Hurry Up and Wait

After the consultation with my doctor, I had my referral prescription and a couple of liquid protein drinks and was on to the next step. But, wait a minute. . . it was the holidays, the week before Christmas, in fact. Outside of Denny and my mom, no one in the family knew I was considering going through with gastric lapband surgery (although I did tell my sister once I saw the doctor), and now was not the time to tell them. There is no worse way to spend a holiday than to have every single morsel you put in your mouth analyzed for proper nutrition, and being told you can’t have that! I don’t think there are many things I like hearing less than being told I can’t do or have something. It’s like a red flag to a bull, and the I’ll show you/them attitude kicks into high gear. So, I decided to keep things quiet until after Christmas and used the time to start doing some additional research on the doctors group I would be going to, and trying to gather enough information to help me choose a doctor. My regular doctor referred me to either Dr. Peter LePort or Dr. Kelly Francis, so I didn’t have to expend much effort in research. Their site does contain a lot of information, so if you are considering, I suggest you check it out. I heartily endorse finding out as much as you can prior to making such a life altering decision.

I waited until after Christmas to place the call to start the process. Oops – with this practice, they prefer you register on the website first, then they will contact you to set up your orientation in a couple of days. Ok, I could wait a couple of days, after all, it was still the holidays, and knew their staff must be taking time off as well. I remember getting the call to confirm my registration information. It was very exciting and I felt like I was on my way toward my goal of being a much healthier me once again. Then we got down to brass tacks, and the orientation date was being set. First of all, they had scheduled me to participate at a hospital where my doctor doesn’t have physician’s privileges. I mentioned this, but they continued on with my scheduling and told me that I would have my orientation in the latter part of February. Dismay hit me like a wave crashing on the beach, I figured I would be done and back to work by that time, and that was step one?? Here I was ready to get back on track with my new lifestyle and already a roadblock had appeared.

I had a follow up appointment for something with my doctor and mentioned the other hospital, and he told me to give them a call back and have them change it to FVRH, because that’s where he wanted me. I called back and was rescheduled – this time for January 19th. Much better. I also had someone this time who explained the process completely to me, as well as the financial obligations and expectations, which was very nice.

By this time I had settled myself down, because I realized, I was in this for the duration. It didn’t matter whether I had the surgery immediately or in six months because this was a lifelong decision. I believe that the process is drawn out for a reason, and it is to allow you time to mentally prepare for the step you are about to take. The problem is, once you have made the decision that this is the direction you want to go, you want it over with yesterday. The surgery becomes a point in time which people divide into before and after. Except, my before started a few years ago, and my after has either already started, or I won’t get there until I have reached my goal of being a healthier me. Once I realized the surgery was only a step in the process, I calmed down about the delays, and knew that I needed to hop on the track myself and start chugging toward the goal.

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LK Gardner-Griffie
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