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Jeni's Story
Where do I begin? I wasn’t always a fat person. I remember, as a child how thin I was and people would tease me that if a strong wind should blow, I’d need to put rocks in my pockets so I wouldn’t blow away. I don’t even remember when I started putting on weight. It seems I just woke up one day and was fat.
I do remember turning to food when my brother suddenly died and I felt so lost without him. I continued to turn to food for comfort, whenever I felt down or depressed. Then a few years later my father died and food became my best friend.
At my heaviest, I weighed 368 lbs and couldn’t walk more than a couple of steps without having to stop and rest. I developed pulmonary hypertension and had to be on oxygen 24/7. I was an insulin dependent diabetic, giving myself shots of almost 100 units of insulin 4 times a day and still having my diabetes way out of control. I had sleep apnea so bad that my c-pap machine had to be set at the highest setting, just to keep me breathing at night when I slept. I was beginning to think my life was over.
The kicker though, was when I went to Disneyland 2 years ago and got stuck on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride and someone had to physically help me off the ride. I was so embarrassed because I just knew that people were staring at me and laughing. I swore I’d never go back to Disneyland again and that made me sad, as Disneyland was my most favorite place to go.
After developing pneumonia, my doctor started to discuss with me the option of gastric bypass surgery, saying she thought that it would be the only option for saving my life. I agreed and she recommended Dr. Christina Richards. I began the pre-surgery classes to learn about the surgery, meeting the dietitian, the exercise person, learning about what a complete lifestyle change I would need to make and to be sure I was willing to make those changes.
I had the surgery on April 25th, 2005, and have lost 185 lbs. My life is so different now! I can walk everywhere I go, I’m not on oxygen anymore, my diabetes is gone and I don’t suffer from sleep apnea any more.
I went to Disneyland in October 2005 and when I sat down on the Indiana Jones ride and there was room to spare, I cried, but they were tears of joy. I finally have my life back and I’m ready to live!!
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