On October 15th, just before 8 am, I entered the operating room for a weight loss surgery.
There ya go, I said it. No more hiding it, it is out for the world to know. I had a weight loss surgery. Now, to some of you, that might not seem like a big deal to say, but to me, it is. You see, there was a time when I was embarrassed to admit that something like that might even be a necessary option for me. Honestly, that was the case right up until I had the surgery. But, then I realized that this 8 am appointment that I had on that beautiful fall day was so much more then a regular appointment. It was the appointment that would change my life. Now, the writing of this blog has been a hard thing. It was hard for me to not only admit that I made this change, but also hard for me to share the photos and personal thoughts that go with it. That being said, do you want to follow me on the journey...
My job title is Financial Counselor. I work for an amazing facility that offers services of every kind, but my job as a financial counselor allows me the opportunity to work with an amazing group of individuals. The group of patients that have struggled with their weight and are having surgery to correct this health issue. This type of surgery is referred to as Bariatric Surgery. So, talking to the bariatric patients has been a part of my every day job for just over a year and a half. I can honestly say that I never would have thought that my job title would be the beginning to the day that changed my life, but in the end it was. You see, every day I speak to these patients. They voiced their fear, their excitement, their worries, their joys and on some occasions shared their tears with me. I don't know at what point I began to think about it, but one day I realized that I might be someone who needed to be one of these patients. I wanted the opportunity that lay ahead of them. I guess that is when I began to actually look at this as a possibility for me. I love the life that God has so greatly blessed me with, but I found that this uncommon desire was something that drove me and made me realize that there was a real need for a change in my life. I felt almost as if I was jealous of the opportunity for improved health.
It isn't a secret to anyone who knows me that I have struggled with health for years. My health issues go back to the age of 3, when I was diagnosed with type I diabetes. In all honestly, I believe that my health challenges are blessings in disguise. How many amazing opportunities have been presented to me because of my health? I can say without a shadow of a doubt that God has provided more blessing than I could ever count. That doesn't mean that there aren't continued challenges, but the blessings are sure something that I carry with me every day. So, how can I go from knowing that my challenges are blessing to doing something that society views as so drastic? I guess it was a process. A process of me learning that it wasn't true jealousy, but it was a desire to take control of my health and begin a new journey. The journey that I desired wasn't ever going to be one that would be rid of the health issues I have, but was one that could be so different from anything I had known before. At least that is what I learned later.
So, I began to really think about this. I mentioned it at doctors appointment. I began to do lots of research. I began to watch the scale with more attention then I had in a long time. It wasn't that I was watching to monitor the weight. It was the fact that each time I stood on the scale, I felt like it was reiterated to me that this is an appropriate option. I spent hours thinking about this. Each time I would speak to a patient I would sit at my desk and wonder if that patient was like me. Did they have a desire to change what they had and where they were at. Well, after some time of pondering, I sat at work one day and just blurted out to my coworker, "I think I might look into bariatric surgery." It wasn't until I blurted it out of no where that I realized just how serious I was about this. I came home and began talking to my husband, Corbin, about it. He supported me from the moment that I brought it up. That again reiterated that this was a possibility that I should explore. So, in the beginning of August I made a phone call that began the change... I called the Bariatric Navigator, someone that I speak with frequently for my job, and said that I wasn't calling for work this time, I needed to know what I needed to do to be the patient. From that point on, I felt like time flew.
I went to my PCP to get the referral, I had the psych eval, my husband went with me to the bariatric seminar and the surgical consult, I made the decision on what surgery I would have (a laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. Click here to see more about this procedure and the other procedures that are offered at the facility), I met with the dietitian, and before I knew it October 15th was no longer weeks away, but days away. I did all of the things they tell you to do: I bought LOTS of sugar free carnation instant breakfast, I did special grocery shopping, I read my book (referred to as "the book", its the book with all kinds of information about before surgery, during your hospital stay after surgery and the diet for all stages after surgery), and most importantly just watched the days just fly by.
No comments:
Post a Comment