VTucker
Hello everyone, My name is Valerie but everyone calls me "Tee". I am 27 years old, living in Atlanta! I have be struggling with my weight since I was in middle school. I have tried to many diets, exercise programs, to lose weight but none seem to work. I would lose bout 20 lbs and just when I get comfortable, the weight comes back and I gain even more. I have had some depression from it over the years because I didn't see any hope of changing my life and that I will be obese for the rest of my life. Once I moved to Atlanta, i begin meeting people that had gastric bypass surgery. I started researching and reading about different weight loss surgeries for about a year and a half. My sister found a few doctors in Atlanta that have a very good successful rate of the surgery. When I found Obesity-Help.com, it really gave me good information on different doctors in Atlanta that do weight loss procedures and I had a chance to read alot of patients that have had the surgery and the ups and downs of the surgery. We found Dr. Champion on this site and begin to research him and go on his website. The plan was for me and my sister to make an appointment with Dr. Champion at the same time so we can have each other support. The plan didn't go that well because neither her insurance or my insurance would pay for the procedure.This put a set back to our plans. After about 10 months, My health was declining because I was a border line diabetic, blood pressure was high a few times I went to the doctor, female problems (POS) and I was having problems sleeping and breathing.
My parents and I came to the conclusion that we would have to find a way to pay for this surgery because I could not go on like this seeing that I am only 27 years old and barley can move around. In Jan 09 we got good news that we had come up with the money and now it was time to make an appointment with Dr. Champion. My sister just postpone getting the surgery until I got mine. I made a appointment with Dr. Champion which was going to be Feb. 5th. Once we met Dr. Champion I knew that I had made the right choice when choosing a doctor. He had a wonderful personality and very professional. I had to have a few test taken which was an ECHO, EKG, and Blood Gas test. My surgery was set for March 18th just so I can get those test done and get a clearance letter from my primary care doctor. My primary care doctor is located in my home town, Thomasville,Ga, so I scheduled a appointment to get those things done. Coming up to my surgery date, Dr. Champion had me on a diet before surgery because he wanted me to lose some weight before surgery. I was nervous but never wanted to change my mind because I know I have to do this for my health. Once I got everything cleared and to Dr. Champion, I had to do my pre-op on March 16th. That was a very long day for me because I had to be at Dr. Champion's office at 8:30 in the morning and the hospital at 1 pm and did not leave there until 4pm. I was so hungry and was going to have my last "real" meal before going on the liquid diet the day before surgery. I have a lot of people supporting me, my family and friends.
