26 Year Old - 1 Child - Need a Healthier New Look at Life - Long Island, NY

My name is Dawn and I am 26 years old. I have 1 daughter who will be 2 in April. I am 5'6 tall and weight 285 pounds.

A little quick history about my self:

I wasn't always overweight - I was a cheerleader throughout middle school and also in my first year of high school. I was dating someone who was overweight for 7 years and really just got super comfortable. We would eat out a lot and it just became a routine.

Fast forward: New relationship however I was still overweight at this point and so was my new/current boyfriend. When we met he was in the 500's and he is 6'3 tall. In 2012 my boyfriend and mother in law both went in to have the gastric bypass surgery together on the same date. This would be life changing for the both of them as they both had health related issues steaming from being overweight. Currently my boyfriend is now down over 180lbs (not so sure on the stats for my mother in law but they both honestly look great, and feel great and their weight related health issues like diabetes type 2 and sleep apnea are all cured)

In 2012 I became pregnant with our first child - entire pregnancy went well until the end my blood pressure was getting high so finally they sent me to the hospital to induce my labor ... none of that worked I was in the hospital for nearly a week when finally they decided they would do an emergency c-section. When I was finally released from the hospital I took a shower and noticed blood dripping on the floor - so I returned back to the hospital to have my c-section incision checked turns out it had opened up and my intestines were sticking out of it !!! They immediately rushed me in to have another emergency c-section operation to repair the damage that was done. (what a nightmare & i was in so much pain) That was honestly the worst experience I have EVER gone through in my life. Had me feeling like i would NEVER EVER have another child in my entire LIFE!

I recently decided to go ahead and have bariatric surgery because lately I haven't felt like my self - like who I really am. And i feel much of it is because of all of this weight. I want to be healthy, I want to be active, I want to be happy! My daughter will be 2 and as she keeps growing she is going to want to do activities that I may not be able to do with her at this weight! I am also considering possible having another child in the future but I know for sure I can not be this heavy! At my last doctors appointment before I went to the hospital to give birth I was 300 POUNDS !!! I couldn't believe it i knew I was carrying a child but 300 POUNDS OMG! I am young and I have my whole entire life ahead of me and really want to be on the right track for a bright and prosperous future with my family!

I called the office of Dr. Arif Ahmad (surgeon who did my boyfriend, mother in law and my grandmothers surgeries) and they require you to come to a live in person seminar to learn about all of the different types of surgeries and the risks and benefits. You have to attend the seminar before they will give you a consultation appointment. They do offer it online as a video to watch but the in person is far more in depth and you get to meet actual people who have had these procures done.

Next, after I saw the seminar then then called me to verify my insurance. Once they verified my insurance they gave me a consultation appointment.

My consultation appointment was on 11/25. They gave me a short quiz with true or false questions to see if I payed attention to the information in the seminar - I was then called in the back to be weighed, then the took my height and I was sat in the conference room to wait for Sema (she is Dr. Ahmad's wife she is the coordinator of the barbaric program at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson NY on long island) She is a VERY nice woman and seems to genuinely care about the patients and their health. She asked me a lot of questions about my eating habits and so on and so forth. I was first interested in the gastric bypass surgery because that was what I was most familiar with since 3 of my family members had ad that surgery. Sema gave me a few reasons why I should go with the sleeve instead of the bypass - she said the bypass is really for much heavier people and older people who it would be hard to them to exercise. She also told me that when my boyfriend, mother in law, and grandmother had their surgery sleeve procedure was fairly new and most insurances weren't covering it at the time. So after doing further research I decided the sleeve was right for me especially if I decide to have another child.

My insurance did not require me to have a weight history or loose a specific amount of weight prior to the surgery. I do have a series of pre-op appointments which luckily the doctor I am using offers 5 of those pre op appointments in 1 day !!!

On December 17th I will go to the doctor for pulmonary, ultra sound, psychiatrist, lab work, & nutritionist.

I will most likely be there ALL day but to me it is so worth it to kill most of these birds with 1 stone ! and only take off 2 day from work.

My first appointment is at 11:00am - and the last of the 5 is at 3:00pm ...

Only thing I have to do outside of the doctors office on my own is find a cardiologist and make a pre-op appointment with them.

My endoscopy is scheduled for 1/9. & My final follow up with the doctor before surgery is 1/25.

I am very happy I came across this website and I love to read everyones stories about their journeys it is very encouraging.

I'll put some pictures up later of me in high school, and them me as the years went on and then me now ...

I am excited, anxious, nervous, scared .... all at the same time!

I just wanted to add some recent photos of me in the recent months and also a photo from my senior year in High School which this photo will be my motivation !!!

Just playing the waiting game.

It seems like December 17th (day of my 5 appointments in 1 shot) is SOOOOOOO far away. & February 2 (day of the surgery) seems even farther.

I am SO ready to begin this new healthy life.

Waiting is tough though.

I know before I know it it will be surgery day and Ill be crying my eyes out out of being nervous. But I know this is the best thing for me.

And the wait continues ........