alxrita96

Hi everyone! My name is Alex and I'm 17 years old I've struggled with my weight my whole life and I'm really looking forward to starting fresh on my weightloss journey. My circumstances are a little strange, though. I know that I'm going to be sleeved before the last 2 weeks of August (my surgeon is going on vacation then) but I don't know the exact date yet. I need to be up and ready for school to start at the end of August because it's my senior year and I have a very tedious course load. Along with that, I've spent the past 5 months in extreme pain because of a lipoma and infection on my abdomen, so the doctors are speeding up the process. Not only am I getting sleeved, I'm getting my appendix taken out because it's on the wrong side. Strange, I know My whole summer is being spent anticipating this surgery- I'm excited, nervous, and most importantly, ready to be healthy

Well; I left the doctors office with August 12 set as my date... Until about 5 tonight, when the surgeon called after looking at a ct scan of my abdomen. She said I can't get sleeve surgery. My anatomy is so screwed up that it would be almost impossible and extremely dangerous to try and sleeve me. My stomach is malrotated (which we knew) but so are my bowels & colon. My appendix is in my pelvis area. My pancreas is either in front or behind my stomach, I can't quite remember but I know it's not supposed to be where it is. Along with all of this, the blood supply to my stomach is from totally different sources than a normal persons, and I have 2 vena cava veins leading into my heart (not normal at all). So devastatingly enough, I cannot and will never be able to get sleeve surgery. I am so upset, I don't think I've ever cried harder or longer. Hopefully it's a blessing in disguise, and I'm trying to look at the positives. I can go to band camp now, which is awesome. I also get a super cool medical bracelet so if I ever got (god forbid) shot, stabbed, or in a severe car accident, the doctors would know that my insides are messed up and I have veins and organs where they're not supposed to be. So I guess my sleeve journey comes to an end here, thanks for the support all of you gave me, it really meant a lot! The surgeon isn't giving up on me yet, she's still talking to other pediatric surgeons to see if there is anything they can do, but I don't think there will be nor would I ever be comfortable getting this surgery knowing how messed up everything is in there. She's hoping to clear up my infection, take out my lipoma, and help me lose weight without the surgery using the programs through the hospital and medications. I've done it before, I'll just have to try harder this time. Like I said, maybe this is a blessing in disguise.

I definitely will! I should be asleep because my appointment is at 8:30 but I'm too excited hahaha!

They rescheduled my appointment for tomorrow morning!! I am so excited

My appointment for Friday got cancelled for the second time getting really frustrated, I really want to know my date so I can prepare. Very aggravated and upset :/

Thanks for the support everyone! I'm not sure about classes yet, I'm sure I'll have to take some eventually but again, this process has been really sped up for me due to my medical issues. My first appointment with the team was in early June. I only saw them twice before the sent me to the surgeon, where she said she has to sleeve me before the end of the summer, so everything is moving very quickly. I'm able to get sleeved at 17 because I'm very lucky to live about 10 miles from Boston, where most of the hospitals will sleeve a teenager

Aw thank you! It's the only option for me, I basically don't have a metabolism. I really want to be able to live my life to the fullest considering I have so much left to live!