If anyone ever told you that they were happy just as they are, and they are at least 50-100 lbs. overweight, I think they're probably lying. For years (basically all my life), I've always been a "heavy" girl. I was always one of the heaviest in my class, but I was always well-liked. Sometimes, we (people) get so comfortable in who we are at the time, that we fail to see places in our lives that need/require improvement.
Growing up, my mother has always instilled confidence in me. She's made it her mission to tell me how beautiful I am as well as do anything within her power to help me cope with being overweight...sometimes to my own demise. My mother has done what any GOOD mother would do, she had my best interests at heart. When I'd complain about wanting to lose weight, she'd take me to Weight Watchers meetings with her, go walking with me, buy me weights, buy diet pills, etc. However, I NEVER stuck with any one thing.
Even now that I'm an adult, my mother is STILL right here in my corner. She's been the shoulder I've cried on for many years, and she still lends me her shoulder whenever I need one. She's MY ROCK! She's known for quite sometime that I've wanted to have this surgery. She's been in favor of it, yet she knew financing it would probably pose an issue. So, for years I've put it off until I figured out a way to come up with the funds to get the surgery.
In January 2011, I called St. Francis Bariatric Surgery Center in Memphis, TN and spoke with the front desk clerk and told her that I was interested in having the surgery and finding out more information about the procedure that would be most appropriate for me. There are three weight loss options:
Option 1: Lap Band- A band is placed around the top of the stomach to help restrict the intake of food. It is done laparoscopically, so it is considered the least evasive of the three. The beauty of this procedure is that the band can be taken off, tighten to lose more weight, or loosened to stop losing so much weight.
Option 2: Vertical Gastric Sleeve- The stomach is cut down to the size of a banana and the part of the stomach where the hormone for the appetite lies, is discarded. So, one doesn't have an appetite, and he/she is unable to eat substantial amounts at any given time. *THIS IS THE SURGERY I'VE ELECTED TO HAVE!*
Option 3: RNY Gastric Bypass- In the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure, a surgeon makes a direct connection from the stomach to a lower segment of the small intestine and a lot of cutting and bypassing goes on...lol. This is both the MOST EVASIVE & MOST EXPENSIVE procedure! (I'll pass!)
The clerk told me that I could set up a payment plan so that I can have one of the procedures performed at St. Francis Hospital, and all I need to do was attend a seminar to meet the surgeons. Well, I did just that....I took off work, and my mother and I went to a seminar. While there, I talked with the payment representative, and she told me that there was ABSOLUTELY no way that I could make payment arrangements. I either had to have INSURANCE, or I had to pay out of pocket (All at one time) and that they didn't take CARE CREDIT (a credit card designed for any time of cosmetic surgery performed from dental surgery to weight loss surgery). I was distraught. I thought I'd finally found a way to healthier me. I cried right there on the spot, and my mother comforted me. The lady even had the AUDACITY to suggest I save up for the money by getting what she called a "clunker"......LADY, you don't know what the hell I drive now, so how would you make such a comment? My mother was upset with the lady, but her concern for me and my disappointment superceded her anger towards the lady. I felt hopeless.
A voice came to me one day while I was at work and said, "Don't give up, Robin, search around!" I got online and searched and searched for a Bariatric center that would accept CARE CREDIT and the closest one I could find was in Oxford, Ms. I decided to further my research and check the BBB for more information about the surgeon as well as read up about his facility. He is one of the best around! So, I called, requested information, and that is where my journey began!
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