Hallelujah�on January 7, 2004 I found my surgeon. The funny part of this was I was about to cancel my appointment; I just couldn�t take another disappointment. The day before my appointment I finally decided to go ahead and see what they had to say. I thought about the fact that I was meeting with the surgeon, not attending another seminar, and decided to go ahead and keep the appointment. I can tell you that was the best decision of my life. So, again with my husband and the information I had gathered, which by this time is all in �The Book�; we drove the hour to Bond Clinic in Winter Haven. We got there just a little early because we found it easier then we thought and they took me right in. Yes that�s right I didn�t have to sit and wait for hours. I met Roberta, who I spoke with the first time a called about their program. She had sent me the introduction packet and I had all the forms filled out so she took me right back saying let get you started.
The first leg on this part of the journey started with the dreaded scales. She weighed me and measured my height and determined my BMI. I was a little embarrassed to have my husband stand there and see just how much I weighed, but then I thought, this is only temporary. Out of this experience they recorded that I weigh 260.6 pounds, I�m 5�3�, and I have a BMI of 45. As much as those numbers hurt they�re exactly what I needed to qualify as Morbidly Obese and therefore medically necessary for the surgery. I then met Jackie, the Bariatric Coordinator, and she was just what the Dr ordered, she was great. She made me feel like there was nothing that her and I together couldn�t get done. By now I�m really starting to realize that I�m glad I kept this appointment and the first glimmers of hope are starting to shine. She took down some information and tested to see how many calories my body burns at rest. Amazingly my body burns 3000 a day at rest. Imagine that, I always thought I have a slow metabolism, but she said not really. We talked about obtaining the approval for insurance and what would be needed to get that done. When she was finished�. enter Dr. Thomas!
Dr. Robert Thomas is great! He came in the room and shook both my husband�s hand and mine and introduced himself to both of us. He sat and took his time explaining everything to us always making sure we understood everything. When I asked questions he answered them fully and never rushed to get thru. He very briefly checked me over and then asked if this was what I wanted. I told him most defiantly, so he said lets get you started. And so the scheduling began with the chest x-ray, blood work and ultrasound. I had just had an ultrasound and blood work done for my primary care doctor so I got a copy of those for him. I left the office that day all smiles, finally getting to say �I�m gonna have surgery�.