12 days before surgery!

Hello all! 

So one week from Wednesday I will be at Sutter getting my surgery done! I am trying to remind myself to be aware of everything right now. So much will change and I want to vividly remember all the feelings and the outlook that I had as a big girl once I am on the other side of the sleeve. I remind myself everyday that really this is it, these are my last days as a big girl!

I also find myself wanting to take lots of pictures of myself. Not for vanity purposes but because I want to see them once I have had the surgery and know that that was me right before. I don't want to forget who I was before and that's why I take pictures so I can look at myself later on and know how far I've come.

Today I felt inspired to write a new blog entry. I want to talk about the frequent questions and comments I receive regarding my surgery. If you are reading this blog and you have had or are going to have bariatric surgery, I really hope you can relate! Here goes nothing...

• "My Uncle's girlfriend's brother's wife's niece has had the surgery and it didn't work..." EVERYBODY seems to have an obscure relative's relative's relative's that has had bariatric surgery and gained the weight back. The surgery is a tool and if you use that tool and put in the hard work, it will pay off and there is no reason why you should not lose weight! If you want to say negative things about the surgery because you think I will change my mind or think I will fail, maybe you aren't a person I need to be talking to.
• "Surgery is the easy way out, why don't you just exercise and eat right. I mean look at me, I have lost 25 pounds" This one is also an aggravating one. Anybody that has had surgery will tell you that surgery is the hardest thing they have had to do. Do you think going through a painful surgery where your insides are cut open and stapled back together is easy? Surgery is not the easy way out. It is the realistic way out. When a person becomes so "obese" their stomach stretches out so much that it is impossible to shrink your stomach back to a normal size. Also, many large people are able to lose weight but end up gaining it back because there is always that possibility you will gain weight back because you are so easily prone to being heavy. To compare somebody that is losing just a few love pounds/pregnancy weight with somebody that has struggled with weight all their life and most often needs to lose 100 plus pounds is ridiculous. I have a coworker that lost some weight on her own and is so negative about the surgery. I don't become angered with her negative comments, I just feel sorry for her because as smart as she is she can't realize the pros of surgery and the positive outcome it can create in a person's life after said person has had the surgery.
• "Aren't you scared you are going to die?" According to Surgery.com the mortality rate for a sleeve gastrectomy is 0.39%  Which means that for every 1000 people that have the surgery, about 4 die. I like those odds. I would much rather take a small risk now, than end up risking much more later on in terms of co-morbities. 
• "You are heavy enough to have that done?" I am on the lower end of the BMI required to have surgery. The BMI required for bariatric surgery if you don't have any obesity related diseased is 40, mine is 42. So yes, I do qualify for bariatric surgery. I think I get this comment a lot because people always tell me I carry my weight well. Which is good I guess. 
• "But you are so young! Are you sure you want to do this?" This comment always somehow ends up averting to bulletpoint #2. Yes I am young! All the more reason to start really living and being happy now that I can! That way I don't look back and think "Darn, I shouldn't have waied" 

On another note, yes I do tell people I am having the surgery. I don't go up to random strangers and inform them. However, if somebody asks, I tell them. Why? Because I think that there is a stigma in our society regarding bariatric surgery. If somebody asks me what I am having done, I tell them because most likely they have a misconception about it and maybe just maybe I can make them see surgery in a different light. If I can change one person's mind or at least get a person to see surgery in a more positive aspect, then that to me is worth all the negative comments and reactions.

Okay! Whew! That was laborious! Lastly I would like to give a shout out to the one person that has always been there for me and has shown never ending support and encouragement. My best friend! I love you Jazzy!