Karen H.

I, like so many of us here, have been obese since basically birth. I am the only girl out of four kids born to loving parents. I have three brothers who are all overweight to some extent, but I am pretty ccertain that I am the biggest of all. My mom died when I was 17 years old and thats been a struggle for all of her kids. I have a civil relationship with my Dad because he's married to an alcoholic homewrecker. I do, however, have an amazingly wonderful husband who has loved me through thick and thicker, and we are blessed with three great kids. I came into our marriage with a 6yr old son, and we have added another son and a daughter to the mix. We own 25 acres of land in west central Texas and built a home out in the country. I work in oncology (cancer care) as a nurse at a local hospital. I love to travel, and my family recently went to Ireland and England for nearly 4 weeks over Christmas. My goals are to get my surgery and open up a whole other side of my life that I never thought would happen. I have been on so many diets and spent so many wasted dollars to get to this point. I do not feel like a failure to be turning to surgery, I am blessed to have finally realized that I need a 'tool' on my side to assist me with this struggle. I am seriously tired of living life hidden behind bigger and bigger things. There is so much more to life thatn being fat and letting food be in control.

I am thankful to have found this site as it such a rich resource of information, comraderie, and support.