So I remember the first time I ever heard of any weight loss surgery. I was 19 and my mom went under the knife for the Gastric Bypass. I was so excited for her. She had been heavy all my life and recently found out she was diabetic. I remember my sister and I joking that there is no way she is getting skinnier then us and we went on short-winded diets. I met my now husband that same year and he even went to the hospital with me to visit her. She was in longer because she had complications. Ever since 2004 I always wanted to go the other route where I worked out and ate healthier for short periods of time. I never thought I would ever consider surgery ever!

But, it was in 2010 my husband starting telling me I should look into the surgery. (Not negatively he knew I wanted to lose weight and is very supportive). but it wasn't until 2011 I finally took a good look at my health insurance at work. I was amazed when I found out that they included it in their coverage! Bless you Marriott. So I first went to my parents because not only did my mother have surgery and experience have physical complications but the 3rd party center that helped her get approved for the surgery set her up at a hospital with a doctor out of her network. So my father was very worried about me seeing the fine print so that I didn't end up with any mystery costs. After getting their blessing, I moved forward in my journey and in May 2011 started my 6 month supervised diet. I remember not thinking twice... I wanted gastric bypass. But then the doctor suggested the sleeve and his knowledge and these forums changed my mind completely. I had everything going well and then there was a bump in the road. Come to find out at the last minute literally that I could not get approved for the surgery because the hospital was not deemed a "Center of Excellence" which was a stipulation of Marriott when they chose the benefit. But God is good and i was able to get an appointment at new hospital and 2 weeks later was approved for surgery!

My approval was January 3rd at 9:30am. I remember seeing the number come across my phone and held my breath lol... but leading up to that moment with the small stall that occurred...I couldnt believe how I had let myself start to think. See on the 2nd my doctor called me to tell me they denied me but really they had just read the letter wrong because it was sent out before the holiday break and the problem had fixed itself the nxt day. So I remember thinking on the way home that maybe I'm just meant to be overweight. I really thought this could be my destiny. But like a Weight Watchers leader once taught me ... delete delete delete.. negative thoughts. And here I am now about a month away from surgery ecstatic. I am all the feelings that everyone else has had on this forum but I am so excited to be the me I feel is trapped inside this heavier body!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a lil scared. I'm not really scared of the procedure itself but just the aftercare. I want to eat right and take care of myself right and get the most "bang for my buck" like they say. I can only take it one day at a time... but feb 13th can't come soon enough