chavi
Take charge, or get left behind! Angela Carter *Chavi* Message Board name *Tami* Surgery 18 months ago Dr. Jeffrey Baker Lost over 100Lbs-gained .....LIFE!! Athlete-’Someone that is active in cardio exercise as a minimum of 10 hours per week’. As I research the meaning of this word; I am astonished by the meager fact that at the age of 42 (almost 43) I am in every true manifestation of the word; an Athlete. I am powered by this fact because just 18 months ago I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs without feeling as if my lungs were going to pop right out of my chest. You know the feeling; you allow everyone to go ‘ahead’ of you on the way up. You pray that no one will come up behind you, for then you would have to make an excuse for your lack of stair climbing abilities. I remember how during my house hunting, I would make sure I viewed the upper level first. This way I really only had to walk up one flight before taking a break on the main level. Then I would work my way down to the basement. There was no way in this world could I start at the bottom and work my way up. What about shopping? I was the person that made excuses for the fact that I was leaning over my shopping cart. One week it was my sore back, maybe the next it was my bum leg, or my best one was “my kidneys are acting up again”, I used that one quite often. My poor kidneys! For someone that for the most part of her life was at what is considered to be a ‘normal’ weight. After the birth of my 5th child and over 100 pounds later, my kidneys decided that enough was enough! But can you blame them? At a mere 5’1’ (and a 1/4), my weight reached an aggregate high of over 241 pounds! If you stop to think about it; I was truly as wide as I was tall. What changed for me? Oh that’s easy...ME! I got so tired of wearing coats in the summer time. I wore a mid length tan breaker type jacket the entire summer. It gave me a false since of “they can’t see what I really weigh”. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news...THEY can see how much you weigh. In fact the reality that you are wearing that coat attracts more awareness to you then if you didn’t wear it. I was truly a victim of my own body. My mind would say “yes, yes, you can do this”, but my body would say “hmmm? I don’t think so!”. I made a promise to myself; no more long sleeves, no more ‘hiding’, I was ready, ready to shine. So, I created a recipe for a life long of success; One part the tool given to me, a pinch of will, and a large heaping of determination. I created something that was so out of this world; Freedom! The freedom to not be a victim of my own body. Exercise allowed me to wear the cute little tank tops and half shirts. I even went shopping for shorts! If the mere fact that I can now wear what the tiny boppers wear doesn’t move you, then how about the ten’s of thousands of dollars I saved! Let’s see.... A pair of 10-pound weight; approximately $20, two good workout video; $25, jogging: free! Let’s see, that would add up to about $45 versus approximately $200,000-$30,000 worth of surgery, oh yeah- exercise also does wonders for the heart; priceless! I was never a big eater. I’m sure you find that hard to believe; after all I did hit 241 pounds right? No really, that is the real truth. I was the kind of eater that would pass up a drive-through meal if I was not hungry. My problem was not how much I ate when I got hungry, but what I ate when I got hungry. I get goose bumps just thinking about what I put my poor body though. I had this system; I would go to the gas station and buy one family size bag of sunflower seeds and one box of Little Debbie’s Peanut Butter Wafers, oh yeah, I forgot about all the sweet pop. I must have gone through about a 12 pack a day. Nothing else, just pop. No wonder my kidneys decided to call it quits; I never flushed out my body, in fact I just kept on polluting it. Yes I got a lot of protein from all the sunflower seeds (something my kidneys couldn’t process anyway), but the fat intake was out of this world! And then one day, it clicked! The old light up stairs that once bared a dim glow; lit up like Las Vegas. What was I doing to myself? What was I doing to my family? AT the rate and down hill course I was headed for; would I be alive to see my youngest grow up? So, I went to my Doctor and asked for help. I told him in great detail about my life and habits and my very strong desire to change my ’bad habits’ and become a healthy; more positive and productive part in my children lives. He listened with a stern heart but offered to give me some kind of medication that would flush out a certain amount of my fat intake. I thanked him for his suggestion, but slid quietly into the fact that I was very interested in ‘having my stomach stapled’. He greatly took time to advise me on the new ‘lingo’, but followed it by telling me that I just wanted the ‘easy way out’. This he followed by “just put down the ‘Little Debbie’s and get off the sofa Angela”. I left his office with my tail tucked firmly between my legs and his wonder remedy in one hand. I’m sure you believe me that this little incident sat me back several months. One day, while sitting at the kitchen table reading my ‘junk’ mail; I ran across a flyer about Unity’s Bariactic’s weight loss surgery. I read it word for word. I’m confused! They made it seem as if all I had to do was attend an introductory meeting and I would possible be well on my way. No way! So, I sat the article down went about my business. Several days later I found myself reading it yet another time. Well, what do I have to lose? I called the number on the pamphlet and was astonished to find that I really did have the right to do this, and I wasn’t going to let some stupid Doctor with a poor bad side manner divert me. About 2 weeks later I found myself sitting in one of their meetings. Happy to be there, yet really afraid. Happy because I was finally doing something to try to better and help myself, and afraid because I didn’t want to get my hopes up high. I had my first meeting with my nurse. At that point I weighed in at 214 with a BMI of 39.9. As I read the requirement mandated by my insurance company; I realize my dream of having the surgery was going to remain just that; a dream. I pondered over and over again about calling the unity team and just telling them that I decided against going forward. This way, I couldn’t set myself up for the disappointment of not qualifying for the surgery. I even thought about trying to gain weight to up my BMI. But what was done was done. My starting rate was set firmly in stone. So, over the next 7 months I plowed forward like an eager beaver with my fingers crossed. The support was out of this world! I was like a child in a candy shop. Each and every visit I received more and more powerful encouragement. This in turn made me want to work harder. Well, I only had to lose 5-10 pounds to qualify for my surgery, but I was going to go well above and beyond that. If they told me to exercise 30 minutes; I did 60, whatever foods they told me to cut out, I went home and steadfastly tossed them into the trash. *Deep breath* The day was finally here, after being accepted by my insurance company; I finally got my visit with Doctor Jeff Baker. I must have held my breath though the entire visit. If something were going to go wrong; now would differently be the time! My since of achievement was rewarded by his kind words of his pleased acknowledgement of my achievements and hard work. Two weeks later I had my surgery. I remember how Doctor Jeff Baker came to my room on the second day after my surgery. He was delighted with my attitude. He was almost surprised to see that I looked as if I never had surgery. My joy of just achieving the surgery; gave me such a powerful push that I was more then ready to start my new, healthier life. Before he left my room, he turned around and told me I would never need my high blood or kidney meds again. And he was right. 18 months later... Athlete-’Someone that is active in cardio exercise as a minimum of 10 hours per week’. As I research the meaning of this word; I am astonished by the meager fact that at the age of 42 (almost 43) I am in every true manifestation of the word; an Athlete. I took the wonderful tool (instrument, device or means) given to me and ran like my life depended on it. In many ways, it really did. I didn’t know what my life had in store for me or even if there really was meaning to a life or for a life surrounded by influential fear of the unknown and uncertainty about ones future. So, I had two choices; either sit on the sofa and wait for this tool to work for me, or partner up with this tool given to me and milk it for what’s it worth. Well, I chose the latter. So, who am I today? Well, I’m a person that took what was given to me and applied it to my life changing decisions. I grabbed a great big handful of the support given by the Unity Bariactic clinic and placed it within me. When ever I feel like giving up; I resource it and push forward without hesitation. I do exercise at least 10 hours a week. In fact, I exercise two days on and one day off. Three hours a shot. I now run 10 miles several times a week. Wow! 10 miles! That is so astonishing because remember, I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs. I went from a size 24 pant to a very slim (only 10% body fat) size 0. I’m not saying you have to run 10 miles several times a week or wear a size 0, what I am saying is that you are given such a wonderful chance to change your life. A chance to show how you are and who you can be. To take what was given to you and apply it in the best, physical and positive manner possible. This is it! After this, there is no place to go. Just think about it. Scary isn’t it? If you fail at this, where do you go from here? What other surgery can offer you such a new chance and lease of life? I hate to be the one to inform you: but hey.... There isn’t any. Tool (instrument, device or means) ...use it for what it’s worth!
