• Operation Date: June 5, 2007

Today is a great day! But I can’t think of really having a bad day since getting my band. I haven’t always been overweight. I think it started about the time I turned 8 and I was considered a chubby child not a really heavy over weight child and that continued into high school. I then became real active in sports and cut back on calories and lost very easily. So years rock on and I meet and married my husband. I didn’t play sports much then and really enjoyed cooking and eating. Also found out I was a dang good cook! A couple of years after marrying I had my first child and 2 more followed. Time moves on and the kids get bigger, hysterectomy and low thyroid and I ballooned. But the miracle drug comes along PhenPhen and Pondimen. It was the answer to my weight problem…lost lower than I had ever been. It was wonderful but then it was pulled off the market and back comes the weight. Plus more!

My legs and hips were hurting, I couldn’t walk any distance that I wasn’t out of breath and had to sit down. I was using my inhaler more and more for asthma and using 3 pillows at night with meds for reflux. Not to mention the snoring that was keeping the whole house up at night. Then I had a picture with some family taken the summer before my surgery that just said it all’I had to do something! One day I saw a friend that I had not seen in awhile and she had had the band and looked so good. I could not wait to get home and tell my husband, my number one supporter! We decide that I should try for it. So I called my insurance and it took several months and lots of tries but finally insurance covered it. I was beside myself! I saw hope at the end of the tunnel! I did all the pre op stuff required by my doctors and insurance and had surgery on June 5, 2007. I know I will have some arguments but the best doctor in the world is Dr. Kent. He keeps reminding me of things I need to hear and I just think there is no other surgeon as great as he is. I know that we have the best office staff in the country! If I need to see the doctor they do their best to get me in as soon as possible. I doubt there is another office with staff that works as hard to get insurance to cover our surgeries as this staff does. Another great thing about my surgeon is the whole concept of the way the surgery works to be successful. We have available to us nutritional counseling and Dr. Greg and Dr. Betsy, our psychologists all in one office. Plus the wonderful support group at the hospital. Which I honestly think all contributes to successful weight loss. It has been a life changing experience. I know my quality of life is better and will continue to get better as I lose more weight. I can’t thank Dr. Kent and the office staff enough for all their help in my success.