. I didn't really
want to change His design but wanted to repair the damage I had caused. I
asked that He give me peace if He approved. I did get a calm over me that
was heaven sent from above. I never again doubted what I was doing was the
right thing. I knew it was! My husband says still today he can't believe
how calm I was about it. I praise the Lord everyday for giving me the peace
I needed to do this.
— Barbara S.
May 15, 2003
My story is about the most touching thing I experienced in the WLS process.
Like many morbidly obese people, I grew up as an overweight child. I also
grew up with a morbidly obese mother. During my pre-op WLS journey, I did
a lot of work around the emotional issues that have factored into my
obesity, and it was during this time that I experienced a powerful
realization that the source and nature of the shame that I had been living
with since my childhood, was that I grew up believing that my own mother
was ashamed of me because I was overweight and I had believed that I should
be ashamed of my mother for the same reason. This realizatoin led to a
talk with my mother where we spoke with one another in a way that we had
never spoken in the past. Because of this conversation, I was able to be
released from my sense of shame while my mother heard from me that I was
not ever ashamed of her, that I was incredibly proud of her and that I
always loved her round softness, especially as a little girl. It was a
beautiful mother/daughter moment that I will cherish forever.
— rebalspirit
May 15, 2003
The most inspirational thing that has happend to me since I have had weight
loss surgery is my last trip back to Aruba. for the past 6 years I have
been going to Aruba and it used to be so embarrasing asking for a seat belt
extender and those coach planes are very small and i used to feel swished
all the time. also when the meal would come i couldnt flip that tray down
and eat because my body was so big..so now i can fly with out any
discomfort or embaressement..also i also always wanted to para sail but i
was embarresed to do it because of my size i figured the boat couldnt go
fast enough to get me up in the air..lol..well this year i took a 20 minute
ride up in the air para sailing and i felt absolutly free up there in the
air..i kind of thought it symbolized the weight loss gone and feeling free
again..
— JoAnn
May 15, 2003
Shortly after reaching my goal weight, we moved into our newly built home.
I couldn't wait to use our new jacuzzi tub. After moving and sweating all
day I was looking forward to it. I got the jets going sat down and relaxed
for the first time that day. My husband walked in and looked at me
stretched out and said "What in the world is floating in the
tub?" I looked down and started laughing, with him soon joining in. It
was all of my skin floating to the top of the water. Needless to say I
worked very hard at getting insurance approval for my Panniculectomy a few
months after that. It's a good thing I didn't go to a public pool first!!!
— Janie C.
May 15, 2003
On the humorous side. I was walking through a Home Depot looking at
bathroom cabinets and mirrors. As I was glancing up and down, I caught
sight of myself in the mirror. I stopped and looked up to see who that was
that was standing behind me. The reflection was actually me! I didn't
recognize myself! Now I am never surprised when someone I do know walks
right on by and doesn't recognize me.
— Linda K.
May 15, 2003
About eight months after surgery, and nearly 100 pounds gone, I took my dog
for a walk on a nice Spring day. All the neighbors were out in their
yards, after months of cocooning inside during a harsh winter. As I
rounded the corner on the next block over, a woman planted herself in my
path and said, "I know that dog, and the woman who owns that dog. But
who are you, and what are YOU doing with that dog?!?" Before she
could bust me out to ... who, the police K9 unit? ... she realized I *am*
the woman who owns that dog; there's just 100 pounds less of me now. It's
been a couple of months since then, but we still burst out laughing every
time we see each other!
— Suzy C.
May 15, 2003
I think the funniest story that I can recall is when I went to my
primary physician for my routine blood work post-op.. I mentioned to him
that I was feeling great after the loss of 100 pounds so far but that I had
these hard lumps developing on both of my sides of my lower body, below
my waist line.. He asked, "Where exactly" then he began to
poke around. I pointed to my sides.. He felt around a bit more then said,
"You mean right here...Is this what your're talking about". I
replied "yes, that's it" He started to laugh ... and I do
mean a real belly laugh... then said, "Well you'll live.... it's only
your hip bones that your feeling" he continued to laugh ... patting
me on the shoulder as he walked out of the room.. :) I'm now 3 1/2 years
post-op and still holding 140 pounds and loving life..
— Victoria B.
May 15, 2003
The funniest was probably when I went back to my college to visit my old
roommate. She, her b/f and some other friends and I all went to a bar. So
me and her b/f sat on a stool and talked while she went to speak with a
friend at the other end. I saw her looking over at me and kind of talking
loud and in a huff. Then she came over to me and was cracking up. She had
just been saying to her friend "Who is this hot blond flirting with my
boyfriend..." LOL she didn't realize it was me, she wasn't used to
seeing me a size 5! :-) it made me feel good
— Lezlie Y.
May 15, 2003
I don’t know why, but being over 115lbs thinner and feeling so
wonderful physically, I just seem to be able to handle things better. Crazy
huh??? Bad things still happen (Post op 2family deaths, a near fatal car
accident for 2 of my daughters, and the recent deployment of my husband and
son), but my faith as well as my physical stamina seem to get stronger
everyday. The night of my daughters’ accident I remember having
to throw something on and dash out the door. This may sound corny, but just
being able to get dressed that way, was something I would never have been
able to do before. I realized that something as insignificant as throwing
on clothes (that fit)in a hurry, and running out the door, would have left
me a sweaty, breathless, & depressed mess in the past. (and a mess with
untied sneakers at that, cause I could-of NEVER tied em in the car the way
I can now). Not to be dramatic, but It’s little things like these
that are so overwhelming for me.~I hope this doesn’t sound
trivial or petty, but in spite of all of the ugly circumstances I just find
it so incredible that I can still feel so good. I’m telling you
guys, bad things are still going happen to us, but when you feel good about
yourself physically and emotionally, it is such a wonderful, remarkable,
& amazing thing!!!
— Denise W.
May 15, 2003
I am a new post op and have lost 39 lbs. Well the other night my husband
and I were having "Happy Time" and in the middle of it he says
"Honey, I can really tell you have lost, You are lighter!" He
kept going on and on and finallY I had to tell him to shut up. He was
breaking my concentration! I love that crazy man!
— peggyp
May 16, 2003
#2) I had WLS two and a half years ago and it's changed my life in so many
ways. The first benefit was the vastly improved health. The second
benefit was the fun of being able to wear stylish clothes and interact with
my family without feeling exhausted. I started a support group that's
grown beyond my wildest expectation. Then I was appointed Bariatric
Surgery Program Coordinator for a large hospital in Birmingham. All these
things are precious and wonderful to me. However, one year ago today I
underwent double mastectomy and learned how WLS REALLY saved my life.
Prior to WLS I hadn't seen my OB/GYN for 6 years. I was tired of hearing
the same diagnosis for everything from an earache to a hangnail
........."if you'd just lose some weight". I jokingly commented
to my husband while I was still losing weight that I'd go for a complete
physical once I lost all the weight. When I did actually reach goal I
didn't go for the physical. My husband teased me and picked at me about it
and I finally went. I had labs and a full checkup and then was sent for a
mammogram. I remember walking down the hall a few days later with my
doctor and he laughingly told me "Rona - with labs like these you're
gonna live forever". It felt so good to be healthy. When I got home
that night there was a letter in my mailbox that said my mammogram had an
abnormality and I needed to come back for a recheck. The next few days
passed in a blur......"it's only in the right breast.......we want to
take them both...........you can't wait more than 3 weeks......we can't
save your nipples.........we'll reconstruct immediately......and so
on". At first I thought my world had crashed around me. It seemed so
unfair because at age 41 I'd just begun really living. Then I realized
that I could still live and be healthy and that my breasts didn't define
who I was as a woman, wife, mother and person. An amazing peace washed
over me. Once I reached a point where I could think about it logically an
amazing thing occurred to me. If it had not been for WLS I would not have
had a checkup, we wouldn't have discovered anything and most likely by the
time I actually felt a lump it would have been too late. In the year since
the double mastectomy I've traveled the country speaking to private groups
and health professionals in an attempt to show them the far reaching
effects of WLS. It doesn't just make us smaller or prettier or more
fashionable. It saves our lives in so many ways. It allows us to REALLY
live, to be participators in our own lives rather than just observers. 9
women in my family died by the age of 60 because of breast cancer - thanks
to WLS I WON'T be following in their footsteps.
— ronascott
May 16, 2003
<p>I have 2 funny moments, both pre-op... I was doing the dishes
while my 6 year old son Trevor was playing with his Barbie's. (what can I
say, the boy LOVES his dolls!) While playing he askes me, "Mom, why
don't they make fat Barbie's?" I casually turn to him & reply
"Honey, probably because most people would not want to buy a fat
Barbie." He looks up at me with his big brown eyes & total
innocence and says "Mommy, if you were a Barbie," Now I'm
thinking this is going to say "I'd buy you", and then this will
be one of those touching moments when I go to him & hug him & tell
him how much I appreciate him for his unconditional love... When he
finishes with "Your butt wouldn't fit in the box." !!! I was so
shocked & then burst out laughing!!! This really be one of
"those" moments, just not the kind of moment that I was
expecting...
<p>My most embarrassing/funny moment happened two weeks before
surgery, as I was finally getting to meet with my surgeon ( With Kaiser you
don't meet with your surgeon until right before surgery) You have to keep
in mind that I have been waiting for 14 months to see the surgeon and my
adrenaline was REALLY pumping! The nurse had just finished taking my blood
pressure, when she turned to me and said "now the pulse"... Well,
I heard "now nipples"... Yes, yes, I realize that my nipples
should have nothing to do with this visit, but I am so hoping to please and
I want to do everything right, so I begin to lift my shirt, all the while
wondering why a nipple check is in order... It didn't help that she was
reaching for my wrist, which is connected to my hand, which is now lifting
my shirt, so I think that she is HELPING me take my shirt off! Anyhow, she
finally asks why I am attempting to innapproprately expose myself to her,
just as it registers in my brain "she said 'now the pulse' you idiot,
not 'now nipples'!!!" I must have turned eight shades of red and
looked over to my best friend, who had come along for support, and she is
looking at me like she has never seen me before... So after I spit the
thermometer accross the room, I begin to laugh, and I never do compose
myself enough explain myself to this nurse... I can only hope that I don't
ever have to see her again!
— Robbin T.
May 16, 2003
I live 4 hours away from my doctor so I stayed with my mother after
surgery. My eight year olds were home so they could go to school. They came
to see me the first weekend after surgery. My little boy walked over to
where I was sitting, hugged me, stepped away and said "mom it didn't
work" to which my eight year old daugher said " you have to wait
for the stitches to heal". I guess they thought I would be thin right
afer surgery. How cute is that?
— sara B.
May 16, 2003
Here's my funny: while I was pre-op, my sister-in-law had a dream that I
had had the surgery and she was visiting me in the hospital the day after.
The funny part is that she said I was as thin as a rail in the hospital bed
and kept getting smaller while she visited. Weird. As a post-op, my clothes
are really falling off me and a couple of my co-workers have started
calling me "saggy pants" (in a nice, kidding way). Everyone has
been VERY supportive. My keeps telling me to "get some clothes that
fit-- you look like a skinny bag lady, tootsie!"
— lizinPA
May 16, 2003
One of the funniest things post op (and 150lbs less of me)is realizing I've
lost my "strength". I was always a good one for throwing my body
against doors/drawers to open or close them. One day I'm walking out of a
drug store with my hubby and I push myself into the metal bar to open the
door, only to bounce off of it and just about fall on my butt....he laughed
himself silly. I've bruised my hips a few times trying to use whats left
of them to close my heavy car door. I used to just give it a little swing
and slam that sucker shut....ahhh to be so weak ;). The most touching thing
was how well my husband took care of me those first few nasty nights home
post open RNY...He is truly my hero. -Kim open RNY 7/17/01 -150
— KimBo36
May 16, 2003
wow, where to start? lol...
i think one of the most touching things that happened to me is at about 18
months post op my 8-year old daughter hugged me and said, "wow mom, i
can wrap my arms all the way around you AND overlap my hands!"
that was pretty awesome!
{{hugs}} kate
— jkb
May 16, 2003
My husband and I had surgery together me first, then him. We shared a
Hospital room. The morphine had a illusionary effect on him. He babbled on
to anyone who would listen, only no one could understand what he was trying
to say. Then in the middle of the night he started this moaning sound. It
got so annoying that I yelled at him to stop with that sound. "what
sound, I am singing." I must have laughed for 15 minutes and he kept
on "singing." We are fortunate with our surgery, ecaused we have
so many fun times.
— faybay
May 17, 2003
Last Christmas I flew to Florida from California to visit with my parents.
I hadn't seen them in nearly 3 years because I just wouldn't fly being at
my heaviest weight. So even though they hadn't seen me, they had been
keeping up with my journey through our weekly phone calls. I got off the
plane and began walking down the long corridor in the airport to get to
where all the greeters were waiting, just behind the scanning machines. I
spotted my parents. I finally get to them and give my mom a big hug and
kiss and the same for my dad. Then I just stood there and they both looked
me up and down. They turned to each other and my mother said to my dad,
"she looks good!", in a rather surprised manner. I don't know
what they were expecting...a skeleton? At that point I was about 90 lbs.
down, with about 25 to go. Knowing I passed muster with my parents, I
could then proceed to the baggage claim. It was funny and touching all at
the same time.
— [Deactivated Member]
May 17, 2003
Picture a passionate moment in bed, my partner touching me.. (that's hard
given all that extra skin) and then I hear "honey you have a
lump..."and she pushing hard on my chest, hurting me actually... and
suddenly it dawns on me.. "honey..." I say " its a rib"
... lots of giggling at that point...
— Lisa C.
May 17, 2003
My inspirational moments are very ordinary... standing in my closet and
realizing that I only have one pair of blue jeans and they're too big..
<br><br>
or perhaps today, when I ran for the first time wihtout stopping once for
41 straight minutes. I've been working on it and today I conquered the
last hill and didn't stop to walk once. There was a time when five steps
winded me, at 372 pounds.. now at 220, I'm running!
— Lisa C.
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