44 year old woman

Introduction: I am currently a 5 foot one inch women of 44 years. I weigh 320 lbs. I first started to think about surgery several years ago. I did a lot of research and I really thought it was for me. However my husband and daughter were very much against it. I have been married for 26 years and we are very happily married. My daughter is 25 years old and is also very short but she is very petite, maybe 120 lbs, so they have no idea what it is like for me to weigh this much. They feel that I am strong enough to do this on my own. I am not!! If I could do this on my own I would have done it years ago... My knees are the worst, I can only walk for very short distances and then I can’t breathe. Its hell!! I decided that I would try again, I lost 50 pounds in about 6 weeks, it lasted for about 5 minutes and I found the weight I lost plus more!! Then in August I was working and I tried to lift a propane tank that weighed 70 lbs. My back popped and I couldn’t walk. The MRI showed 2 slipped discs and a pinched nerve to my right leg. More pain!! Just what I needed!! The Dr. said physical therapy was next, and guess what it was in the pool of all places. I didn’t own a swimsuit and didn’t want one!! So the therapist said I could wear a pair of shorts and a tee shirt... Big help. I didn’t own a pair of shorts either!! Now I do!! Therapy hasn’t helped much and I have been going 2 to 3 times a week for 4 months. Needless to say I move very little and sleep in the recliner. The time has come to do something!!!

Path: I am going to have my surgery at Morgantown University in West Virginia, I had my first meeting in February. Three years ago. Decided to go ahead with the process of getting insurance approval. Had my consult with the nutritionist and the physic. Evaluation, all went well. Then they found hpylori in me blood work!! They found what???? It turns out hpylori is a bacteria in the stomach that can lead to ulcers, this was bad news it really delays the process by at least 6 weeks. First you take a regimen of antibiotics for 2 weeks then you wait for 2 more weeks and then you have to have a biopsy of your stomach to make sure its not in the lining of the stomach. Thank god it was gone, not everyone is that lucky. Some people have to do this 3 or 4 times!! I don’t know about your Dr. but mine wouldn’t send my info to the insurance until everything was all clear. So on the first of June 2004 everything was to go to masmsi, or so I thought, I waited and I waited finally 3 weeks later I called and guess what?? My file was stuck under a pile of stuff on the back of the desk!!! Was I ever mad, so they said they would call mamsi and fax everything that day. Within days I had their decision, no!!!! When I first contacted mamsi in January they told me what I needed to get approved, well something changed and I now needed 6 months of a medically assisted weight loss plan!!! By this time I needed to return to the work force to help with the finances, so I got a new job and forgot surgery for the time being. Two years later my health was really getting worse. Bad knees, bad back, high blood pressure, and a severe family history of diabetes, arthritis and very bad breathing difficulties. So I prayed and guess what, the company I was working for laid off 100 people, including me!! Bad news?? Not really, this was my chance to start again on the road to surgery. So I called the Dr. and started the 6 month diet I needed for approval. Didn’t lose much but I finished in November. 2006. But had I waited to long with all the other testing done 2 years earlier to still be good. They sent everything to mamsi in early December 2006, 6 days later I had their decision, yes!!! Can you believe it. I cried on the phone, I cried for hours afterwards, it really is the season for miracles!! I have pre-op testing January 25, 2007 and surgery February16, 2007, exactly 3 years from my first meeting. The best thing for me is the fact that my family is now supporting me all the way; they can now see how much I am suffering. My daughter even said she would like to take me to a spa when I am done. How great is that?? So now the fear has set in, not of the pain or the changes or the diet, but of not making it through, I don’t want my family to suffer if things turn out bad, my husband and I only have each other, and if something were to happen to me I don’t know how he would make out, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is a very loving man. I don’t want to die, but I am dying now, only slowly and painfully. They tell me fear is normal, and I know god made all this happen at just the right time and I know god does not make mistakes!! So if you have any uplifting advice please let me know, and if you have an extra prayer or two I could sure use them!! I will update after surgery and tell you all everything. God bless, have faith and please, please don’t give up!!!!

Only with God's help #2

From Cynthia, a 45 year old women #3