JennInJax
I started my bariatric surgerical journey at age 30 in 2005. I am married to a wonderfully supportive husband and have 2 babies of the furry kind; Hannah (Chinese Crested dog) and Tabitha (Cat). I work for a local pediatric healthcare company that I have been with for more than 10 years and love. I love doing crafts of all kinds (mosiacs, painting, knitting, decoupage, home decorating) but I am also a workaholic who never seems to have time to do any of the crafts I like. My husband and I moved to Jacksonville, Florida in January 2005 and bought our first home. This move included many other changes, not the least of which was the continued increase to my weight.
I have been over weight for pretty much my entire life, even as a child I was heavy much of the time. I lost a great deal of weight a couple years ago only to gain it all back and more. I had a doctor suggest the bariatric surgery to me and fought it originally. I had many surgeries growing up related in one way or another to my cleft-lip and palate and couldn't see going through surgery ever again. The more time that passed the more I thought and prayed about it and finally started doing some real research. My husband and I went to a educational seminar that Dr. Webb gave and that really cemented my husband’s support. He kept telling me, if it saves my life and gives me additional healthy years to look forward to then it is worth it. So I read the FDA study and other medical studies available through online medical journals and medical schools, weighed my options and made the decision to go for it. My surgery was 11/22/05 and the rest is history!!!! (especially the weight)
As I did my research for surgery and got a lot of helpful assistance here on OH, I got to thinking a support group might help me along this journey and allow me to pass on assistance to others. I thought about this for some time and finally started my local lap-band surgical support group in February 2006 in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville, FL. I have met a lot of wonderful people and made some great friends with my group. We have the support of several local surgeons in addition to being OH certified. We’re a small group but we offer a lot of support to one another. If there is one thing I’ve learned along this journey, it’s that you can’t do it alone. If you’re interested in visiting or joining our group please drop me a message. For more information about my group visit the JacksonvilleBandsters OH Group (we just moved to OH end of March 2008 so please join and help us build it up again).
Jennifer
