Eileen Lewis-Gentry

My journey into this surgery was not by the usaual means, it seems most folks I run into and find out they have had this surgery, completely planned this out and went down this path. Some are even surprised I had this done, I know I still am surprised. I am using this venue to also make this into a very helpful learning tool for those considering the surgery. I know I still have VERY angry feelings that sometimes still boil up to the surface and I must deal with it. About a year and a half ago, I was on the floor at circle time teaching my very ranbuncious and completely challenging. We were getting up to begin a game at circle time when all of a sudden my left foot was numb, thinking all I needed to do was stretch it out and get some weight on it, however my foot had other ideas by going the opposite way it should, I fell like a wobbley spinning top down on that foot which twisted my ankle. I thought for sure I had broke it. I went around the rest of the day in pain. When school was over I went directly to the hospital to have it checked on. I was in the exam room for about 20 minutes after having the x-ray to confirm I had a broken ankle. The doctor came in and said" Forget about this sprained ankle, you have bigger issues at hand, Very puzzled and starting to not like the expression he had on his face. He continued on.... Your kidneys have stopped working, and you have all kinds of Fluid backed up in your body. Because of this, we are going to send you up stairs to have a stint put in and begin dialysis.What this all translated into was, I had to take a leave of absents from my job. I started out by rapidly losing 30lbs with in a 2 month time. I was told this was extremely good for me and that I need to even lose more to lower my BMI to get on the transplant list for a new kidney. Easier said than done, with a litney of different issues I was going through, I gained back the weight almost immediately. Then came the hardcore reality, I either find a way to get this weight off, or live out the rest of my life, sick and hooked to a machine 3 days a week, and never teach special education preschool again. I began looking into the surgery and found out, that my primary insurance would not cover a dime of it to be done, but medicare would if you pased 3 critierer. First, you must have a long term medical issue due to obesity such as: high blood pressure, diabetes, or other simualr issues. Second, have 3 months worth of counseling by a dietician. The third is a BMI of over 40. Of which I had all three. So pre-op check list was easy to accomplish. My turnaround time from first investigating into this venue to the surgery was 2.5 months. I was very angry at first that I had to do this with myself and if it was not for a very devoted kidney doctor who stuck by me and guided me throught the process, I know without her there, I would have never gone through with it. At this point I am still about 20 lbs away from gaining a spot on the transplant list, but now I know it is achievable and I am seeing changes everyday in my ability to move and function. so I know I made the right decision.