Let's Get Started

I'm 58, have arthritis and diabetes, and am fat...not exactly what people are looking for.

It's been two years since my fiance died and 18 months since I lost my job.  It's been a lonely, empty time.  Many days I did nothing more than watch TV and surf the Internet.

At first I diligently looked for work.  But I've pretty much given up.    My talent, intelligence and skills just weren't getting the respect, opportunity...or workout...they deserved.

And then my body started turning on me.  It was getting harder and harder to walk; my back hurt so badly.  I was experiencing diabetic neuropathy and having visions anomalies. 

I met a woman at the Dog Park who started talking to me about gastric bypass.  I was always opposed to the operation in the past.  I felt that it was mutilating one's body for the sake of looking thinner.  I believed in fat advocacy and health at every size.  Being bigger than the established "norms" did not mean one was bad or undesirable or sick or needed curing.

But she said it "cured" her diabetes after just a week, which made me think.  No more pills, no more insulin, no more glucose tasting day after day.  And no more fear of additional complications.

So I went home, hopped on the Internet and did research on gastric bypass and diabetes.  And I discovered a connection.  It was true.  A high percentage of people no longer needed diabetes medication.  And it wasn't because they were losing weight; this remission occurred within the first several days after surgery.

And now I was interested.  Could this be what saves my life?  Not just medically, but emotionally and economically.  I would be able to walk again, dance again, beat the competition in a job interview.  And maybe, just maybe, I would allow myself to love again.

Let's get started.