The First Appointment

The first time I met Dr. Rodriguez for an appointment, he asked " Why me?" because he was in Cincinnati and I lived in Columbus. I told him that I felt led to be there. We talked a little as he was trying to find my BMI on the little chart he had. My BMI wasn't on the chart. It was no where to be found on the chart. Dr. Rodriguez had to figure it out by hand. My starting BMI was 79.3. WOW! He then told me that I was Super Mega Morbidly Obese. Another WOW. What a way to be described. As the tears started rolling down my cheeks. He came over and sat in front of me and took my hands and said "I know that I can help you. It isn't going to be easy. You are going to have to work hard, but I can help you." That was all I needed to hear. He never put me down because I was so grossly obese. He talked to me like a real person and told me he could help me. I definitley knew I was in the right place.

We talked about the different surgeries and he suggested that I have the Vertical Sleeve Gastectomy. The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is when the floppy part of the stomach is removed. Basically about 75-80% of the stomach. There is no replumbing of the intestine. Yet because it removes the stomach it is also consider to be a metabolic change to the system. With the results of changing your hormones. By changing the makeup of the hormones, wonderful things happen in the body. Your hunger pattern goes away along with cravings. Your medical conditions tend to go away as well. For some that are diabetic, it completely goes away. The same is true with high blood pressure. It also helps with high cholesteral and sleep apnea. The benfits are AWESOME. The only thing about the surgery is, is that it is a tool. It is not a miracle cure to lose weight. It is a tool to help you lose weight. As long as you follow the program that goes along with having the surgery, you will lose weight and become healthier. The losing of the weight is great, but the main point of the surgery, is to become healthier.

I was thankful for that he suggested the Sleeve because that was the surgery that I wanted. He suggested that because of my size. not only was my BMI 79.3, but my weight was 462lbs, that we do that first and if that doesn't help with getting all the weight off then we could do the RNY later. As I sat there and listened to him talk I was thinking, "There is no way I am going to have another surgery. I am only doing this once and that is it." I knew that I was going to have to make this surgery work. I was going to be successful no matter what. I was so determined about what I was to do. I knew that I was worth all of the work that it was going to take to get to the place where I needed to be. That was a huge thing for me to realize that I was WORTH all of the work. I wasn't going to do it for anybody else except for me and God.