Almost 1 year later...

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone!  Sorry I haven’t participated much lately but I injured my back and sitting at the computer has been painful.  BUT!  I’m getting better!

 

Congrats to all of you who recently had your surgery – the first month sux but it gets better every day and before you know it, it will be behind you.

 

Congrats also to those of you who have just made the decision to have the surgery.  You have made the most important decision in your life – to SAVE your life.  Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry when you FIND yourself afraid.   It’s perfectly normal to make up your mind one minute, and second guess yourself the next.  You will have hopes and dreams and fears and concerns and doubts, etc, etc.  We all went through them.  But please know that you have made the right decision and you will not regret this life-changing surgery.

 

Don’t be afraid of going to Mexico.  I researched Mexicali before I went and found out that (1) it is one of the wealthiest cities in Mexico and (2) it has a VERY low crime rate.  Makes perfect sense!  Do you think the wealthy are going to live in a dangerous city when they can live anywhere they choose?  Of course not! 

 

And don’t be afraid of Hospital Almater.  It is a private hospital.  That means that they cater to their wealthy citizens.  So what would you expect of such a facility?  Well, that’s what you’re going to get – a beautiful, sparkling clean state-of-the-art facility overstaffed with medical professionals who cater to you as if you were on vacation instead of in a hospital.  Need a nurse?  There are probably four of them within 6 steps of the door to your room.  Want to see a doctor?  How about TWO of them, 3 or 4 times EVERY DAY???  These people CARE about you, your health and your comfort.

 

I received better care at Hospital Almater with Dr. Aceves and his staff than I received in the heart of the medical center in San , Texas in a specialty heart hospital for open heart surgery!  I would go to Dr. Aceves for ANY procedure he would be willing to perform for me.  And I would recommend him HANDS DOWN to anyone, at any time, for any reason.

 

Next month marks my 1 year surg-iversary.  I started this journey nearly 100 pounds overweight, with a BMI of 39.2, sleep apnea, aching knees and feet, high cholesterol and pre-diabetic.  Today I am 15 pounds from goal, my BMI is down to 27, my knees and feet no longer hurt me, my cholesterol level is coming down WITHOUT MEDICATION and I AM NO LONGER PRE-DIABETIC!!!  I can cross my legs again.  I can paint my toenails without getting out of breath.  I can rock a skirt and high heels again.  I love wearing shorts because my thighs no longer rub together when I walk!  And walk, I can!  I no longer get out of breath trying to walk around the block.  I am off 2 of my medications and my blood work looks great.  While I may not have lost all of my excess weight yet, I am THRILLED with where I am and I am continuing to lose it, although its coming off slowly.  Do I care?  Not at all.  It took me years to gain that excess weight.  If it takes me a while to get it off, that’s fine by me.  I look and feel SO MUCH BETTER now that I will be happy even if I never lose another ounce.  I eat real food and I eat whatever I want.  My problem was never eating poorly – my problem was quantity.  And my wonderful new tool restricts that now. 

 

Yes, the first month was hard.  Actually, it took me about 4 months before my new tummy (I named her “Tina, the tiny tummy”) was really healed and I could eat “normally”.  Before that, I had frequent nausea when I ate, and I could only tolerate really soft foods.  But once the healing “hit” life just got better and better. 

 

The ONLY thing I regret is that I failed to MEASURE MYSELF when I started my journey.  I hit many stalls along the way and as we all do, I thought “Oh no!  I’m going to be the ONLY person this surgery won’t work for!”  But as my scale was “stuck”, inches were rearranging themselves and falling away.  If I have any words of advice for you (besides selecting the best surgeon in North America – Dr. Aceves), it would be to TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS!!! 

 

For those worried about the cost of surgery, I was also.  I had zero savings and bad credit leftover from open heart surgery with no insurance in 2007.  And my current health insurance would not cover any WLS.  In retrospect, I’m glad they wouldn’t because otherwise I would probably have not “found” Dr. Aceves.  Blessings come in strange packages sometimes.  I was lucky enough to have one credit card left with enough available credit to cover the cost of the surgery.  I may be paying 14% interest on the money but that’s a small price to pay for health.  I decided I would send them $250 a month until I pay it off.  Little did I know at the time that I would be saving more than that amount each month in my reduced grocery and pharmacy bill!  My point is – do whatever it takes to gather the funds necessary.  Raid savings or retirement accounts; take cash advances on your credit cards; borrow from friends or family; sell your excess “stuff” on eBay.  This is worth every penny and then some.  You are paying for your LIFE!

 

The point of this epistle is to offer encouragement to those of you contemplating this journey and those who have just begun.  If you have any questions – no matter how trivial or “weird” you may think they are – ask me.  I will share anything with you.  Suzanne, Bipley and the others on this board who went before me were so uplifting, encouraging, and educational to me that I want to do whatever I can to “pay it forward”.

 

(((Hugs))) to all of you!

 

Cheryl*