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So this morning I RAN my first continuous 5K ever. On vacation, no less!! I had gone to the hotel gym with the intention to do 45 mins of run/walk on the treadmill when I crossed paths with a group (led by hotel staff) who were going off-grounds for a group run. They convinced to join them and I totally did it!!! Funny because if I were alone I would have gave up at 3km...the presence of the others brought out my "if-you-can-do-this-so-can-i-dammit" attitude..gonna join them again on Friday!

So it's been a while since I posted - but progress has been amazing. My VSG was 5/1/17. I dropped to 220lbs and stayed there for some time. This was a huge win for me - so I decided to take the next step and I met with an amazing plastic surgeon who helped me with the next step - excess skin removal. There were three things that needed to be addressed 1) abdominal hernia's 2) panniculectomy and a 3) abdominoplasty. First, talk to your plastic surgeon - I spoke with several, and these are expensive procedures - but I finally found a surgeon that advised me that the panniculectomy could be covered by health insurance - and it was - saving me nearly $5000. Overall I still paid $7k out of pocket - but way better than the $12 - $14k that I had been quoted by others. I had my reconstructive surgery 1 month ago - the surgeon removed 14lbs of skin and fat - and I dropped a few more pounds - and am now weighing in at 195. My highest weight was 445lbs. I way less than when I started high school - and I feel amazing - I am still recovering from the surgery because it is fairly invasive - so pics to follow - but what an amazing journey - I never thought I would get here. My journey has been almost 14 years - a failed lap band, massive complications from that, weight gain and then struggling to gain the nerve to try again with the VSG - but my care team has been amazing - and I cannot thank them for giving me my life back. At 52 I am the healthiest I have been since I was 14. Please remember, the journey can be tough, the struggles are real, the pain is there - but it's your life you are fighting for - and there is nothing more important than that.