medic45C

Hello! I am 23 years old and just had the sleeve gastrectomy on July 25th, 2014. I grew up as the black sheep, always very active playing softball and working on my family's farm but always the largest on both sides of my family. My mother was always very hard on me about my weight which lead to emotional overeating, low self esteem and rapid weight gain. Like i said before, I was always active from softball to Jazzercise, I was always moving but secretly eating way too much. I was 15-16 years old when I first heard of weight loss surgery, a distant cousin of mine got the Lap-Band, it was then that i started considering it for myself. I married the love of my life when I was 20 years old, he is just a big old country boy and the best man you'll ever meet. After marrying him I of course became comfortable and gained 60 pounds within the first year and a half of being with him, putting me at my highest weight of 275. At 21 years old, I was married, working as an EMT, getting a house, and everything was wonderful, but still at the end of everyday I couldn't enjoy or be proud of anything I had accomplished because I was so ashamed of my weight. After growing a strong relationship with God, a lot of prayer and learning to forgive, I realized I could not blame my mom for my weight anymore. It was my problem, I was the one eating the food and it was going to be my battle to win. But that still did not fix the fact that my weight controlled every aspect of my life. I have always been the type of person that is always wanting to improve, always asking "what's next?", what can I do next or what can I learn next. After finishing Paramedic school, settling into a great job, having my loving husband at home, even buying my dream souped-up Ford truck, I found myself asking.. "what's next?" My dad had lots of suggestions, nursing school, instructing, etc but my mind kept going back to one thing.. my weight. I had reached a point in my life where I felt it was time that I really make this change, it was all i could think about, all I could focus on. I was so tired of my belly touching the table when I sat in a booth, of the stupid button on my uniform shirt opening slightly whenever i sat down, of going shopping for hours and leaving empty handed, of dreading being tagged in a picture on Facebook, of politely declining invites to Six Flags because i feared I wouldnt fit in the rides and all the things that no thin person ever considers but weigh on the minds of overweight people 24/7. I knew it was time. I began asking advice from some of my trusted friends and coworkers, I'll never forget one of my fellow Paramedics reply when I asked him what he thought about me having a weight-loss surgery, he said "why wouldnt you? if the science is out there to help you become the person you want to be there is no reason you shouldnt take advantage of it. You could say you're scared but people miss out on the greatest things in life because they're scared, don't be like that" and he was right. It was then that I began the process. I found a seminar that was conveniently in my town, didn't tell a soul that I was going, went all by myself, and knew this was it, this was for me. I found a Surgical/Bariatric office to schedule my clearances and surgery through, everyone has been so kind and helpful, I am confident this is one of the best decisions I have ever made and I am so exited for the outcome.