Juneteenth Week Surgeries (June 19)

I'd like to know how many people are being banded the same week as I am - June 19th?

Not sure how many of your know the significance of this day, but I find it ironic that it will be the beginning of my personal liberation. Some say it's not a good day, considering the history - I don't see it that way. Although freedom came 2.5 years late for slaves on the gulf coast of Texas, it came and should be commemorated. Just as I have waited my entire life to be free from extra weight, it will be a day that I commemorate for as long as my band does what it should do for me.

If you've never heard of Juneteenth, it was a pivotal time in our nation's history, even moreso for African Americans. In Galveston, Texas (where it actually occurred) it is commemorated by the original declaration of freedom being read on the same mansion steps it was heard from by thousands of Galveston, Texas slaves in 1865. (The mansion is so amazing, it's hard to imagine it being a plantation, it looks like a castle). There are theories about why it took 2 1/2 years for them to be freed - the most common belief is that the information was deliberately withheld - and why they had to ride through the entire state before making the announcement makes it even more logical since they passed millions on their way across nearly 800 miles. While it angers some, it is a part of history that should not be forgotten.

Thanks girls and boys, I hope you enjoyed your history lesson for today!