Paul ONeal
I grew up most of my life on the "larger" size. When I was in 6th grade, I was pulled from public school & was home-schooled for the remainder of my schooling years. Because I was home all the time, I became very inactive, eating non stop while I was doing my schoolwork. I would take breaks & watch TV or something that did not help me stay in shape. I just kept getting bigger & by the time I was 16, I was 350 lbs. & still gaining.
When I turned 16, I got a job & a car. I thought that this is what I needed to lose the weight. Well I was in for a shock!!! I got a job at Pizza Hut as a waiter & a cook. Every night I would bring a pizza with me & eat it all before I even made it home. It started out as a personal size & before I knew it, It turned into a large or a stuffed crust, not including the wings, or cheese-sticks & sugar drinks.
I was headed down a road of self destruction & was too young & dumb to care, while everyone around me was warning me of the troubles of being bigger. But I didn't listen!!!
When I turned 23 I hit around 500 lbs. & working physical labor was just too much for a big guy like me, so I got a job as a telemarketer for AT&T wireless sitting at a desk all day answering phone calls troubleshooting wireless phones. Another job that made me even more lazy & non active. I worked here for almost 5 years when I started developing skin issues in my legs. I got a case of staph infection in my lower right leg & had to be relieved from work. I ended up in the hospital for 31 days really sick not knowing if I was gonna live. The doctors had told my family that if I did live, they were going to have to remove my right leg from the knee down because it was so black in color. Praise the Lord tho, everything turned out alright & I still have my leg.
I ended up getting disability full time because I had alot of lower back problems & because my weight really tied me down. Little at a time, day by day I was getting worse. Now, I am bed ridden. I am not able to walk no more then 10 feet before my legs give out under me & I begin to tremble. I can't play my guitar because my arms are too heavy to hold up to rotate the chords. My fiance has to help me with hygiene when I am done using the restroom. She also has to help me bathe & cook my meals. I can't even fit into a full size vehicle. My life has come to a complete stop. It seems as tho yesterday I was going 110mph, now...I'm not even going 2mph.
I want my legs back!!! I want my car privileges back!!! I want dignity back!!! More then anything I want my LIFE back...& I'm gonna get it back!!! I am trusting in God to help me thru this & make this priority in my life. Please pray for me. God bless you.
