DAWN E.
Hi everyone! My name is Dawn and I am the mother of the two most beautiful girls in the world! Presley Renee' is 4 1/2 and Brooklyn Grace is 4 months. I started my weight loss journey in August of 1999 when I had a RNY at UCLA Medical Center. To be very honest, it was the most difficult surgery EVER! I had many complications and had to be re-operated on just 24 hours post-op due to a gastric leak/bleed. Shortly after the second procedure, I was transferred to the cardiac I.C.U. because my heart was not taking the trauma very well. So, there I was, 21 years old, and was near death. I developed a pleural effusion (fluid in the lung) due to throwing up blood after my first procedure and had pneumonia. Every place that they tried to start and I.V. failed so I ended up with an I.V. in my neck and I was in a very bad mood. lol. Once I got home, I ended up back in the local hospital and had to have my lung drained. Shortly after I developed a wound abcess that had to be packed for 3 months. Just when I thought I was on the road to recovery, my gallbladder failed and had to be removed. Then after all of this I developed a large incisional hernia and was back in the hospital for yet another surgery. Whew....with that said, I lost 150 lbs in less than 6 months and never regreted having the surgery. I had been overweight my entire life and I was ready to start living. Now that I have my two angels, I have gained about 60 lbs back (over the last 9 years) and I am scheduled for revison consult on October 08, 2007 in L.A. with Dr. Crookes. I'm looking forward to it very much. Once you have been overweight and then been "skinny" it is not a lot of fun to be creeping up on the scale again. So, even with all the complications from round one, I am ready to do it again! I have little energy and I ache all over. My daughters deserve to have a mother who can enjoy life to the fullest and I owe it to them and to myself to take the necessary action to do so. Pat yourself on the back for taking the steps towards a better you, as well!
