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Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a story with everyone that might help others be more open with talking about getting WLS done. I will admit that I have not told everyone I come across that I am planning on getting it done in May but I have told everyone that is close to me. By profession I am a hair stylist so I have clients that over time have become friends and I have told a handful of them what I am getting ready to do, not only because it doesn’t bother me to share but also because they want to know why I am taking a short leave. This story really revolves around one of my clients.

We'll call her Marie. Marie has four kids, three of which have had their own set of struggles. One is bi-polar, one has been on and off drugs, and one has struggled with obesity her whole life. Her daughter that has struggled with obesity lives in New Mexico and Marie lives here in Washington State. They don’t get to see each other as much as they would like but try to make a visit twice a year.

So one day she’s in my chair and we are having the "talk" about my sleeve getting done in May. She was tentative and of course had tons of questions because I am going to Mexico to get it done. We talked about it for almost the entire two and a half hours she was there and most of it was her asking questions.

The next time I saw her she said OMG do I have a story for you. Well in the time frame since I has last seen her, her daughter had come to visit from New Mexico. She said she went to the airport to pick her up and couldn’t find her till she was right in front of her. She had lost close to 65lbs since they saw each other last! She was in awe at the progress her daughter made. Well it finally came out during her trip that she had gotten the sleeve done in Mexico last November with out telling anyone except her husband.

So Marie is telling me this story and I'm gasping and omg-ing in all the right places lol and she finally says. "If you and I hadn’t talked about this last time I was here I’m not sure I would have reacted the same way in being supportive and happy for her because I may have just been in shock and scared to death that she did all of this with out telling me. I don’t think that I would have handled it well and probably hurt my relationship with my daughter because she told me she was most scared to tell me thinking that I would not support her. I cant thank you enough for being so open and honest about your journey."

So I guess what I am getting at here is I know not everyone wants to share with others and that’s fine everyone has their own path there is no right or wrong just try to keep in mind you may help someone else with their journey by sharing and not even know it.

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THIS is the way to say you prefer to tell vs. not telling. Thanks for sharing with us! :)

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Awesome story! Thanks for sharing.

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