Deciding About Surgery

This was me 4 just four days post-op and was recovering nicely from my Open BPD/DS.

Before my surgery I was one sick girl. I had out of control diabetes, stroke-level hypertension, severe obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, horrible GERD, stress incontinence, constant chronic pain. I had been in a wheelchair for nearly 2 years due to the bilateral grade 4 degeneration of my knees and degenerative joint disease in my lower back. I could barely stand for 30 seconds at a time. This picture to the left is pretty amazing - there I was - STANDING! - long enough to get a picture snapped. That was pretty remarkable.

So how do you get to the point where you consider not only rearranging your guts in the hope of losing some of the weight that’s killing you - much less choosing to fly half way around the world to get it done? I flew from Oregon to Spain. That’s 5,416 miles (as the crow flies) - no hop, skip, and jump.

For me - it was hearing from my doctors that they doubted that I’d live another 6 months. It was looking in the loving eyes of my husband and knowing that I didn’t want him to lose another wife to a tragic death. (His first wife was killed in a car accident.) It was looking into the beautiful faces of my precious children and knowing that I wanted not only to just be there - but I wanted to be INVOLVED in their lives. It was knowing - in my heart of hearts - that I had a lot of life left that I wanted to live. There was a lot of motivation.

People have said to me, “But I’m not THERE - not where you were!” To that I have to say: get on your knees and THANK GOD that you aren’t then. Don’t get there. Don’t get to the point where your risks are that monumentally high. Morbid obesity is an insidious disease. Would you wait until you had a Stage 4 cancer to seek treatment? No - of course not! You would seek treatment as soon as you knew you needed it and knew what treatment options were available. Don’t get to where I was. Don’t go to super, super morbidly obese. Only YOU know what it’s like to walk in your shoes. Only you know how unbearable your extra 85, 100, 150, 200 or more pounds are. You might be a healthy fat person right now. I was for decades. But it’s a horrible slippery slope when the health goes. One little thing can make it all go downhill fast. There are great options available to you! Whether you’re a lightweight with just a 100 or fewer pounds to loose or someone with a super high BMI. I have one message for you: don’t give up hope. Don’t accept anything less than the best treatment for yourself. YOU are worth the effort, expense, and time it takes to research your disease, your treatment options, and the outcomes that come with them.

But motivation really isn’t the question right here and right now. If you’re here - on the BBB (how we lovingly refer to the Body By Baltasar web site) then you’re at least somewhat interested in knowing what’s involved. You might be someone who is interested in pursuing weight loss surgery for yourself. You might be a loved one of someone who is thinking about pursuing surgery. Or you may be just like me - oh, almost 6 years ago now - trying to prove that everyone who steps foot outside of the United States for health care is more than just a few fries short of a Happy Meal! You might be just like me - trying to prove that it’s a stupid idea, and that you are sure you can find a better way of reclaiming your life.

So now - a big decision to make: Which WLS?




		January 2005 - 2.5 years post-op - back in Spain and having a ball!


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