jsteward

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It's been a very long time since I've updated my profile. Part of that is that I've been very busy most of this year. In early spring, I was approached by an acquaintance to become a part of the California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC). My wife and I have been involved teaching skills to couples for about 15 years. In the last 4 years or so this has developed from an interest to a passion. We really enjoy helping couples achieve the skills to have a marriage that is lasting, strong and satisfying. I had been involved with a faith-based coalition, but that one hadn't really been doing anything for several months and I was a little frustrated that it wasn't moving forward. The CHMC folks told me that they were going to be issuing start-up grants for community marriage coalitions and they would help train us to apply for these grants and get the ball rolling. After a few weeks of grant writing "bootcamp" I was able to write a grant application and submit it. My efforts were successful and I received a small grant that allowed us to begin building our coalition of individuals, couples, churches, organizations and marriage and relationship skills educators. We were able to attend some conferences and training sessions across the country and within California and got some valuable training in addition to what we already had been certified in and were teaching. Next, the Fed Government issued a call for some more grant applications and I went through the grant writing process again. Against all odds and some very heavy competition, we were successful again. This grant is for capacity building. This grant is to add members to our coalition and present classes to couples and to train local leadership. Perhaps the biggest change took place recently. I've worked at The Modesto Bee newspaper for the last 12 years. The second grant that we received has allowed me to replace the salary that I was making at The Bee and enter full time into this Healthy Marriage Coalition work that I consider my ministry. So, the bottom line is it's been a very busy and rewarding year and I've not been paying a lot of attention to the message boards. Part of that is that a lot of us just become busy with life after losing a substantial amount of weight. We've moved from the shadows into the mainstream and some never look back and drop off the boards. Others of us poke our heads back in a take a look from time to time and say hello. The other part of my reason for not being so active is that I've not done real well in the weight loss area. I've gained back about 25 pounds from my low weight and frankly, I'm a little embarrassed about it. I'm going to be using this career and life transition to try and make some changes that will get me back on track. Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry CHRISTmas!!

6/21/04 Dr. Coates office has received my medical records and health questionaire. I'm faxing over the referral from my PCP. Next step is consultation July 8. Step by step...inch by inch! 7/8/04 Well, as I expected, it was a long wait and Dr. Coates was in surgery, so We talked with PA Don. It went well. They consider me a good candidate for surgery. Good News/Bad News: I checked my blood sugar on the way to the appointment and my BG was 245! Add another co-morbidity to the list, but this makes me even more of a candidate. I'll talk to my PCP about this little detail on Friday. I just need to get my Psych. eval. for them to submit to insurance. After that they will tell me what other hoops I need to jump through. Altogether it was a good appointment and my wife is a fully committed support person. I have attended the introductory seminar and Dr. Coirin gave an excellent presentation. Dr. Coates was out of town. All of my questions and those of my wife were answered completely. The post-op patients were very valuable to hear at the seminar. I am moving ahead and have a consultation appointment with Dr. Coates in July. 7/9/04 Well, I knew that I was pre-diabetic or insulin resistant, and I had been hoping to not become diabetic by having WLS surgery. Today it was confirmed, I have passed from pre-diabetic to diabetic. Dang. Well, I guess it's sort of a good news/bad news thing. It's another comorbidity to add to my list. Hypertension being the first and foremost. Luckily (for me, not him), my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about 3 years ago, so I'm not so frightened of it as I might be if I didn't know anything about it. I know plenty about it now. I do have to approach things from a little different perspective than he does. I was given a prescription to take, he has an insulin pump. My major changes prior to surgery have to do with dietary changes and exercise. He needs to monitor his carb intake pretty closely. I guess I will too. Hopefully my surgery will be approved quickly and I can get a surgery date soon and be on the losing side. 7/23/04 I'm now in the beginning stages of the waiting game. I've had a consultation. Now I'm waiting to get in to see the dietician and to see the psychologist. My PCP also ordered a stress test since I've been diagnosed with Diabetes, she says now is a good time to have one. She also ordered a sleep study for some reason. The Medical Group has sent me a letter saying that my PCP needs to show the medical necessity of this which is OK with me. I'm not excited about doing one already. My normal time to get to sleep from the time I lay down is 30-45 minutes. This has been my pattern throughout my life. If I have to go to sleep for somebody to study me, it's going to be a pain in the rear. So, I'll just let her come up with a reason to do the study. The only reason I can see is that I snore on occasion. I don't think I have Apnea, although I suppose I could be wrong. My next appointment is tor the stress test on 8/2. My wife ran into her friend whose daughter had WLS surgery several years ago and died a year or so later. She had 3 different surgeries. Her first was a DS. There were complications from the beginning. She told her friend that I was considering WLS and surprisingly she said I'd be a good candidate. That surprised me. At one time her friend would go to support meetings and tell people not to have WLS. Now she realizes that there were complications that could not have been foreseen and then some mistakes were made following her first surgery. I think she has seen people have successful surgeries since then. The possibility of death from WLS surgery is certainly a scary thought. I just know that I can't go on this way (MO) for very long. I can really start to feel it effecting my life and health. The diabetes will always be with me, but I know it can be successfully controlled through diet. I know several people not using medication at all. I've spent a lot of time thinking of all the possibilities regarding this surgery, but I feel it is right for me. The yo-yo syndrome is taking it's toll. I'm kind of afraid to even attempt a diet right now. If I lose 20 lbs. will I gain back 30? My wife wants me to start dieting now, prior to surgery. I'm willing to do that, but I want a date first. 8/2/04 I had my treadmill stress test today and everything came out normal. That was a relief. My father died when I was very young from heart disease. He was in his early 50's when he died. My half-brother died in his eartly 50's from heart disease, too. It has been one of my reasons to seek WLS to help me to avoid heart disease. Having just been diagnosed recently with diabetes, it was really weighing on heavily that I may be starting to get heart disease too. I was dreading the test. Thinking that I might do badly and face bypass surgery or more medications had me pretty tense. It was really a relief to have something come out normal for a change. Onward to the next hurdle!! Next is my dietician interview on the 12th followed by my psych eval on the 17th. Submitting for approval is finally getting closer. Just 2 weeks and 2 more hurdles to jump through. 8/12/04 I had my Dietician appointment today. Another disappointment. They wouldn't sign the form that Dr. Coates sent over. Dr. Coates won't accept the form that they did sign saying that I had been seen by the Dietician. Dr. Coate's office says that Blue Shield will reject my surgery request if it's not completed in full. So I guess I'm going to see a Dietician in Stockton (about 45 miles away) who is familiar with Dr. Coates requirements. I'll probably have to pay out of pocket and hope for reimbursement. This is very frustrating. I guess that I knew it would be, but I've been waiting a month for this appointment and it's a big letdown. I'm sure God has a plan, and I hope He will let me in on it soon. Please keep me in your prayers. I need patience. I would like to have this surgery during Sept./Oct. because my wife can take to time off to look after me. 8/17/04 Another checkmark against the to-do list today. I had my psych. evaluation today with Dr. Huckaby. I think it went pretty well. He said he wished all of his WLS patients were as well informed and I have to thank all my California Board buddies out there for that. You are all awesome. I've lost about 7 pounds in the last month just hanging out on the message boards and taking it all in. See, it does matter who you spend time with. My mindset has really changed in the last couple of months. I have found myself trying to eat more of a post-op diet and have started to be able to recognize when I've had enough to eat. But my overeating now is much smaller than it used to be. I get really uncomfortable now when I overeat and sometimes even feel a little nauseated. I guess it's kind of like when your wife is pregnant and you start to feel like she must be feeling. Health by osmosis! Looking forward to meeting the So. Cal contingent this weekend at Danni's house as they make their way north for a road trip. My head is in a good place right now, I'm feeling confident and excited that I could possibly have a date by the end of next week. I guess the emotions will hit the fan when that happens. 8/20/04 Met with a Dietician from St. Joseph's in Stockton. A 45 minute drive & $50, but worth it. She is faxing my report in today. 8/24/04 Another milestone completed today. Jessica at Dr. Coates office said she is submitting my file to Blue Shield today! Yahoo! Hoping to be a loser soon! 8/31/04 One baby step closer to surgery today. The hospital called and scheduled me for a pre-surgery education class - Sept. 13 and I talked to Jessica and she said to come in and pick up my binder for the class. I asked if this meant that I was approved, but alas, she said no, but we do think you are getting close and we want to be able to schedule your surgery as soon as we hear back from the insurance company. This way there will be no additional wait. Also this week I downloaded a PDF WLS journal from a website that was recommended, and I have been putting down my thoughts about obesity, surgery, my suppport team and some other topics. It's a great resource to gather your thoughts in one place. 8/31/04 I'm approved and have a surgery date of Sept. 15! Oh happy day. God is good! Alicia needs to make sure this date works out for her work, but as of right now I'm booked. 9/13/04 My surgery date is quickly approaching. Today I went to a 3-hour surgery class. I was the person with the closest surgery date! I was happy to see Karen Waters there, but she has no surgery date yet. Hopefully it will come soon for her. She has a lot of pain. The class was good, but not much new to learn. I am really ready now, I think. My second appointment of the day was with Dr. Coates, who I actually got to meet and talk to for quite awhile. He was very nice and not in a hurry and I got the idea that he would have stayed until my last questions were answered. Alicia was with me and she feels very satisfied with the choice of Dr. Coates. I would really let any competant, experience surgeon do this at this point, but it's nice to know that you like and respect your surgeon. Many people have spoken highly of him and he is very friendly. I have gotten much support from my WLS friends in the area and I am grateful to have found this resource. I feel very confident in the knowledge that I have gained and feel very comfortable going into surgery. Knowing Jesus Christ is really the key to the peace that surrounds this procedure. If I should not survive, it is OK, knowing that Jesus has called me home to be with Him. If I should survive, as I am trusting will happen, I am secure knowing that this is His plan and he has entrusted me with a great gift for my future. God is so good! He truly has blessed me. And if you should read this and want to know how I came to have this type of peace, I would love to share my story with you - just ask. Tomorrow- Ultrasound appt., pre-admission at hospital and onward to BOWEL PREP! 9/21/04 I'm 6 days post-op now. I have not posted since my wife has been home for 3 days now tending me carefully. These last 3 days have been a sweet time togother. She is really my dream girl and I don't really deserve all the love she gives me. My surgery went well. I arrived at the hospital at 9:00 am for a scheduled surgery at 1:20 pm. They took me right in and began prepping me. The Dr. was slightly ahead of schedule and the wanted me to be ready and waiting. The time flew by quickly. First my son, James and my wife were there, then just before they took me away, I got to see my younger son & daughter, Ben and Ainsley. I got on the table, got placed comfortably and had all the suitable stuff attached. I breathed deeply, I think 3-4 times for the anesthetist and I was off to dreamland. I woke up in recovery fairly soon after the surgery was completed. I think I was there about an hour. I felt some pain, but it wasn't bad. Mostly I was uncomfortable. They took me up to my room at about 6pm and I wondered where my wife was. I wondered for about another half hour, then tried to call her cell phone, but the hospital phones will not let you dial a cell phone number. I finally got a nurse to lend me her phone and I got hold of my wife and asked her "Do you know that I'm in a room now?" She DID NOT know and she was pretty bugged about that. I think we got caught in the shift change void. She was there in about 5 minutes, and all was well. My surgery was normal except in one regard. Because I am tall and my rib cage is long, the Docs instruments did not reach far enough using the incisions that they normally make. My surgery lasted 4 hours instead of the usual 1 1/2 to 2. I had a couple of extra incisions also. My hospital stay was 3 nights. They kept me 1 extra day. I'm glad they did, but I was ready to go home. A hospital is no place to rest. I had the roommate from hell the first night. He was a nice person, but he commented on everything and gave all of it a negative spin. His blood sugar was well over 350, but he kept nagging them to get him a cracker. Between all the attention that he and I both required from the nurses and his constant whining it was a long, long, long, long night. My next roomate was hispanic had a large family. They would get about 4 of them in the room and have the TV on a spanish station too. It was an explosion of noise. I'm glad I took someone's advice and wore earplugs. The nursing staff was very good with the exception of one nurse. She had seen it all and done it all and wasn't going to listen to me. She would take my BP with the wrong cuff and the RN would come back in in 20 minutes and take it again using the right cuff. I think one time they gave me BP meds because of one of her wrong readings. The other nurses were nothing but great. In the bed in the next room was a friend of mine from church. Unfortunately for him, he was there for cancer surgery. We used to be greeters along with him and his wife at our church's Sat eve. service. Lot's more people from church had heard about his surgery than had heard about mine and he got a lot of visitors. Luckily for me, I knew most of his visitors because we had mutual friends from church. I told them that they were getting the 2 for 1 offer today. 3 of my church pastors came to visit and my time with them was very sweet. I also received many flowers and balloons. My room was getting pretty crowded. On Saturday I got released just at about noon. I was pretty sore on that day, but I was glad to be going home. My wife unfortunately had to go to work for the rest of the day. I got a visit from my MIL and SIL and her kids. They brought me some books to read and a movie pass from Blockbuster for my recuperation. Everyday since then, I've felt better and better. I have not had any of the nausea that some people experience. Now it is day 6 and I feel pretty normal sitting here and typing. I still have a drain tube in that should be coming out Fri. Other than that and an occasional ache I'm doing very well. I don't have a lot of stamina yet, and I don't think that will come until I'm on a little more substantial type of food. 10-26-04 Tomorrow will be my 6-week surgery anniversary. I haven't done very well at updating this profile, but here I am now, so here's your update. I feel great!! No really, I feel fantastic. I have lost 42 lbs. since surgery and I am down 49 overall since my highest weight of 307. I have been able to eat just about anything that I've tried. I have only eaten protein since my surgery with the exception of a few carbs to flavor the protein and a little flavor for my coffee. I had a slice of carrot just to savor the flavor and 2 green beans. It is amazing how good food can taste when you really can't eat much of it. Whenever someone around me has some sort of goodie, like a brownie or such, I can smell it and see them enjoying it and not become crazed about being deprived. I can't just smell something and appreciate it and enjoy it that way. When I cook something good for my family, I have them tell me how good it is or why they are enjoying it and it makes me happy and is satisfying. This is such a good place for me to be in my head. I've have had only one small glitch in my recovery so far. At around 1 month I had lab work done. I had missed a couple of days of vitamins prior to that and my B-1 level came in very low. I've had to have 5 days of B-1 shots to get my level back up. I had no symptoms of deficiency, just low labs. Hopefully I should be getting my levels back up soon. I'll get retested again in about 3 weeks. I would do this surgery again in a flash and would recommend it for others that have obesity and co-morbidities. This is major surgery and anyone considering it should investigate this thoroughly and completely before making the decision to go ahead with it. There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with the surgery and it should not be taken lightly or considered the easy way out. It's not easy, it's takes serious work and commitment. I have been fun searching the deepest recesses of my closet and pulling out all the pants I own in smaller sizes. To my surprise, already I am able to wear every pair of pants in my closet. A couple pairs of jeans are becoming too loose to wear comfortably. I haven't had to buy any new sizes yet, but it's not too far off. It's starting to get chilly here, so I've been able to wear sweaters comfortably without sweating like crazy. My shirts that were straining at the buttons are now fitting like the maker intended. I'm looking forward to the time when I'll HAVE to get new clothes because these baggy things won't stay on. Today was one of the happiest days of my new life. A dear friend who I met through the website came to the end of herself and asked Jesus into her life. Oh what joy!! I am so happy and thrilled and excited for her. I am walking on clouds. Praise the Lord. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has in store for those that love Him. The OH convention is coming up this weekend and I hope everyone that is able to attend has a great time. I'll be there in spirit. This is a picture of Alicia & I at Buscaglia's Restaurant in Jackson on Sat. 10-30 I am down about 50 pounds from my highest weight in this picture 11-19-04 Got to take a few vacation days this week. We had planned on going to AZ to visit Alicia's dad, but he wasn't feeling too great and his doctor ordered bed rest. His wife, Susan, told us not to come because he wouldn't stay down if we came. It was good that we didn't as she reports that he is improved now after a few days of bed rest. Alicia's Dad had a lung transplant just short of 2 years ago and needs to keep careful control of his health. We were able to get away for 3 days to beautiful Monterey! We spent our honeymoon there and try to go back as often as possible. It's only a 3 hour drive from here so it's not too difficult to get there. We took the kids with us this time and had a great time together. When it's anniversary time we leave them home, so they were itching to go. We booked an Inn and had hoped to soak in their spa. When we got there it was empty so we pitched a fit. When we take the kids we don't stay in a fancy place, but we like to have a spa and a fireplace. We got the Inn to comp us a couple of Aquarium tickets for their screwup. So although we didn't get to soak in the spa it was still worth it. We had a great time at the aquarium. We did a lot of shopping too. I went in one of my favorite stores - Geoffrey Beene - I didn't see anything that I really liked for me, but my DW was having a good time shopping, so I figured I'd kill some time and try on some clothes to just see what fit. I was able to get into several things that were XL! I've been wearing 2X-3X for quite a while now. I've been able to wear size 40 pants for a while now, including a pair of jeans that are pretty tight. I know that I'd be able to wear 40's, but I thought what the heck, I'll try on a pair of 38's and see how close I can get to wearing them. Surprise! They fit perfectly with no effort at all. Praise the Lord. What a pleasant surprise. So...I bought a new pair of black jeans to replace the Saggy Baggy ones I had been wearing. The funny part was when I went back to work today one of the ladies I work with said "Those jeans are getting pretty baggy!" They were my brand new ones that I wore for the first time today!! I got a great laugh out of that one. I'm really itching to get into 36s and ultimately 34s. I tried on several jackets in some other stores, too. NOT big and tall stores - regular stores with clothes in regular sizes!! What a great treat! I'm not buying anything other than what I really need right now, because this size is just a passing one! Thank you Lord for a great tool and gift! I guess I will need to post a new profile pic soon that looks like the new me. 12/21/04 Added up the inches last night. 31 1/2 inches lost! I've lost the height of a Santa's Elf! 12-20-04 I'm now 3 months post-surgery. Went to 3 month follow-up appointment at Dr. Coates office and saw Darryl. All labs look normal. Lipid panel is normal now, no high Triglycerides now. Yahoo! Diabetes is under control without meds. Blood pressure is dropping, but still on meds for that. My scale says I've lost a total of 67 pounds. Received updated diet guidelines from Memorial last week. Now I get to have some fruit and vegetables. Darryl said to limit the fruit since I'm a ex-diabetic (woot). I'm going to go get the tape measure out along with my journal and see how the inches have added up. I'm having Lynnda post a new picture so it should be up soon. It's all good. Praise the Lord! February 1, 2005 It's pretty slow at work today, so here's an update. I'm about 4 1/2 months out from surgery. My weight today is 236 for a total loss of 71 Lbs. I was on a nasty plateau for almost 6 weeks. I hovered around 240-242 all that time. It was a little disappointing, but all the while I could feel changes happening in my body nevertheless. Last Friday, I went to the store to check out some jeans that were on sale and lo and behold, I slipped smoothly and effortlessly into a pair of size 36 jeans. Not only did I fit into these jeans, but I fit into all 5 pairs that I tried on, so it's not just a fluke pair that I accidentally managed to pick up. Oh happy day. I can't remember when I last fit into size 36. I think it was shortly after my wedding in 1987. Whenever it was, it's been a long, long, long, did I mention long, time!!! Man, what a big, big thrill. This is really good. Everything continues to go well regarding my new lifestyle. My wife is dangling a incentive carrot in front of me to reach my next goal of 225. 225 is about what I weighed when we first started dating lo these many years ago. The last time she did this, she had her navel pierced for me as a gift. There are no additional piercings on the horizon she infoms me, so I have no idea what this carrot may be. She is going to tell me what she's going to do when I reach 225, but she's not going to actually do whatever it is until I reach under 200. I haven't got a clue what this could be. Stay tuned... 5/18/05 I have not been too good at updating my profile of late. I am now 8 months out. I've lost a total of 81 pounds so far. I got out the tape measure and have lost a couple more inches since I last updated. Weight loss has been slow, but I'm very happy overall. I don't have a lot of flappy skin or any other problems. My labs have been good. I feel great. My waist continues to shrink, which is great. I have even managed to squeeze into and zip up a pair of 33 waist pants. I wouldn't want to sit around all day in them, but it's pretty cool to be able to get into them. Pretty good feeling. I got told the other day that I need to stop losing more weight. That person hasn't examined the spare tire around my waist, so she wouldn't really know, though. I have finally dropped from the obese range into the overweight range. I want to continue into the normal range. That's still about 30 pounds away at this point. I'm pretty sure I can get there. Hoping to get to the century club by the one year mark. I've cut back on the protein a little bit and have been eating more vegetables to get full. I continue to exercise pretty regularly and have been building muscle, so I think a lot of my slow loss is attributed to muscle gain. More next month. No weight loss lately. Still at 226. I've started bumping up the exercise to get things going again, hopefully. I'm eating a few carbs, but mostly protein still, but my portions are creeping up, so I'm cutting back. I also put too much creamer in my coffee and I think those calories can add up. 9-22-05 My one year surgery anniversary was last Thursday, on the 15th. It's been a great first year! I feel so good now. I've been on a killer plateau for some time now, but I keep getting more trim, at least according to my wife. And her opinion counts a bunch. I've been so busy in the last month doing various projects around the house that I haven't had a lot of time to reflect on my diet. I try to mainly eat protein, but some carbs slip in because of lack of planning. I just eat a bit of what I find, never stuff myself, and move on to the next activity. My wife and I teach a marriage class at our church occasionally. We haven't taught one now for over a year, but we're starting one again this weekend after being asked to by the church. I'm looking forward to this. I need to get back on this ministry track. Alicia won't be able to be there too much due to her work schedule, which is unfortunate, because she adds so much to the class. The participants get to see us interact with each other, which is a good model for them to see. She also has some great insights that she shares with the class which are a great addition to the material that we teach. Next Post lost date Haven't posted for a long time. I'm still the same weight. Winter was tough with all the rain. It goofed up my exercise schedule. I've been really busy since about February starting up a non-profit community organization called the Stanislaus County Healthy Marriage Coaltion. The coalition has been started in the hopes of lowering the divorce rate and also to boost fatherhood and lower teen pregnancy. I've been attending training sessions, having looooonnnng conference calls and been writing grant applications, all in my spare time after work and on weekends. It's been very hard work, but worth it. Check out my website for more information. That's all for now. God Bless you and good luck in your endeavors!