This is for BethFromVA and Sooner: First I have to say WOW. How very very uninformed and opinionated you are. That's really fantastic! Really, you don't like to see pics of the kids? As you said you are all in there nervous as can be, looking around to see the other people in there and you have a medical doctor (who are supposed to stay impersonal) trying to make it easy on you and to make you a bit more comfortable by showing his family. Yeah how dare he. You all are a bit overdramatic, no?
Now for the fee. Are you kidding me? Really? You don't think its appropriate to charge a fee to do the admin part of the surgery? You have, or I did anyway, 9 yes 9 pre-op appointments. Who handles all of that for him? Who coordinates? Who follows up so when you are ready to have the surgery they have everything they need from all of the other doctors? Who coordinates logistics with the hospital, the OR, the anestheseologist, assistants, nurses, etc? Oh you think he waived his magic doctor wand and that's all done? THAT'S what the money is for. Are you really this blind or just niave?
As for learning from Daddy (that was a good one by the way, man how wrong you are) Robert's staff should be ashamed for saying anything of the sort, not only is THAT the most unprofessional thing you experienced THAT is borderline unethical (Sooner needs to be more careful before using that term so loosely) not charging a fee or "rushing at the end of the night". Have you bothered to check if Eric is one of the top 200 Bariatric Surgeons in the country? Hmmmmm, is Robert? I'm just curious, clearly I'm a patient and a huge fan of my treatment from Eric and his staff but just how much research have you done? Fact is "sonny boy" taught it to dad who NEVER even did bariatric surgery before 2003. Get your damn facts straight - my God these blogs piss me off when people like you spit out opinion not based at all on ANY facts. Eric did bariatric surgery 7 that is SEVEN years before daddy!!! What is wrong with you?
I will openly discuss with ANYONE that actually has their facts straight, the surgery and the pre-op and post-op, that said the two of you Beth and Sooner are NOT allowed to contact me until you do some reading and I prefer it's not picture books. EDUCATE yourself and THEN you may comment. How dare you.
I hope your surgery went well - it saved my life, Eric saved my life.