SalOdyssey

I Will. Happy New Year! ! Sal :party:

This Is Something I Want To Know. As I Qualify For Medicare In April. Gonna Call Them After The New Year To Find Out More Info. My Specific Question Is Does Medicare On Disability Cover The Lap Band??

Well No Good News On The Essay. I Guess I Have To Wait Till April For Medicare To Kick In. Hope They Don't Screw Me Over Also. One Can Only Pray. I Do Want To Thank The People Running The Essay Contest For The Opportunity To Even Write In. Sal

I Guess Me Being 650 Lbs Plus People Have A Different Attitude Towards Me. People Support Me Getting The Lap Band Because They Have Seen Me Really Try To Diet And It Not Work. I Guess There Will Always Be Skeptics Of Any Procedure. But The Decison To Have This Surgery Is Yours And Yours Alone. Good Luck. Sal :grouphug:

I Want To Let You All Know I Submitted My Essay That Sweethot Recommended I Do. I Also Want To Thank You All For This Site, There Is So Much Knowledge Here That No Doctor Can Give You. I Hope To Hear Good News From The Essay I Submitted. Everyone Keep Your Fingers Crossed. Sal

Thank You I Will Keep Everyone Updated As To What Happens. Sal

Thank You Everyone For Your Kind Words. I Will Be Sending In An Essay Please Say A Prayer. Thank You Sal :xena_banana:

Hello everyone, My name is Sal I am originally from Long Island, Ny I moved to Tampa, Fl in 2003 after spending 22 years in NY. I am 25 years old, and have been on the plus side of the scale most of my life. I was around 325-350 my senior year of high school. I was a defensive tackle for my football team 9th and 10th grade and then I left the program to go work to earn money for college and personal life expenses. I continued after to play roller hockey both for pleasure and in leagues in the area. My father passed of a heart attack on 12/23/98 after then it seems I have put on most of my weight. I feel most of my weight was due to my poor work schedule. I worked usually from 1230 PM til 930-1000 PM and much lunch break was at 230 PM i would then come home and eat dinner. I currently topple the scale at over 650 lbs last time I was weighed for disabililty which was a little over a 1 1/2 ago. I haven't been on a bathroom type scale in I can't tell you how long. I currently have extrememly limited mobility, just walking across the house gets my winded and in pain. Since being on disbility, I have been extremely discouraged. I can not find a doctor within the state of Florida who will preform the surgery. I was declined for financing because I have no colateral (I do not own a home). My right knee is in constant pain there is almost no cartilage left and will need some type of replacement after I lose weight ( doctor I went to refuses to touch in now in the shape I am in.) My left leg is swollen for reason I don't know, but I have been hospitalized 4 times this year for celulitious (sp). I have very consistant back pain and upper body pain. I am mostly confined to the house all day. I sometimes venture out into the world, sometimes I even forget what it looks like because it has been so long since I went out. I should be getting medicare early in the spring and I hear they cover the surgery so my spirits are up. I even wrote to Dr. Phil and Oprah. Dr Phil responded and after the phone interview I never heard anything back. I followed up with them several times and still nothing. Oprah I never heard back from. I dream of the days of being thin again. I look forward to the days of doing activities like everyone else and I even dream of going back to work and join society again. I have went to one seminar for the lap banding and I was impressed. The Dr.s name was Dr Grossbard at Town and Country Hospital. Does anyone know of any other good Dr's in Tampa, Fl they would recommend doing the surgery? Sorry to vent. I am glad I found this site. Hello everyone. Sal