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I would love to share my experiences before and after the lapband surgery. First off I want to thank Dr. Ortiz, Dr. Martinez, Dr. Miranda and the entire staff at Obesity Control Center, without your help I would not be where I am today. Thank you for changing my life.
I want to share a little about my backround, I am a 27 year old female, who always had a weight problem since I was a young girl. It never really bothered mr growing up, I was a happy kid, who played sports and had alot of friends, and grew up in a blessed home with a great family. Of course, there was always those relatives that would say, "Themelina, you're too pretty to be fat, you need to lose weight." So intern, I would try all sorts of diets and gimmicks and nothing would work long term. The up and down dieting turned out to be a life long battle.
In April of 2005 I went on a family vacation to Greece, and that is when my life changed. It started off with the difficulty of sitting comfortably in the airplane seats. I really didnt fit in them and found it hard and uncomfortable for a 12 hour flight. Then I had some older gentleman make mean and crude comments about my weight who was sitting behind me, as usual I ignored the comments and sat in the chair hurt and depressed with the remarks. Finally the trip was over and I arrive in Greece, I was excited and anxious to see family memebers after several years. All the excitement faded away when the family members started making their mean comments about my size and my weight. Every relative made it a point to express their opinion and point of view about dieting. They would say you need to stop eating and lose weight, as if it that easy. But the best remark was "Please dont sit on my good chair, sit on the old one so u dont break it." That is when I realized how hurtful society can be and also that i really need to do something about my weight and focus on my health.
Once I returned back from my vacation and I was happy to be back in the USA, I did some research about weight loss surgery. Once I gathered the information I needed I went straight forward with it and I didnt look back. I called the Obesity Control Center and scheduled my surgery date for October 29, 2005. The day I scheduled my surgery I weighed 315 lbs, and I lost 5 lbs prior to recieving the surgery. The day of surgery I weighed 310 lbs, and now 2 years later I weigh 145 lbs. I am 5'9 145 lbs and wear a size 4. Can we all say "WOW".
I would of never thought in a million years I would weigh under 220 lbs and going from a size 24-26 to a size 4 is a major accomplishment if you ask me. All I have to say is dreams do come true with the help of talented and gifted doctors. I achieved my goal weight in under 2 years and it is the best thing I ever did for myself. I am a happier and healthier person who is full of energy with a positive attitude and outlook on life. No hurdle is too hard to jump litteraly and physically.
My life changed dramatically, I can now fit in airplane seats comfortably, I can ride a roller coaster again after 10 years of just watching others ride them. It's those little things and pleasures in life I couldnt do that I can do now. My work enviornment has changed im treated differently by people, which is a shame how society treats you when you look a certain way. Being that I've experienced life from both sides of the fence it is sad how mean people can be. I get better customr service shopping for clothes as oppose to the past when I was overweight. Shame on the sales clerks who didnt want to help me while I was shopping.
I've also learned who are my true friends and who aren't after acomplishing my life long dream of being healthy. It's kind of sad when you do a good thing for you physical and mental health, how people act towards you. Out of all my female friends only 2 stayed by my side through this journey, the others were gone faster than the speed of light. I guess they couldn't take the heat or the competition. Now as far as guy friends go, one gentleman who has been my friend over 10 years is still my friend infact he came all the way to Mexico with me for my post follow up and fill. He has been there every step of the way and is amazed how well this surgery has worked out for me. Now the problem is I have more men who want to be my friend, ha ha ha, it so happens to be the same men who did not talk to me when I was over weight, but unfortunately I will not give them the time of day. It's actually kind of fun to see how I am treated by people these days.
Life has been really good after losing 165 lbs. If I had to do this all over again I would in a heartbeat. Not only will I live longer, but I get to enjoy a lot more life has to offer. I'm confident, and I feel good about myself, and not to mention alot of health related issues I had from being over weight are gone. I can go out in public without feeling that people are looking at me differently. All the name calling and pointing has stopped I get smiles now from strangers. There was a recent incident from a stranger who used some name calling, but this time I didnt get mad I actually smiled ear to ear and said "Thank You", when I was called a skinny bean pole. I do have to say it made my day.
My family and friends have supported me 100% throughout this life changing exprience and I can't thank them enough for it. It feels good knowing I have inspired people to change their lives to become healthier. Not only have I inspired customers, friends and relatives but I also inspired my brother. He is next to experience life on the healthier side. Good luck to anyone who decides to take this step and change their lives for the better and of course the healthier. By the way I can't wait to go back to Greece and show off the new me and make it a point to sit in that relative's "GOOD CHAIR".
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