EXERT & EXHALE
able to maintain. I still do.
On the other hand, I hated the very notion
that people would consider me weak-minded
for not being able to lose weight and keep it off
the traditional way.
I can remember the justification I made in my
head. “If the insurance company denies me, that’s
OK. I’ll still be fat, but I can work on it again, and
when I lose all this weight on my own, everyone
will look at me as strong.”
I could hear my inner voice chuckling.
Anyway, the six months rolled by. I lost a little
weight on my own and the insurance company, to
my surprise, accepted the cost of the surgery in full.
I was a mixture of scared and ecstatic. Scared
to tell my friends and family that I was taking the
“easy” way out.
But then I started to attend all of these meetings
with Dr. John Oldham and my other doctors at
the Bariatric Center at Baptist East Hospital in
preparation for the surgery. They wanted to make
sure I knew this wasn’t an easy fix. It was cemented
into my head that this was going to be tough.
I couldn’t leave the place any of the umpteen
times I went without hearing something to the
effect of “Remember, this surgery is just a tool in
helping you lose weight. If you don’t use the tool,
the tool becomes useless.”
In other words, I have to get over the
psychological addiction I have with food as
well. The vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure,
commonly referred to as the “sleeve” would
remove 90 percent of my stomach. Ninety percent.
But, the addiction to food for many can be so
overwhelming that the stomach removal just
It’s Your Life...
Live it in Health!
doesn’t matter. The patient still eats even though
they receive signals of being full way quicker than
they ever had before.
It’s yet another reason I am afraid to share my
story. Because here I am – my story thrown on
paper with ink that will last forever – and if my
addiction wins out over my new “tool,” I’ll want to
literally eat every one of the magazines this story
was printed on as a way to shred the evidence of
me having ever told my story.
BUT I DID IT
But, that’s the chance I took on Nov. 6, 2017.
Pain after surgery was real. Making me walk an
hour after leaving the surgery floor as to get my
body back to normal as quickly as possible – not
fun. Eating broth and drinking liquid protein
25TH ANNUAL THROO THE ZOO 5K RUN/WALK
Presented by Norton Audubon Hospital
May 12, 2018, 8 - 10 am
Chiropractic Care
Nutritional Counseling
Corrective Exercises
Spinal & Postural Screenings
Lifestyle Advice
Physiotherapy
WELLNESS CARE FOR ALL AGES
Adults | Children | Newborns
RASMUSSEN
CHIROPRACTIC LLC
Since 1985
2652 Charlestown Road, New Albany, IN 47150
812.949.2273 | www.rasmussenchiro.com
52 EXTOL : JUNE/JULY 2018
Join us for this unique 5K road race that goes “Throo” the Zoo. Watch
the Zoo wake up while supporting important conservation education
programs. Dress in your favorite animal costume to win fun prizes.
Can’t make the race? Check out the new Virtual 5K option.
Register at LouisvilleZoo.org/run