3loves

I'm right there with you. :wave: I was told to call Fri for a decision. I can't believe it's almost Fri. :bounce: I hope we both get the answer looking for.

I know this is not funny and can be serious, but you do have a way with words. :dance: I hope you get resolution quickly!!!

You are a beautiful person with a heart to match!! You didn't get that way on your own, so I know your parents are beautiful people too! It's not easy raising children to be as unselfish and giving as you are. This takes work! Bless the heart of your parents!! I am a straight forward person as well (love Simon) and I can only see you taking that approach. If I were in your shoes, I would have a heart to heart expressing your desire. Then I would make three points: 1. Her grandchildren are going to NEED her. I come from a very close family. My relationship only deepened when I put my children into the arms of my parents. It can't be explained, but she will know....it's very special. It sounds like you already intend to stress the importance of her presence with her future grandchildren. My mom has said more than once that sometimes she feels she gave birth to my boys b/c she is so close. I have never seen my dad cry, but I have been told the tears have fallen when we pulled out of the drive. 2. Ask your surgeon and nurses if they have any ideas and if they have ever had anyone in a similar position. My husband says I talk too much, but you would be surprised what I've learned from others just by sharing. 3. If she needed a kidney, you wouldn't hesitate. That is, if you were able to do so. This is giving her a chance at life she hasn't known for a quite some time. I agree with you that it does need to be her decision one way or another (that sounds like a song). Put it out there and the rest is up to her. One thing is for sure, she will be watching you and she will imagine herself with the band. I wish you the very best and I know the choices you make will be the right ones.

Where are you located? I used www.obesityhelp.com and www.inamed.com . I also googled the docs I was considering. Hope this info is helpful and best of luck to you. :hat:

Yup....there never a bad discussion if your talking Nascar. Boogity....Boogity....Boogity.....Let's go racin' boys!!!

Please don't apologize, there is no need. I didn't feel like you were minimizing me feelings at ALL. I can tell you totally can relate to the frustration I'm going through. Anyone that is preband can and those postband have been there. It's all part of the process I guess...finding our own way to the band. :phanvan For me, it's like deciding to start Weight Watchers, but I'm not going to start for another 3 or 4 mos. Imagine how that would feel. I do, however feel there are reasons this process takes so long. It is a huge commitment and shouldn't be takenly lightly. I think this entire process does weed out some of those who should not get the band. Does that make sense? There is no way I could ever do a self pay, so I admire your determination. I am a SAHM and I sell stuff on E-Bay just to buy the kids clothes and shoes each season. E-Bay has been a lifesaver for us at times. The biggest success I've had on E-Bay has been with my Longaberger baskets. I don't know if you have any of those, but they have brought me some big bucks in the past. I'm starting to see a change in the demand though b/c everyone is getting so tight these days. I've also seen some on my Gymboree stuff go for much more than expected. The Ortiz deal sounds pretty good. I'm sure you can make that happen. :biggrin1: ~Keep us informed of your progress~ :hat:

~Angelu~ Sorry you had such a hard time. :cry From what I've read, it's not unusual to experience problems with insurance "communication". I had 2 reps tell me that turn around time was 30 days....according to the PreD dept, it's only 7-14 days. Training sure would benefit all parties!! ~sarahv~ You are so right! I need to be thankful instead of complaining. I'm not too proud to ask for guidance and hear the truth. It's easy to feel sorry for myself when in reality, I am very fortunate.....so far anyway. Thank you for your prayers and I will do the same for you. :clap2: Where are you in this process?

Hi Leener ~ I sure hope your feeling better and your actual fever is down. You are an inspiration to a pre-bander!! :clap2: Thank you for sharing the specifics b/c I added questions to my list. My blood ran warm when I read you were awake when they strapped you in. That would put me into a panic attack for sure, even though I don't have them. You are indeed very brave as others have already stated. So glad to hear you did talk to God b4 surgery....it's only natural, especially during a time like that. Perhaps that is something that could help you in the furture if you do have another panic attack. He has promised to never forsake us....don't ever forget that!! ~mini_me~ Congratulations to you as well!! I am so excited for you. You are in good hands here at LBT. Other than your surgeon, there's no better place for advice. Take care of yourself!! I'm sending you both flowers and love & here's to a speedy recovery!! :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :lovechoc:

I ran into an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't even recognize me. I had to read this 3, again THREE, times for it to make sense. I get it now, it must be that conspiracy thing!! :yield: A lot of truths spoken here. ~Doty~ Huge laugh...:pound:...you are too funny. People also seem to honk a lot at me when I'm driving. I wonder if I'm too slow or too fast or just normally erratic. I've never had a ticket, but that's probably because I never go fast enough.

:hurt My insurance rec'vd my L of PreD on 2/14/06. They told me 7-14 days for a decision. Last week I called, as I have every week since then, and apparently they have been short-handed and should have a decision this week. Today the lady from the PreD called me after I had LMOR (left message on recorder) for her. She told me to call back on Friday and they should have a decision b/c they are now making progress. I thanked her and told her I didn't want to be a pest, but I was anxious. She kindly said I wasn't coming across as such and just call on Fri. This is DRIVING me CRAZY! I understand being short-handed and even have a bit of sympathy for them. Some of you may think that's insane to feel that way about an insurance company, but they are always so nice a professional. They even call me back! :clap2: The Lord is teaching me patience and I haven't waited near the amount of time some of you have. I just know that my surgeon is scheduling 2-3 mos out and I want to get a date. Thanks for letting me rant. I feel better getting this off my chest. I told my DH and he smiled and said he would be O.K. :tired Can't wait to post my surgery date or heaven forbid, my denial letter!

Congrats to all the Kasey fans him winning the Busch race! :clap2: I got a sick feeling in my stomach with JJ won the Nextel race though. :sick Does anyone else hear a GIANT sucking sound when he talks into the mic? Sorry, no disrespect to anyone that is a fan....it's just the way I feel. One thing about Nascar fans....we all feel strongly about our drivers. Now....I think Tony should do what Jimmy Spencer did to Kurt and punch Kyle in the chops!! :brick:Does anyone remember that? It wasn't until Jimmy did that to Kurt that he settled down. O.K., I don't really condone fighting, but he sure made me mad. :angry Tony has complained about Kyle "over-driving" which Tony has been guilty many times, but Tony was justified to be angry for Kyle not running his line and pushing him down on the track. :mmph: I thought it was hilarious that Kyle wanted someone to contact Nascar b/c Tony was trying to "kill" him. Oh, the rookies have so much to learn. I do wish Tony would do a better job at staying calm though b/c he was responsible for his own fate and could have finished better. I have a temper so I know it's easier said than done. Poor Tony.....wish I could give me a big kiss and make it better and I mean that. :eyebrows: My DH already knows. He's in love with Shania Twain. It's nice to see all the Nascar fans post, even if your not a Smoke fan. Nascar is still a big family regardless of your driver.

The Lord is good indeed! Congratulations on your answered prayers! I wish you the best with your surgery and a speedy uneventful recovery! :clap2:

Well, for me it was Jan of a new year again and I was talking to my DH about what I would do this year to try to lose weight. He looks at me and says, "Why don't we get the band? Our insurance will pay for it." I told him only if I get to go first. He liked that idea since he wanted to see how I did with Optifast b4 he tried it. :biggrin1: Of course, the Optifast didn't stick, so here we are. :nervous We have 2 beautiful boys and want....the Lord willing....to have more children. :preggers: I don't see that happening in a healthy way at my current weight. I also want to be a good example for my children since everyone in my family has weight issues. Perhaps my DH and I can change that pattern with our children.

Hi Doty ~ No, I don't have that shirt yet....I will check out QVC. I have 4 TS shirts and one jacket that I bought at Daytona, still NWT b/c it's too small. I bought the largest size they had, 2xl, and it fit more like a 1x. I've kept it with the hopes of wearing it one day....which I will this fall if I get the band soon. I was wondering about those Bristol tickets. I've heard they are hard to get so I thought that was a normal price. The phone number listed is local, but it does seem high to me as well. I would pay $25 (if I could attend) for a nose bleed seat b/c that is such a small place. I would love to feel that rumble in my chest. Do you belong to the TS fan club? I've gotten a few shirts from them, but this year didn't have the $$ to renew. I will have to sell some stuff on E-Bay soon to build my racing funds. Did you see the shirt Smoke wore this weekend while playing poker? It says, "I failed driver's ed". I love his sense of humor!! :heh:

I love Wy too!! I will have to watch for a repeat. Did you see her on Oprah? She's been on a couple times talking about her weight. Did Ann Wilson get the band? I thought she had gastric. That's good to know. She looks great.

Six yrs sounds like a good age to me as well. I know we will take the boys someday. We are 3 hrs from Indy and I think about 3 hrs from MI Int'l Speedway. My husband is going to see about tickets for the Brickyard. We could take the boys to OH and spend the night in Indy. We'll see how that works out. I actually cried when Tony kissed the bricks last year. I know, a bit much. I couldn't help myself knowing how much that meant to him. We did go to Daytona a couple of years ago. My heart has never raced so fast in my life. Mikey wrecked right in front of our stand....we were on the super stretch. It's kind of neat the races you will be attending will be Chase races. The stakes are always higher and action-packed. :confused: Speaking of Caterpillar, isn't that who Ward Burton used to drive for? I miss him. He was so fun to watch and listen to.

Oh my....that is so pretty!! We live in IN and I've waited all winter for snow like that. We've had rain most of the season. We would share if we could. :phanvan

Congratulations!! :wow2: It's great to hear that kind of accomplishment within that time frame. As they say, Happy Bandiversary!!! :confused:

I have the Busch race on too. I'm keeping one eye on the tube and one on the computer. Thanks for the compliment on my boys. They are really a handful as you can tell from their smiles. They do get a little confused during the Busch race b/c they look for the orange car. :nervous I try to tell them that Smoke is red for today and will be orange tomorrow. karenj ~ Wow, you sure go to a lot of races. That is great!! We live 3 hrs from any family, so it's hard to get someone to keep the kids. I think you have a good man in Edwards to replace Martin. I like both of them. I'm surprised Martin isn't running the race tonight. Last year he ran several of them. What is your favorite track or location?

This ad was in our newspaper for Bristol tickets. I am sad that I can't take them, but it's just not a good time. Since it was in the paper, I didn't mind posting the info here incase someone may be interested. I have no idea who this is and cannot vouch for these in anyway, so use your own judgement. Bristol March 26th.....Face Value....$122 each.....Call 260-897-2127 or 260-705-5371. I've always wanted to go to Bristol. I would prefer the fall race though. Anyone out there been to Bristol? Would LOVE to hear about it.

Kasey Kahne is a cutey for sure!! I think he's dating Terry Labonte's daughter. Do I remember that correctly from last year? My husband is also a Stewart fan, my dad Jarrett, mom Gordo, brother Jimmie Johnson, brother anything Dodge, the "smart" brother Stewart. :heh: We pretty much cover the track on race day. I have my boys convinced that Smoke is the best thing behind a wheel. ~tacwoman~ What races are you going to this year? The only one we've been to was Daytona a couple of years ago when Jr came in first and Smoke was second. It was a great experience. I think Jr will be fine Sun and according to DW, he should come to the front pretty fast. ~Doty~ You sound like me on race day...I don't answer the phone and the Tivo is on just incase my boys interrupt as preschoolers do at times. My husband is wonderful b/c he'll take them downstairs or outside so I can watch the race. Click this link and you'll see that they are Smoke fans also: http://www.sellersourcebook.net/users/2818/bnd_ts.jpg I am so jealous that you talked to Smoke!!! :confused: I bet that was just the greatest. I would probaby melt too if I ever met him face to face. How neat that your nephew is on his pit crew. What does he do and would I see him on TV? Be sure and post a pic if you get to meet Smoke! You know, I think he's gaining weight b/c I've heard him say in interviews that he eats Big Macs everyday.....that would do it for sure. Doesn't matter to me either, I love him regardless. Thanks for sharing him with me!! Life without Smoke would be sad. :think Thanks for the best laugh of the day.....those people from Idaho are too funny. They think Stewart is "Rod" huh? Sad but funny. :heh:

Hi Cashley ~ Nice rant! :clap2: I have been wanting to view some of those, but never find the time. I bet they are full of info, epecially since I'm preband. Will have to MAKE time. :confused:

Well, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't get more definite answers...perhaps those will come in time...but at least he did order some tests. I have a hard time with docs like that b/c I wonder if they are really listening or already making a decision in their little heads. :confused: I know you are a strong woman and won't settle until you do get some answers regardless of which doc they come from. Wish I had more to offer you. :ohwell: Will continue to pray for you and your family. ~TAKE CARE~

That is just unbelievable if that's true. :faint: I've never seen such large discount, but you never can tell about insurance companies. BTW, who is your ins co? Read your signature and wondering if you've lost 32 lbs since the first of March? Regardless, that is awesome....good job!!! :confused:

Hi bandtastic ~ I am preband, but I can tell you that last year I went on the Optifast program and lost 32 lbs. I only went down one pants size. :phanvan I've always been pretty solid even though I'm very overweight. Does that make sense? Sorry I'm not offering advice, but I do understand where your coming from. Perhaps someone here can offer a solution. In the meantime hang in there and be PROUD of your weight loss....that is quite an accomplishment!!! :clap2: Hats off to you!!! :yo: