NicoleK

My journey to be banded took almost a year. I had to go through a six month program for my insurance company order to get the surgery approved. At the end of my sixs month I had been eating better and had a personal trainer and lost about 20lbs. Then AFTER i got approved for my surgery my work switched insurance companies and I had to start all over. A few months short of my second six month my new insuracne decided I had been throuh enough and APPROVED me for surgery. Then it started to get surreal.
After that everything seemed to move so quickly. I had been having all my appointments at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (where they are awesome). They got me scheduled within a month of being approved. I have always struggled with my weight since I was a little girl. This was a huge mile stone for me. My weight went up and down as I tried all of the diet plans. I was extremely nervous the days up to my surgery because I have never had surgery before and did not know what to expect. My family and friends were being supportive through the whole process.
Finally the day came where I had my surgery and it was an emotional time for me. I went through a lot of emotions of how I was feeling that I now had this band in me. I am still emotional about it but am ready to work my butt off to reach my goal. I lost about 5lbs in the first few days since my band and was under 300lbs, which was a mini goal. I hadn't been under 300lbs in quite a while.
My mother is taking this journey with me. She is having the surgery on September 13, 2011 and we are each others rocks. I am excited to go on this journey and have a healthy life. I want to have kids someday and be able to play and run with my children.