Bridgeda Atchley
My story is a long one, so take a potty break before you start reading. LOL
I came into this world a very sick little girl. I was born with a Tracheal Esophogeal Phistula. In average joe terminology.... My esophagus grew down, but did not attach to my stomach instead it went into my trachea. Bad news folks! All of my forumla and even saliva was going into my lungs which if not fixed quickly would cause aspiration pnuemonia and death. I was a very lucky littel girl, too. It just so happened that a child was born only 6 weeks earlier at the same hospital to the same docotor and the same charge nurse. They recognized the signs and quickly took actions. They practically had to saw me in half! I have a very long scar on my back and side along with a large scar from the chest tube, but it beats the alternative. I have struggled with side effects from this surgery all my life. I have to chew my food very well and drink lots of fluids with my meals to make sure the food continues down into the stomach. The area where the repair was made has no perstalitic movement, so sometime it must be helped along or things get stuck causing vomitting.
Growing up I always was taller and as a result bigger than all the other kids. I was not over weight, but because I was not a skinny little stick like most of the girls, I always felt abnd thought I was fat. Looking back now at pictures from my childhood, I cannot understand that way of thinking. I was not fat, but frankly I was kind of HOT. I was 5"7' and weighed 154 lbs graduation from high school. But for some reason I had a "Fat" frame of mind.
In college, I was very insecure and ate to soothe my insecurity. I married a very overweight man that just fed my insecurity and used it to get what he wanted. This marriage was doomed from the start. I also began to deal with the fact that my father was an alcoholic and was going to die. Again, I turned to food. At age 27, I became pregnant and delivered a huge 9lb 13 oz baby girl. I only gained 38 lbs, but I looked like I gained 100lbs. It was unbelievable. I weighed about 230 after giving birth. Nurses at the hospital would ask me if I was having multiples! I was hidiously big. This pregnancy left me with a huge apron of fat and skin on my lower belly. The c-section njust gave me a huge scar and a perfect place for the belly skin to fold over. Only the plastic surgeon is going to fix that.
In 1997, my father passed away as a result of liver failure from his years of alcoholism. After this, I began to see things more clearly. It was almost as if a fog had been lifted. It was so very obvious thta my husband was cheating on me with multiple women that I had to make a change. I divorced him and moved about 100 miles away to Killeen, TX. Home of Ft. Hood, the world's largest military base. My mother lived about 20 minutes away in a nearby town, so this was really good for me. I needed support.
Shortly before moving and divorcing, I earned my 2nd degree. I was now a school teacher. Unfortunately, school teachers seem to be in a high risk group for obesity. That 1st year of teaching I ballooned up to 296lbs. By the end of the school year, mid-2001, I made a decision to start exercising even if it was just 15 minutes a day. I did this for 2 months a saw about 15 lbs of weight loss. I was encouraged and began exercising more and making small changes in my diet. I cut down on Dr. Pepper. I really think I am addicted to DP! I was drinking almost 900 calories a day in soda! I started eating only salad at lunch instead of the high fat/calorie school lunches. I still ate my bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast, but I cut the portions at dinner time. I also started to have terrible pains in my abdomen and sweating and nausea that would come and go. The following school year, around October, 2001 I was struck with pains so bad I finally went to the doctor. It was a Friday and he pushed around on my abdomen and did some blood work. He also referred me to a gastrointerologist for possible gallstones. The following Monday I received a call from my docotor. Not the nurse, but the actual doctor. He asked if I was ok to which I replied, "I don't know am I?" He proceeded to tell me I had pancreatitis and if I started having pains again to only drink clear liquids and go the the ER inmmediately because I would need to be hospitalized. In December 2001, I had my gall bladder removed. During all of this time I was not eating much, but I still tried to exercise as much as I could, but sometimes the exercising would bring on the pain. I think I was jiggling the stones lose or something. LOL
By the Spring of 2002 (Spring Break), I was around 230lbs. I had lost 66 lbs on my own, but I was plataueing and I was having to work out 1-2 hours everyday just to maintain. I started trying a diet suppliment that had ephedra in it. I didn't know it when I statred taking it, but I found out later. I lost another 15 lbs, but then ephedra was pulled from the product and I stopped losing and began gaining.
In December 2002, I was around 225lbs and wearing about a size 16. I was out partying every weekend with my friends and was feeling pretty good. I happened to meet the love of my life, too! He was a soldier from Ft. Hood and although I did not know it until it was too late, he was 12 years my junior! Yes, I am a craddle robber! He was only 21 and I was 33. He was a very mature 21, though. He had already been married and divorced. He practically raised himself and his younger brother.
In late March of 2003, Adam (that's my husband) came down on orders to go to Iraq. It was the start of the war. We had discussed marriage, but were looking at waiting until the fall to get married. Adam did not want to leave without making sure we (me and my daughter) were taken care of by the military, so we made plans to marry immediately. I called my mother on Sunday and asked if we could use her house Friday for the ceremony. She was not happy, but went along with it. She was worried I was rushing into the marriage. I don't blame her. It was very sudden. I called my pastors wife, whom I also taught with, and she said they would be there to perform the ceremony. So, on April 4, 2003 we were married. Fortunately, the early part of the war went very well and Adam's orders were recended.
When Adam and I began talking about marriage and spending the rest of our lives together we discussed children. I wanted more and he definitely wanted to have children of his own (although he loves my daughter from my 1st marriage just as if she were his own.) I explained to him that I was no "Spring Chicken" and that my childbearing years were coming to a close, so we better get on that pretty quick. By June 2003, I was pregnant with our son. It was a trying pregnancy. We had an antibody issue that threatened the pregnancy. It was toture each week to go and be scanned and hope my body was not attacking him. Luckily, my body did not attack him until the very end of the pregnancy and he was born Feb. 2, 2004 at just 7 lbs. I again gained about 38lbs, but looked much bigger. I also developed high blood pressure that did not resolve after the birth. Instead of losing weight, I actually gained weight after the pregnancy.
The following year my husband left the Army and began his civilian life. He soon realized that we needed to get some serious debt paid off and decided to go back to work for the military as a civilian contractor. He left for Iraq in December of 2005. Shortly after he left our son was diagnosed with a tumor in his ear. It was operable and was benign, but it was very scary. He would also have to undergo recontructive surgery once the tumor was removed. Thank goodness my husband was working in Iraqand had really good insurance! During this time, I also began to see that teaching in the public school system was just not where I was supposed to be. I had always wanted to go into the medical field since I was a child, so I talked it over with my husband and we decided I would quit my teaching job (a loss of $35K a year to our income!) and go back to school to become a registered nurse. I was accepted into the local ADN program and started my nursing coursesin January 2007. I was also very lucky and managed to land a very part-time job at a local hospital in the emergency room. I love working in the ER! There is never a dull moment and I am leraning almost as much working there as I am in school. All the staff know I am in nursing school and they are always teaching me something new.
Which brings me to today, June 13, 2007. I am 276lbs. I take medications daily for hypertension. My BMI is 42. I can't see myself educating people about their health when I am so unhealthy myself. I am about to make one of the biggest decisions of my life. I'll be praying a lot over the next few weeks. I know GOD will show me the answer. My husband is all for the surgery and is thinking about getting it himself.
Well if you have read this far you must be either really bored or you really have taken an interest in my story. So, drop me a line and let me know who you are. I can use all the support I can get.
Bridgeda Corn
