My first "WOW" moment..
I would like to tell you all about my first "wow" moment since the surgery. It was the most amazing experience since my Gastric Bypass thus far, and the crazy thing is, it was not about me at all.
I was at the gym last Friday, doing my typical exercise routine of swimming laps in the pool. (I've moved up to 15 laps, by the way, so go me! :) After I was done, I went to go relax in the hot tub for a while. There was another guy there who had weight issues similar to my own. He also had been having a hell of a time with his feet and knees, something I know a lot of us who are overweight have experienced. We started talking a bit, and he mentioned how he'd been thinking about doing that "stomach surgery thing". I smiled and showed him my 5 little scars, proudly proclaiming that I'd had the surgery just 8 weeks prior.
I went on to tell him all about the surgery, and the process of getting approved by insurance and everyone else. It turns out his primary doctor had been telling him that he was NOT a candidate for the surgery. Unfortunately, to me, it sounded like his doctor was simply not informed about the surgery, and was not even considering his condition and obvious qualification for at least being considered for the surgery. His BMI is similar to what mine was at my highest weight, and he has other co-morbidities that require him to lose weight as soon as humanly possible. I'm no doctor, but I know for darn sure that he at least deserves the chance to be evaluated by a bariatric specialist.
My advice to him was to push his doctor into giving him a referral, or if his doctor remained stubborn, to find a new damned doctor. I also had a ton of other information for him, right down to what his medical insurance is going to require of him. (he has Medica, and I have a good friend with Medica who has been looking into the process as well..)
The reason this was so amazing is that for the first time ever, I realized how great it is that I am now on the other side of the fence, on the way to living a healthy life, and how I can serve to help others in reaching their own health goals. By giving him all the information, I was empowering him to get the proper medical attention that he needs. And that felt awesome. To know that I may impact somebody else's life in such a positive way, well I gotta tell you, it feels AMAZING! He was so appreciative that I would take the time to share my experience and knowledge with him, and I was glad to do it! Just like others have inspired me, I look forward to helping inspire those around me a lot more in the future!
I defintely would like to extend an open invitation to anyone who is curious about the surgery to contact me. I'm an open book, and love to help.
I was at the gym last Friday, doing my typical exercise routine of swimming laps in the pool. (I've moved up to 15 laps, by the way, so go me! :) After I was done, I went to go relax in the hot tub for a while. There was another guy there who had weight issues similar to my own. He also had been having a hell of a time with his feet and knees, something I know a lot of us who are overweight have experienced. We started talking a bit, and he mentioned how he'd been thinking about doing that "stomach surgery thing". I smiled and showed him my 5 little scars, proudly proclaiming that I'd had the surgery just 8 weeks prior.
I went on to tell him all about the surgery, and the process of getting approved by insurance and everyone else. It turns out his primary doctor had been telling him that he was NOT a candidate for the surgery. Unfortunately, to me, it sounded like his doctor was simply not informed about the surgery, and was not even considering his condition and obvious qualification for at least being considered for the surgery. His BMI is similar to what mine was at my highest weight, and he has other co-morbidities that require him to lose weight as soon as humanly possible. I'm no doctor, but I know for darn sure that he at least deserves the chance to be evaluated by a bariatric specialist.
My advice to him was to push his doctor into giving him a referral, or if his doctor remained stubborn, to find a new damned doctor. I also had a ton of other information for him, right down to what his medical insurance is going to require of him. (he has Medica, and I have a good friend with Medica who has been looking into the process as well..)
The reason this was so amazing is that for the first time ever, I realized how great it is that I am now on the other side of the fence, on the way to living a healthy life, and how I can serve to help others in reaching their own health goals. By giving him all the information, I was empowering him to get the proper medical attention that he needs. And that felt awesome. To know that I may impact somebody else's life in such a positive way, well I gotta tell you, it feels AMAZING! He was so appreciative that I would take the time to share my experience and knowledge with him, and I was glad to do it! Just like others have inspired me, I look forward to helping inspire those around me a lot more in the future!
I defintely would like to extend an open invitation to anyone who is curious about the surgery to contact me. I'm an open book, and love to help.
posted by Josh at
12:39 AM
2 Comments:
way to go dude! congrats on being able to help, & even more congrats on getting into exercising. i'm really proud of you for taking that step.
I want to know all about your surgery! I want to open your book!!
oh wait, I already do know all about your surgery. damn.
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