Rickie F.
Well well well, where can i start. Well first my name is Rickie Frazier, a 30 year old AA male living in the suburbs of Atlanta,Ga. I was born and raised in the Good Life City of Albany,GA. Im married and have 2 boys 4 and 1. Now that the initial get to know you period is over, lets talk about why i am here.
Morbid obesity is a cuss word that i hate to hear. I can be called anything else but that. But once a physician says it, i get defensive and my fist ball up. Why you ask? Because i dont see myself that way. IVe always seen myself as active and happy big guy. Some may say that i have an alter ego, PrettyRickie what they call me lol. But once i started hearing this term more often it got me to thinking, :" is there some truth to what this dr is saying?" Yes it is dumbass lol
My wake up call came April 2010. I was standing in my classroom, btw im an elementary school teacher and football coach, and i couldnt see the board and what i was writing. Got dizzy and passed out. WHAM! right to the floor. I got myself together and went to the nurses office. She decided to check my blood sugar, the damn thing just said " HI" so you guessed it, off to the ER i go. I was going through ketoacidosis. my sugar was well over 800. But this isnt scaring me bc i dont really know whats going on. The dr comes in, who looked like Chandler Bing from TV's Friends, and told me that i am a type 2 Diabetic, wow a brand new cuss word just entered my life. I took the information, sat in my hospital room and started praying and getting ideas of what i need to do for myself to cure this problem.
After my release, i started coaching football the next week. I was on a strict diet and was getting plenty of exercise. Within months i was off insulin and only taking 2 pills a day. Great progress, but there was something else nagging me. I couldnt barely walk! Lets give some back story like most villans in cartoons. As a teenager i suffered 3 major injuries, i broke my leg and ankle, broke my hip and tore the ligaments in the knees, twice. Before the age of 16 all of this had happened. Now at 30 my body has simply looked at me and said " i know you doing this to get healthy and all, but you tripping" lol Needless to say, my joints had enough. Now lets get back to present time. I am now have bouts with gout in my ankle and my knee and hip have arthritis set in severely. To the point of chronic pops, aches and pain. I had a decision to make. Sure Ive lost about 30 lbs working out hard, but my body is suffering in the process. Its taking twice the amount of effort to walk than it does for a 50 year old. Something has to be done asap.
I heard about weight loss surgery and other solutions but always thought of them as cop outs, punk moves, sissy stories. You see ive always believed in working out hard and reaching goals and you appreciate the hard work given when you see the results. Well these results were starting to piss me off. I was killing myself in the gym, had a personal trainer and everything, but 2lbs, 5 lbs, 1lbs, that wasnt nothing compared to how much pain i was having. The day it all changed for me was when I saw a car accident happen while i was getting ready to go out for New years with my wife. I tried to take off running to help, and my whole body just locked up. Pain grabbed me so fast i couldnt even see the hair color. Right then i felt worthless, unhelpful, fat, of yeah those cuss words, morbidly obese and diabetic. I said i cant do it anymore.
My wife had been hinting at having weightloss surgery but i had ignored her for almost a year. Now, im hearing her loud and clear. I went to my 1st support meeting January 11,2011 and never looked back. At first i wanted lapband but after hearing and seeing the results of roux n-y gastric bypass, i was sold. My orthopedic doctor and endocronologist both pushed for gastric simply bc the results will be quicker and bc im active the weight will fall off faster than others. Ive maintained my weight for over a year without any gains, a few losses but stable. Exercise has never been a cuss word for me. I love playing sports, wrestling with my sons, going out and having fun. Even after i broke my hip i played 3 more football games before the pain became too much. I will say the biggest reason i have this weight is due to all of those injuries when i was younger. I cant wait to get back to playing sports again. I have a new lease on life, i feel great, and i havent even had the surgery yet. December 20th will be a new birthday for me and I look forward to getting rid of the cuss words of my life and adding some new ones like : extra large, chubby and hopefully slim lol YAll take care, more blogs a coming! " If your dreams arent bigger than you, then you arent dreaming big enough: Deion Sanders HOF Cornerback/Return man
