Welcome to Kathy's
Weight Loss Surgery Journey,and family pic album

THE BEGINNING

I have been fighting MORBID OBESITY for 25 years. I was normal weight throughout my childhood, however, once I reached adulthood, UGH OH !!
I had my daughter Jennifer 25 years ago, and my son Alan 20 years ago and have had nothing but unsucessful weightloss from dieting to exercise etc..Only to gain what I lost back and more.

MY STRUGGLES WITH OBESITY

After 2 kids and injuries I got while working in the emergency medical field, I quickly gained much to much weight. I injured myself on the job while working for an ambulance company. I herniated a disc in my cervical spine,my thoracic spine and my lower lumbar spine. Also injured my shoulder leading up to surgery a year later. And being on workers comp from 1988 until 1993,I gained even more weight because I could not exercise without a great deal of pain. Little did I realize the more weight I gained to worse my injuries would get. And they did.
I had surgery in 1989 to repair my shoulder. And eventually costing me both professions that I worked so hard to have. I was working in the emergency medical field and also working as an auxillary police officer. My goals had been met only to be taken away because of my injuries.
I relocated myself and two children to NC to be with my family. I wanted to start something new so I took a job with the sheriffs dept in the county where I live. Even that job was giving me problems because it was a 12 hour per day sit down job. So I transferred to a differant job within the county gov. Now a desk job that also proved to be to much for me.

I SEEKED OUT WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

At 5'1 and weighing 243lbs was finally a realization that I was gonna DIE if I did not do something about my weight. And given the medical history of my family it could happen. ALL DIETS failed and usually caused me to end up gaining more. WILL POWER? Whats that?
I seeked out DR PAUL CARTER a FAYETTVILLE NC surgeon that I had heard so much about who has been doing the weight loss surgery since the 1970's. On MAY 17th 2002 my world changed for the better. I no longer worried about dying. My life was given back to me. I had been re born.

REALITY OF HAVING WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY IS HERE !

On May 17, 2002 I went into the operating room and had the OPEN RNY gastric bypass procedure performed by Dr P Carter. In my opinion this Dr is the BEST OF THE BEST ! He gave me my life back that day. The last week of my 7th month post op I reached my goal of a 100 pound drop in weight.. from a size 22/24 to a size 8. The best thing I ever did and with NO regrets what so ever. I have gotten a virus that casued me to loose a few more pounds but thats ok..
To finally not worry that someone is going to call me FAT, MORBIDLY OBESE,HUGE,BABY HUGHEY, PILLSBURY DOUGH GIRL, POPIN FRESH DOUGH GIRL, MISS PIGGY, or MOO MOO has made me feel so much better about myself. Sadly it has made me see that people young and old can be so very cruel with words that come from their mouths. And that such strong words can hurt someone and give them permanent mental set backs for a VERY long time. It is so hard to comprehend.
My health has turned for the better with better blood pressure and blood sugar levels. However, did not help with the orthopedic issues very well, but then, not much is going to.
To be able to go into a store and buy from the JR MISSES section, and be able to sit in a booth at a resturant and not be MASHED or WEDGED into the seat. To be able to CROSS MY LEGS ! While COOL ! To be able to tie my shoes without hurting when I bend to do so. Not getting out of breath walking that mile, or not getting out of breath playing with the dog or going up a simple 4 steps..And so many other coutless advantages...
This is such a wonderful tool. But that is what this surgery is, it is JUST a TOOL ! You have to do your part also by watching what you eat, carefully selecting the proper types of foods and planning your meals carefully.. The surgery will help but this not gonna work if you don't follow the rules.. My advice to anyone is, if you are considering this surgery, think long and hard, do alot of RESEARCH on the pro's,con's, the pre and post op rules, as well as research your Surgeon and make sure he knows how to do this surgery. If you FOLLOW the rules and do as the Dr instructs you to do,the surgery is basically flawless..

SURGEON INFORMATION:

If you interested, here is my surgeon's contact information. Dr Paul Carter 910-323-2696 Fayettville NC.. he uses Cape Fear Hospital and Highsmith Rainey which is my favorite of the two hospitals.