magic moments

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone:

My third re-birthday is coming up on June 3rd. I have to work, so I

won't celebrate except for doing a 10-mile run in the evening after

work. I'll run from Pier 39 to the Golden Gate bridge, across the

bridge and back, returning to Pier 39. I'll remember that 3 years

earlier, I was in the hospital, taking my first steps post-op around

the hospital ward with a foley catheter in place (an indwelling

catheter used for draining urine from the bladder and having an

inflatable part at the bladder end that allows the tube to be kept in

place for variable time periods). Wow, I don't miss that at all.

Anyway, Dave and I went out to dinner last weekend at Fog City Diner

in San Francisco, and when it came time to be seated, the hostess lead

us to a tiny, tiny booth.

Just before we'd been seated, I witnessed a large woman squeeze into a

booth with lots of difficulty. I could see her sitting there with her

boobs on the table, and her body wedged in the booth with her stomach

being pinched by the edge of the table. I recognized oh-too-well that

uncomfortable look on her face, the embarrassment, the discomfort, the

pain of being morbidly obese. And as I had on so many occasions, she

was trying to hide her discomfort, but to me it was plain as day.

As I approached our booth and saw the space between the back of the

seat and the table, for the first time in ages, I thought, " Oh My God!

I'm not gonna fit in there! " I paused in a moment of fear and dread.

But as I slid into the booth, I smiled because not only did I fit, but

there were at least 4 inches of clearance between me and the table.

I wonder what was up with me? Had I momentarily forgotten that I'd

lost 153 lbs? Did the sight of that unfortunate woman bring all the

pain back to the surface?

It's amazing how free I feel since losing that weight. I went to a

men's retreat the weekend before last (for the men in my church) and a

friend named said that I was the " belle of the ball. " I don't

know if I agree with that, but I had a great time; a tall, handsome

(everyone including me tells him he looks like Gere), funny

man gave me endless attention and shoulder rubs. said that no

one paid any attention to him, and I have to admit that twice I heard

him being described as the " big guy with the loud mouth. " ( is

a jokester in a loud way... and not everyone likes his " loud mouth. " )

I remember being on the outside like that. And I have to admit that

the normal weighted guys tended to hang out together, and the larger

guys were also seemingly (self-?) segregated. During all of the

sessions, I was lucky to have one guy or another massaging my

shoulders, and I in turn was massaging quite a few shoulders myself.

Sometimes I travel so easily in the world of the normal weighted.

Other times, it's still a shock. At church on Sunday, a very nice,

handsome man actually picked me up. I was commenting on how different

his point of view is at 6'4 " (I'm 5'8 " ). Then he put his arms around

me, lifted me up and said, " See. This is what you're missing. " There

was a time when my ex joked that he'd need a forklift to lift me

across the threashold. I still feel that way sometimes. When Art

lifted me, I said, " Don't hurt yourself. " And he said, " But you're so

light. You weigh next to nothing. " Me? It's very strange, but since

I've lost the weight, this is the 4th or 5th time that a guy has

lifted me up like that. It amazes me. And it's really fun!

OK, I'm rambling... but for those of you struggling to lose the 10%,

keep up the good work, and don't give up on you. For me, this journey

has been full of surprises, magic moments and " uplifting "

experiences...figuratively and literally.

Francisco

-153 lbs and maintaining for 1 year, 7 months

[Guest guest]

Gotta LOVE them magic moments! So a lil ol update on me...it has been a bit, so here goes. I usually keep up with what is going on, but being pregnant, I sometimes feel like not really saying much. That and my posting to the PCOS ( Poly Cysytic Ovarian Syndrome) boards take up a lot of time. I am really active as a support person there, because the RNY really knocked my PCOS into a semi-hibernation ( thank G-d!) to the point where I am now 36 and half weeks pregnant naturally, and that in itself is a miracle. So, as stated, in a little less than a month, I am expecting, please G-d in a good and healthy time, my first baby. Naturally, after all the specialists said it could never happen that way, that I would need IVF. Weeeelll, we got an expression for that...Man plans and G-d laughs. Guess He is rather pleased. I am doing my work on the PCOS boards, using my experiences

to guide other ladies with PCOS, to reassure and answer questions, something I would have never done before I had RNY, as I was still in the thick of the PCOS myself. Along this journey of being pregnant, I have never lost sight that miracles upon miracles are happening to me. You see, even now, there is a chance that I may be able to assist more ladies with PCOS by sharing my story on a large scale. That frightens me a great deal, but I believe everything happened to me for a reason, and that I would be denying that basic principle by keeping silent. I am working with someone, another lady with PCOS, and she is trying to get politicians to be more aware of PCOS! A more WLS related magic moment. So I went to look for housecoats today ( totally love them, and could not wear them before because the buttons would gape) and even though I am 9 months pregnant, I FIT INTO A SIZE 18! At my highest

weight I was 315 and a size 30. Before pregnancy I was down to 195, and now I am at 225. And I still fit into an 18! No gapes, a little snug in the belly ( naturally) but it looked GOOD on me! Combine that with the majority of people I meet drop their jaws when I tell them I am due in 3 odd weeks...they think I am only like 7 months along! At first I was a little nervous when the weight started to get up there, but when I went to my surgeon ( who also did a hernia repair for me in May 2005) he said that I looked amazing, and that I needed to eat! And that if I had a few more treats than normal, I should not worry. Even my OB, who freaked because I would not take a traditional glucose tolerance test, is acutally rather impressed. Needless to say, these magic moments!manisodream wrote: Hello everyone:My third re-birthday is coming up on June 3rd. I have to work, so I won't celebrate except for doing a 10-mile run in the evening after work. I'll run from Pier 39 to the Golden Gate bridge, across the bridge and back, returning to Pier 39. I'll remember that 3 years earlier, I was in the hospital, taking my first steps post-op around the hospital ward with a foley catheter in place (an indwelling catheter used for draining urine from the bladder and having an inflatable part at the bladder end that allows the tube to be kept in place for variable time periods). Wow, I don't miss that at all.Anyway, Dave and I went out to dinner last weekend at Fog City Diner in San Francisco, and when it came time to be seated, the hostess lead us to a tiny, tiny booth.Just before we'd been seated, I witnessed a large woman squeeze into a booth with lots of

difficulty. I could see her sitting there with her boobs on the table, and her body wedged in the booth with her stomach being pinched by the edge of the table. I recognized oh-too-well that uncomfortable look on her face, the embarrassment, the discomfort, the pain of being morbidly obese. And as I had on so many occasions, she was trying to hide her discomfort, but to me it was plain as day.As I approached our booth and saw the space between the back of the seat and the table, for the first time in ages, I thought, "Oh My God! I'm not gonna fit in there!" I paused in a moment of fear and dread. But as I slid into the booth, I smiled because not only did I fit, but there were at least 4 inches of clearance between me and the table.I wonder what was up with me? Had I momentarily forgotten that I'd lost 153 lbs? Did the sight of that unfortunate woman bring all the pain back to

the surface?It's amazing how free I feel since losing that weight. I went to a men's retreat the weekend before last (for the men in my church) and a friend named said that I was the "belle of the ball." I don't know if I agree with that, but I had a great time; a tall, handsome (everyone including me tells him he looks like Gere), funny man gave me endless attention and shoulder rubs. said that no one paid any attention to him, and I have to admit that twice I heard him being described as the "big guy with the loud mouth." ( is a jokester in a loud way... and not everyone likes his "loud mouth.") I remember being on the outside like that. And I have to admit that the normal weighted guys tended to hang out together, and the larger guys were also seemingly (self-?) segregated. During all of the sessions, I was lucky to have one guy or another

massaging my shoulders, and I in turn was massaging quite a few shoulders myself.Sometimes I travel so easily in the world of the normal weighted. Other times, it's still a shock. At church on Sunday, a very nice, handsome man actually picked me up. I was commenting on how different his point of view is at 6'4" (I'm 5'8"). Then he put his arms around me, lifted me up and said, "See. This is what you're missing." There was a time when my ex joked that he'd need a forklift to lift me across the threashold. I still feel that way sometimes. When Art lifted me, I said, "Don't hurt yourself." And he said, "But you're so light. You weigh next to nothing." Me? It's very strange, but since I've lost the weight, this is the 4th or 5th time that a guy has lifted me up like that. It amazes me. And it's really fun!OK, I'm rambling... but for

those of you struggling to lose the 10%, keep up the good work, and don't give up on you. For me, this journey has been full of surprises, magic moments and "uplifting" experiences...figuratively and literally.Francisco-153 lbs and maintaining for 1 year, 7 months

" Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind

do not matter, and those who matter do not mind!" Dr. Seuss

"There is nothing more whole than a broken heart" (paraphrase) R'Simcha Bunim of Pershischa

Love, Klinkowitz RNY 8/17/04 315/190/185

-125 __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Actually both birthdays are coming up.

Birthday: June 7

RE-Birthday: August 19

> >

> >

> > Happy re-birthday Francisco!!!

> >

> > Once again, your words are an inspiration and a reminder where we

> > have been.

>

[Guest guest]

Congrats !!!

We started at the same weight...315.

> Hello everyone:

>

> My third re-birthday is coming up on June 3rd. I have to work, so

I

> won't celebrate except for doing a 10-mile run in the evening after

> work. I'll run from Pier 39 to the Golden Gate bridge, across the

> bridge and back, returning to Pier 39. I'll remember that 3 years

> earlier, I was in the hospital, taking my first steps post-op

around

> the hospital ward with a foley catheter in place (an indwelling

> catheter used for draining urine from the bladder and having an

> inflatable part at the bladder end that allows the tube to be kept

in

> place for variable time periods). Wow, I don't miss that at all.

>

> Anyway, Dave and I went out to dinner last weekend at Fog City

Diner

> in San Francisco, and when it came time to be seated, the hostess

lead

> us to a tiny, tiny booth.

>

> Just before we'd been seated, I witnessed a large woman squeeze

into a

> booth with lots of difficulty. I could see her sitting there with

her

> boobs on the table, and her body wedged in the booth with her

stomach

> being pinched by the edge of the table. I recognized oh-too-well

that

> uncomfortable look on her face, the embarrassment, the discomfort,

the

> pain of being morbidly obese. And as I had on so many occasions,

she

> was trying to hide her discomfort, but to me it was plain as day.

>

> As I approached our booth and saw the space between the back of the

> seat and the table, for the first time in ages, I thought, " Oh My

God!

> I'm not gonna fit in there! " I paused in a moment of fear and

dread.

> But as I slid into the booth, I smiled because not only did I fit,

but

> there were at least 4 inches of clearance between me and the table.

>

> I wonder what was up with me? Had I momentarily forgotten that I'd

> lost 153 lbs? Did the sight of that unfortunate woman bring all

the

> pain back to the surface?

>

> It's amazing how free I feel since losing that weight. I went to a

> men's retreat the weekend before last (for the men in my church)

and a

> friend named said that I was the " belle of the ball. " I

don't

> know if I agree with that, but I had a great time; a tall, handsome

> (everyone including me tells him he looks like Gere), funny

> man gave me endless attention and shoulder rubs. said that

no

> one paid any attention to him, and I have to admit that twice I

heard

> him being described as the " big guy with the loud mouth. " (

is

> a jokester in a loud way... and not everyone likes his " loud

mouth. " )

> I remember being on the outside like that. And I have to admit

that

> the normal weighted guys tended to hang out together, and the

larger

> guys were also seemingly (self-?) segregated. During all of the

> sessions, I was lucky to have one guy or another massaging my

> shoulders, and I in turn was massaging quite a few shoulders myself.

>

> Sometimes I travel so easily in the world of the normal weighted.

> Other times, it's still a shock. At church on Sunday, a very nice,

> handsome man actually picked me up. I was commenting on how

different

> his point of view is at 6'4 " (I'm 5'8 " ). Then he put his arms

around

> me, lifted me up and said, " See. This is what you're missing. "

There

> was a time when my ex joked that he'd need a forklift to lift me

> across the threashold. I still feel that way sometimes. When Art

> lifted me, I said, " Don't hurt yourself. " And he said, " But you're

so

> light. You weigh next to nothing. " Me? It's very strange, but

since

> I've lost the weight, this is the 4th or 5th time that a guy has

> lifted me up like that. It amazes me. And it's really fun!

>

> OK, I'm rambling... but for those of you struggling to lose the

10%,

> keep up the good work, and don't give up on you. For me, this

journey

> has been full of surprises, magic moments and " uplifting "

> experiences...figuratively and literally.

>

> Francisco

> -153 lbs and maintaining for 1 year, 7 months

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>