Hey there! I am 53 years old, 5'4, and 226 pounds. I started this journey on September 11, 2013. Insurance required 6 months of supervised dieting, 5 years of documented weights, a psych evaluation, and a recommendation for surgery by two physicians. I completed the hoop jumping in April and turned in all information. It had been over 6 months since I had met with the surgeon, so insurance required another consult. I saw the surgeon on May 16th and all paper work was sent to the insurance that day. Received approval from insurance on May 23rd. Just had my pre-op testing done on June 10th, nutritional class is on June 24th, and surgery is on July 7th. Wow! I sometimes feel that the purpose of all of the hoop jumping is to show that you have the dedication to stick with this journey. I am nervous of course, but excited to think about the possibility of losing this weight. I hope to find some more July sleevers to share experiences with!