PhilVanWart
I'm a 58 years old, weighing in at about 300 lbs. I'm 6'1" with a medium frame (so I can't blame my size on big bones or muscles). I've been overweight since childhood. A bout with rheumatic fever at age seven years and a subsequent serious heart murmur had me under my doctor's orders for absolute inactivity for more than a year. No doubt the boredom from being housebound helped me discover the "wonderful" comfort found in a good snack.
Although never athletic, my youth and younger adult years found me pretty phyiscally active. Until fairly recently, I have prided myself in my insistence in climbing stairs two at a time. I've always made it difficult for my students to keep up with my pace on walks and hikes. Although overwieght, blood pressure and sugar levels have never been a problem. Even an x-ray of my 45 year old ankles and feet showed what the doctor called, "the feet of a teenager." And as fat as I was, I didn't even snore. However, as my life and my work required less and less physical activity, my feet, knees, blood pressure and sugar levels began to feel the effects of a half century of being overwieght. I even began to snore - loudly. Until just 10 yeqars ago I took no regular prescriptions. Now I take twice as many pills as my father did at 91 years and my mom at 88 years. And then there's the fish oil, C-PAP, and the Dr. Scholl's shoes.
It's time to get healthy. I want to enjoy my grandkids. I want to tie my own shoes (just kidding, I still can). I want to spend the most time with my wife. Careful considerations have been made, along with a lot of prayer. I'm excited about the benefits to be found in teh surgery.
