Irony......

[natnat919 165]

The weirdest thing happened..... have to share.

On 7/3, a house 3 doors down from mine had a Pig Pickin' for the neighborhood. It was my first "outing" since surgery on 6/22, so I planned to just say "I had gall bladder surgery last week and haven't gotten my appetite back yet" if someone noticed I wasn't eating. There were a lot of new neighbors there that I hadn't met yet.

The hosts of the party (Rachel and Ron) asked if I had gotten enough to eat, so I gave them my pre-planned speech. Rachel said "oh goodness, I had surgery last week also". She said she had her gall bladder removed in May, then hernia repair the week prior to the party. I remember thinking to myself "This girl is about my size, isn't eating at her own pig-pickin', had "surgery" last week (both can be related to my surgery)....wouldn't it be funny if she is a bariatric patient as well". I even mentioned it to my best friend the next day, then dismissed the idea.

Fast forward 2 weeks.... today I had a nutrition class to attend at the surgeon's office, arrived at 8:30 and there were like 10 people in the class. There was a girl was in the corner waving at me like crazy, I smiled and nodded. Then she came over and said "how long did it take you to get here today"? Then I realized.... it was Rachel. We talked afterwards and exchanged contact info and plan to get together to talk.... My original instinct was right, she's a bariatric patient as well.

She lives 3 doors down from me and I had never met her before the party. She had the same Surgeon I did (there are 5 in the practice, and this is one of many practices that do this surgery in the area), and her surgery was the SAME WEEK as mine.

Amazing, huh?

[maggie409 765]

How cool! It's so good to have someone for support close by

[harley_quinn25 80]

That's amazing!

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

instinct was right, she's a bariatric patient

@@natnat919

wow!!!!

unbelieveable!!!

small world etc

sounds like Rachael is outgoing and nice

(just like you )

you two are a great match

living so close to you, same dr too!!!

sleeved a month or so before you

what more could you ask for???

now you have someone to share, ask questions, discuss, support, and complain about stuff too

Pig Pickin'?

now i've heard it all

tell rachael hi from me

keep up the good work

kathy

[Djmohr 6,965]

Wow, that is great that you have a buddy that lives so close to you. I think it would be so great to have a partner that knows what this is all about.

[Julie norton 2,850]

I so wish I had a friend anywhere close. The support group had all sleevers except 2 rny . Lucky you!!

What the heck is pig pullin?

Sorry pig pickin

[natnat919 165]

HAHAHA, a Pig Pickin' is a southern thing. I'm from NC and it's pretty common.

Actually it's pretty disgusting, so if you're squeamish then stop reading.

A huge cooker (like a typical BBQ grill only much larger, (about 4 feet wide and 8 feet long, approx) is set up and a (dead) Pig is put on it to cook. Generally, these pigs have an Apple in their mouth (rednecks do that, LOL). Then it's cooked all day....... then the chef splits open his belly and pulls out the pork and we eat it.

Anyone ever heard of Pulled Pork? That's exactly how it's done, only usually behind the scenes and not right in front of you. Most people who have Pig Pickins' have the cooker way off to the side and no one sees the pig, thank goodness. They'll pull off a lot of the cooked pork and put it in a large serving dish. I couldn't handle having that little pig's face staring at me!!!

[no onions 258]

I hadn't heard of this before. We call it a hog/pig roast here. Not that food was the main subject of your story. I'm feeling food focused tonight! I'm glad you found someone so close that you can talk to.

Side note: my grandma used to make something called "Pig Pickin' Cake" -- it was really good (if I'm remembering correctly).

Edited July 16, 2015 by no onions