Moving forward!

11 more days!  Can you believe it?!

I had my pre-op appointment this Thursday and it's made my nerves calm down tremendously.  I haven't actually met my surgeon yet, but I have met the surgical assistant, Melissa, several times and I LOVE her.  She always stays in the room for at least a half hour answering my questions and jokes around with me (a huge plus in my book!). 

To my amazement, I've lost 4.5 pounds since my last visit.  I haven't exactly been eating like a perfect little dieter.  Whoops.  To follow up from my last post, I actually don't have to lose 19 pounds before the surgery, they just encourage your weight to go down, and not up :)  Going to the store tonight, I almost felt like a prisoner on death row picking out their last meal...I wanted to eat everything!

I bought sister Julia's plane ticket.  She'll fly in from SLC a few hours after my surgery.  Luckily my roommate is willing to take me to the hospital and be there with me when I get out of the surgery.  I can't even image doing this whole process without a "mom", or in my case, my sister, here with me.  I'm lucky to have a sister who is willing (more willing, I think) to take a break from her four kids and husband to come here.  Thank you to her husband for letting me steal her for a few days! :)

These last few days since I found out when I was getting the surgery have FLOWN by.  I cannot believe I only have seven days left at work before it all happens.  A new group started at work and we've been training them all week, so that's helped the work days go by faster. 

Thank you all SO MUCH for the kind words, prayers, and support.  I was a little worried about how people would take this announcement, and you've all amazed me and show me tons of love.  I can't even express my gratitude!

My birthday was on Monday the 6th.  27 is soooo going to be my year!!!  I CAN'T WAIT!

Surgery date!

August 22nd. Noon.

WOW.

So soon. So scared. Not so excited today. The mood changes every hour. Ahhhh!

Thoughts and lists from an almost former obese lady...

I'm SO excited. 

I have NOT been excited until now.  Anxious?  Yes.  Scared.  Ohhh yeah.  Happy?  Yes and no.  Excited?  Not so much.

I was finally able to get in touch with the patient liaison at the bariatric center, and while I wasn't able to schedule a surgery date, she did tell me they are currently scheduling surgeries for August 22nd. 

Yes, of 2012.

Holy crap!

This whole time I've been thinking I'd be lucky to get the surgery before the end of the year.  I guess that's not the plan now, and I'm very OK with that.

There's so much I've had to do to prepare thus far, but I'm not even close to being done.

In roughly the next month, I have to do the following:

• Finish my application for short-term disability (I'll be taking three weeks off work after the surgery)
• Get massive amounts of bloodwork done
• Get a chest x-ray
• Get an ultrasound
• Save up lots of money
• Buy a plane ticket for my sister to come down from Utah
• Lose 19 pounds
• Attend a series of pre-surgery nutrition classes

I should probably start by turning off the computer.  HA!

P.S.  When you leave a anonymous comment, please include your name.  I love getting comments, but I love knowing who you are even more!  I appreciate ALL comments!

Houston we have an....

APPROVAL!

Finally heard the good news from my insurance today! Skinny is in my future! More updates to come soon...

Paperwork?

You know I love my journeys.  Well, I've got a whopper of a journey coming up!

Hopefully most of you have seen my mysterious posts on Facebook lately about mailing in paperwork, and while I know it's super annoying to be left in the dark, there's a good reason for it! 

I didn't want to announce anything until I was sure it was going to happen. 

Here we go...

In the next few months, I'm going to shrink.  In a very good way.

I'm going to be getting bariatric surgery.  The sleeve gastrectomy, to be exact.

Before you jump to conclusions, allow me to explain a little bit of the history about my decision.

Weight loss surgery has been in the back of my mind for nearly 10 years now.  My mom took me to our family doctor several years ago, and the doctor told me I'd be the perfect candidate for surgery.  That's all nice and everything, but I can lose the weight on my own, right?

I tried.  You all KNOW I've tried.  And the truth is, someday, sometime, I'd probably be able to do it on my own. 

The thing about me and dieting is we're really good together for several months, but then things start to change.  When things change, I start to rebel, and I gain back all the weight I've lost, plus more.

I can't do that anymore.

I found out a few short months ago I have diabetes.  That's no yo-yo dieting matter.  No more gaining weight back.

I am extremely, Extremely, EXTREMELY blessed to have health insurance that is going to cover nearly 95% of this surgery.  We're talking $20-30k here.  Wow, right?

I've been in touch with Scottsdale Bariatric Center for a few years now, just in case I ever decided to get surgery.  They are, simply put, amazing.  One of the top bariatric centers in the entire world.  People come from all over just to be taken care of by the very surgeon that is 20 minutes from my house.  I am so, so blessed.

This is a big deal.  A big decision I am not taking lightly.  My live is going to change, big time. 

As the surgical assistant I met on Thursday said to me as I left my appointment, "We're going to make your outsides match your insides."

It's what I've always dreamed of.

P.S.  I'll be primarily using this blog to communicate about the surgery instead of Facebook.  It's a somewhat private matter, and I think this blog is perfect for it.

P.P.S  Please direct all comments to this blog, instead of my Facebook post.  Thanks!

P.P.S.S  To learn more about the procedure, visit http://www.shc.org/Medical+Services/Bariatrics/Weight+Loss+Surgery+Options/Laparoscopic+Gastric+Sleeving+Surgery

What does nearly two years make?

• Two fantastic trips to NYC, my new love
• Traveling, traveling, traveling
• Quitting my 6 1/2 year-long job
• Starting my new job, my other new love
• Celebrating one year at that job
• Getting two amazing roommates who taught me how to feel alive again
• Finding out I have the one thing I've been dreading for years: diabetes
• Questioning my faith
• Finding my faith
• Making new friends and reconnecting with family who inspire me more than they'll ever know

I've debated for weeks about what to say here. One word says it best about what I feel inside: Numb. Despite the fact that I feel sad, alone, distraught, angry, and empty, I really, truly feel nothing inside. I'm not in healing mode, I'm just try to survive. Putting one foot in front of the other is next to impossible when your heart hurts too much to move.

I would like to give a sincere thank you to everyone who has helped me and my family get through this immensely difficult time. If it wasn't for the love and support of those around me, I most definitely wouldn't be making it through. Words can do so much, but it's those who put their words into action that make me truly feel loved.