bouttime
My name is Andrea, I'm a daughter, wife and mother of two. I'm not very good at story telling, but I am great at getting right to the point. I started gaining extra weight when I was in second grade. My mom was a working mom, who's own mother had just died. Besides myself, she had two teenager daughters who ran over the household. My dad was a great dad, but he let my mom do most of the heavy lifting with decision making.
My mother was overweight as long as I can remember, my Grandmother was overweight and diabetic. In 2005 (ish) my mother found out she was diabetic. She got the lapband in 2008.
I remember a year after my mom's surgery, when my oldest daughter was three. My mother went outside to play with Arianna, they played for about 45 minutes, it was about 60 degrees outside. I was happy and very jealous. Happy that my daughter got to experience this with my mom (I don't ever remember my mother coming and playing with me like that). Jealous that I couldn't be the one playing with my daughter. That was when I made the decision that I was not happy with the weight I was. I was tired of not doing things because I weighed too much, sad of all the things my husband and daughter were missing out on because of me hiding in my weight.
I have always fought weight with diets, fluctuating between a size 16/18 and 22/24. This year my father passed away from small cell lung cancer. Anyone who knew my father, knew that he held the heart of our family in his hand. He was a teddybear of a man. When he found out about his cancer, he told my mom about how they had left me with an awful legacy. Lung Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease. What he wanted for me, if I wanted it for myself was for me to do some kind of weight loss surgery, so that I could have a better chance at fighting these illnesses and have a long life with my children and husband.
I think my dad and mom have given me a great gift by helping me. Because of the surgery I have also stopped smoking. They really have given me the option to fight for my life back.
On March 2, 2011 I had sleeve gastrectomy with Dr. Lauter. Two days in and I feel a bit tired, a bit cranky from trouble finding the right liquids to eat (flavored protein shots are not my thing). But I'm in a great mood, my second chance is starting. I can't wait to learn new things as I go (physically and mentally) and to share them with my family. I get to teach my daughters healthy living, while I teach myself.
