skb0101

I have been overweight my entire life. My biological father passed away when I was 10 and from that day forward, food became my therapist and the addiction became even worse. I gained 100 pounds in 4 years and was 300 pounds by the time I was 18. Things got worse when I moved away to college and I was living with my best friend, who happened to look like a swimsuit model. Without boundaries and harboring plenty of resentment, I turned to food even more to numb all the stress and heartache of being a full-time student and budding 20-something. I graduated from college at 320 pounds and never felt worse about myself. Every milestone I completed was only overshadowed by my looming super morbid obesity. I never let anyone know how much my weight affected me because I have always been the "funny" girl, the girl with razor-sharp sarcasm and what my mom loves to call "a smart mouth." My mom and step-dad (I call him Dad) were the only ones who truly knew what it was doing to me. I am a sweet, giving person but I have never let anyone get close enough to realize that. In late November of 2009, my parents sat me down and said they were going to pay cash for me to have lap-band and I basically didn't have a say in it. To watch my Dad tell me with tears in his eyes how scared he is that I will die was my turning point. I relinquished my stubbornness and decided that I had to do something, and it had to be now. I had surgery on May 14th, 2010 after my parents opened their hearts (and wallets) so that I could have a second chance at life. I am so grateful for this surgery and I can't believe how much things have changed in just 4 months. Here's to looking forward............