Hooray! The tickets have been secured!Thank goodness for Sunny... I cannot begin to explain the confusion that ensued in this ticket buying process. I began looking way way back in the beginning and asking questions and researching. If you have been following me you also know the anxieties I have had in this whole airline process. It literally took me a week to figure out how on earth we would board a plane at 6:10 am have a layover for 50 minutes and land at 9 am yet they were calling it a 5 hour flight ... yes yes now I know ... the time difference... boy do I feel like a ding dong!
So will this plane ticket buy us happiness? Nope, but it is a ticket to the next step toward making some positive changes in our lives! So I'm filling out my paperwork today and reading all of the fine print. It looks like there are a couple of things that might be an issue, and I feel compelled to pray about them. First of all we are required to arrive to the San Diego Airport between the hours of 9am & 7pm. What is the problem one might ask? well the problem is that the most affordable tickets I can find has us arriving in the 11:00pm hour. When I search for tickets that will put us there during our contracted times the prices are considerably higher.Back to the drawing board on this one. The second issue is that there are different BMI levels in which you must start your pre op clear liquid diet. This makes me curious, if you're already a big girl and the bigger you are the earlier you have to start this diet. How do they expect you to go for 5 weeks on a clear liquid diet? If I were able to go for five weeks surviving only on clear liquids then wouldn't it stand to reason that O would not need the surgery. I am curious to know how many people actually strictly follow this guideline. They say that the clear liquid diet is to reduce your fatty liver or pancreas and prepares your for the life style change. They say that if your liver is too fatty they may not be able to do the surgery that makes me scared. I don't have time nor do I have the money to waste to go all the way to Mexico and find out that my liver is too fat to do the surgery. However is it necessary to waste my very last 5 weeks eating real food on clear liquids? OH THE HUMANITY! I guess I will start water intake today, I added a little of Brandi's voodoo juice for a change. Update...
You know those people that you meet and you know that they are destined to be in your life for a long time? You have an instant connection with them. You know you can trust them and you would adopt them into your very own family if you could. That's how we feel about our very own Sunny. In May 2012 our family changed forever when we brought Dacota home to live with us. With that decision came a lot of new responsibilities, a lot of new rules, and a lot of new people making decisions that would effect this little girl forever, you quickly learn to question everyone and everything. Somewhere along the way, Dacota's parents were ordered to attend supervised visits, and we were so lucky when the court appointed Sunny to supervise those visits. From the very 1st time I dropped Dacota off I knew that I could trust Sunny to take good care of that girl and keep her parents in line. When Dacota was awarded to us permanently and her visits were over, we were pretty bummed that we wouldn't see her every week and decided that we would unofficially adopt her as our Aunt Sunny. Since then, I have called on this woman countless times for advice or a big dose of honesty. By now you know that she and I have committed to have the gastric sleeve surgery together. We have settled into our sleeve buddies roles pretty well I think. I am the researcher, she has the follow through. I am the cheerleader, she's the motivator. I am the dreamer, she is the level headed one. So far along the way we have each given each other just enough push to take the next step. I look forward to this journey with her. Happy Birthday Sunny Brooks, thanks for putting up with the Price family! If there is one thing that has made me nervous about this trip, it is the flight. Not being in the air or plunging to my death, I am nervous that I will be too fat for the seat. I have heard all of the horror stories about big people getting kicked off of the flight or being made to pay for an extra seat. I am scared to death that one of these scenarios would happen to me. How Ironic would it be that the one barrier between me and WLS would be my weight. I have to have a seat that accommodates my size, but it has to be affordable. After countless google searches, phone calls and personal experiments I think I have a plan. First I researched seat width, if we fly economy class the seats are 17.2 inches wide and in 1st class they are 21 inches. The price difference is HUGE, so I would like to fly economy if possible. I measured my seat at work, in which I can sit very comfortably, it is 23 inches wide, this scares me ... that is bigger than the biggest airline seat. I then went to the movies in Neosho, I can sit in these seats, not terribly comfortable, but I can do it. I prefer to have a seat between me and my neighbor, but if my neighbor is my hubby I will survive. Today I swallowed my pride and called that theater to ask them the width of their chairs. I was blessed to tears when the man on the other end of the phone offered to measure them for me. I sat on hold for a could of minutes when he returned breathless he described in detail the measurements he had taken. The seats are 17.5 inches wide along the bottom and 25 inches between cup holders! These #'s make me happy, I am hopeful that I can squeeze this behind into the 17.2 inch seat. I found a great resource called www.seatguru.com on this site I was able to enter my flight number and check out passenger comments on the seats. Delta does offer an upgrade to fly economy comfort, which according to the airline gives you extra leg room and a little more room to spread out and is only $30/person, seatguru doesn't seem to completely back these claims but 4 extra inches at the feet is better than nothing. I will also be heeding the advice of Emmie of authenticallyemmie.com , these are her tips, I feel like if she can do it at 455 pounds I can do it at 360.
I read that American Airlines may be the most Big friendly, but I feel like Delta will be just as accommodating, and less expensive. I plan on posting an update after I have actually flown for those of you who are curious about flying yourself.
Today I finally got a chance to apply for my passport. I tried to look as Fat Girl as I could in this picture since it will likely be my last legal fat pic OR that's just the way I look, neck rolls and all! I thought the star scarf was a good touch and completely unplanned. I had just bought it minutes before for Jess for Christmas (Shh,) and thought I needed a scarf in the pic so I borrowed it! The fella told me not to smile, so I have, as my sister calls it, a RBF, makes me look mad all the time, ask Michael. There's a lot of "What's wrong?" "nothing, I'm just resting!" convo in my house. I know it is a simple task, and it is necessary for this trip. It is a process that was new to me though and since I intend on this blog being helpful for those who follow me, I think I need to put step by step details in case a fear of the unknown gives someone the excuse to not go through with it. So here it is... What you need to know when applying for your passportToday has been a rough day, a lot to do and a lot of waiting. It is 2 days until my last "fat Thanksgiving" and boy am I excited! It is also 3 days until black Friday so all of the department stores have started their deals. Today while Dacota and I were waiting, I found a scale that was $30 off at Kohls. I have a regular old Walmart scale, sometimes it weighs me and sometimes it says error, sometimes I weight 295 and sometimes I weigh 361, I think that this scale is only set to weigh 370 so I thought maybe I was too heavy for it. So I decided to start my journey with a brand new scale. The scale I found is called Taylor Digital Bathroom Scale (pictured) it will weight up to 400 pounds and it beeps when it is finished. I decided I didn't need anything fancy, nothing that measured BMI or bone mass or memorized 4 different peoples stats. Just a scale that help enough weight and that beeped when it was done, so that I will not continue to move and mess up the results. When I got home I unboxed the new scale, inserted the batteries and read the directions. Stepped on the scales and they beeped ... 293.2 ... WHAT ... so I am not as big as I thought!!! Step off... step on ... beep 295... What? Test it with Kaid..... step on watch feet placement ....beep.... 362.4 .... step off... beep.... 362.4 ... step off... beep.... 362.4 ..... finally some consistency! So here it is the number you have all been waiting for .... my official starting weigh is ... 362.4 pounds ... I cannot believe I am putting this out there for the world to read! Phew... I feel better! Sunny called and paid our deposit, our days are secured and the rooms are secured! I am beyond excited. The last few days I have started realizing exactly how much I will be able to eat once I have the sleeve. That is a bit disturbing, but there is no turning back. I will make it happen! While she paid the deposit, Sunny had to make a few executive decisions, the main one being that we will not go with Dr. Garcia as our main surgeon, but with his partner, Dr. David Vazquez. He has just as much experience as Dr. Garcia, he is just newer to the area, so his cost is less. Dr. Garcia assists him on every single operation and Dr. V assists Dr. G on all of his, so either way we are getting both surgeons. I am very comfortable with this decision, it almost makes me more excited! I did it, I made the decision to change my life ... NOW to tell "My People" ... Who are "My People?" - My People are those who have my back NO MATTER the out come. The people I turn to at a moment's notice and for the most part my very closest family members. I feel like not everyone wants to, nor do they need to hear the details of my every whim, but My People are out of luck, they have no choice! This is how I broke the news all at once in a Facebook group message ..... This is a link to the Dr. I will be using and the facilities ... it answers a lot of questions ... http://www.tijuanabariatrics.com/bariatric-surgery/gastric-sleeve-surgery You are my people so I need you to know .... We have a Date! MARCH 9th, 2015 ... that is the day our lives are set to changes! Step 2 is complete, "Our Girl" is out of the office sick, so we will pay our deposit when she gets back, but we have been assured that our date is set! Feelings Today {Excited} to get this show on the road already {Nervous} the pain will be more than I expect {Uncertain} about how I will react to spending that many days, that far away from my Kids {Wondering} Should I make a living will before I go {Hopeful} that I will gain what I am looking for {Apprehensive} about flying {Eager} to put this behind me {Passionate} about my decision Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you so much for this opportunity. I pray that you are with Sunny and I as we go through this process. Please speak to us along the way sending us sparks of encouragement as we go along. You know our doubts, our fears, and our limitations, please keep us focused, calm & excited not only for the surgery, but in the months that follow. Be with all of the professional staff, even this far ahead, as they prepare to do what they do best, especially our surgeon, pump him full of any knowledge he might need to treat any unique situation that may arise with either one of us. I pray that you use me as a testimony and a witness for you and that all that comes from this journey only glorifies your name, that it makes you famous for what you do! Please be with our families and those who love us, give them the insight to accept what we have decided to do, give them peace as we travel to Mexico and give them patience as we tread unknown waters. and Always always, thank you for putting people and opportunities in my life, and setting events into motion that have lead me to today! I love you and honor you! In Jesus Name, Amen I finally did it! I hit submit! Now we wait. This step is like yanking off a bandage ... say a little prayer with the one sitting closest to you and jump. .. at least that's how I did it!
it's the waiting game though that is about to kill me! They say I'll know something within 48 hours... but everytime my email songs I jump... I just need to km know either way what the future holds. I know I must be making Sunny crazy ..... Warning - Do not watch this is you are squeamish ... |
This weight loss is only from June 2015 (I had lost another 51 pounds prior to this)
Blog MissionIt has taken me a long time to get to this point, but I feel like God opened the right doors at the right time. My vision for this blog is not only to document and share my journey with those who care, but also to encourage those who may be following in my footsteps. First and foremost though, I want to give all the glory to God & to focus on his plan for me throughout the journey. What you talkin' 'bout?VSG = Vertical Gastric Sleeve Categories
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