you guessed'er chester!

Okay, so the big prize goes to......(drumroll please!)....Danielle! She guessed it! Hmmmm....now what to give for the prize?.....Any requests, Danielle?

If all goes well, in November I will be sleeping peacefully, while my life changes forever. That sounds a little anticlimactic, doesn't it? Sorry about that, but too many late nights and early mornings are conspiring against my ability to "wax comedic" right now.

Here's the scoop, but you have to plod through some history so you will understand why this is Big News to me. If you get bored......meander on over to your other favorite blog, since we BOTH know this is your favorite spot to hang out!!! ; -]

When I was younger, my sis's and I would play this game. It entailed smashing your face all up with your hands until you looked like a wilted pumpkin, or a 3000 yr old woman; because we were young, it looked like we had been "victims" of the "kick anorexia's butt" club. Then we had this chant that went something like "My name is ____. I love to eat! So does everyone else in our family; my mom's fat, my dad's fat, my brother's fat and so is my sister! One day, I got to go on a motorcycle ride, and when my friend hit the gas, Whoa!!!!" This statement was accompanied by us pulling all the skin on our face back as far as we could, thus appearing as if we had magically dropped a lot of weight.

Juvenile, I know, but somehow in my mind, it gave some consolation for being overwieght...made it funny. Since then poundage has been a huge part of my self identification. Even though I hated it, and myself, I continued to feed my face. There were many diets, and big weight losses followed by the inevitable weight return plus bonus poundage. Up and down, up and down.

Marriage and children again contributed to the accumulation. At first I consoled myself with "Well, I do have 3 children!" Then at some point I began to realize that there were many women with more kids than I who were at least much closer to their intended weight than I was. At first, I told myself that they were the exception to the rule, there weren't that many "skinnie minnies" out there. Sometime though, these thin, fit moms became the rule, and I became the exception.

After Adam was born, Paul and I became focused on our bodies, and made some serious changes in diet and lifestyle. We joined a gym, and both of us lost weight and became much more fit. Unfortunatly, a tubing wreck resulted in a broken neck, and I spent 3 months in a C-collar, on restricted activity. That was all it took to derail me. Since then, I have been aquainted with ever higher numbers on the scale- numbers I didn't know were even included!! I mean., sure, I had taken care of people in the hospitals that were morbidly obese, but we used special scales for them! I couldn't be MORBIDLY OBESE!!!

In the past several years, I have experienced more and more health issues. Being transferred to Deaconess a couple of months ago with unstable angina, and going through a heart cath was the clincher. Along with the increasing diabetic symptoms, chronic pain in my back and legs, difficulty moving around, skin issues, etc, now I was a "heart patient". At 45. I have to tell you, I have had several operative procedures done, and while a little nervous, they really were no big deal. Waiting in the holding area before the heart cath was the most terrifying experience of my life. Total meltdown. Luckily, my arteries are clear. I am- as one doctor put it-" out of shape and overweight". No kidding!! Somehow I was unaware of this fact?

After having some medication added to the ever longer list, my cardiac problems have resolved. Thank heavens!! About a month ago, I heard about this new program starting at Samaritan- bariatric surgery. A lottery was going to be held, and 6 people would be chosen to have either a lapband or gastric bypass done at 10% of the cost. All I had to do was fill out an application. After dropping off the application, I pretty much put the possibility of winning out of my head-I have never won anything in a lottery-not a quilt, cake, or free dinner. Wait a sec , I HAVE won a free dinner! . One evening, the phone rang, and on the other end, someone told me that I was a winner for one of the free spots!! UNREAL!! I was so excited and surprised, that I was screaming in the poor woman's ear!

Surgery is slated for around Thanksgiving time. And for the rest of my life, I will be able to get my weight down. All I need is "a little help from my friends" . Will you be one?