I haven’t always
been overweight. For 4 blissful years of
high school, I was at the correct weight,
had a cute figure, and reaped the benefits
of dating and multiple friendships. I married
my high school sweetheart the day after
graduation, started taking birth control
pills, and the path to obesity began. At
my 10-year high school reunion, I won the
award for “Being Married the Longest.”
I very well could have won an award for
“The Person Who Had Changed The
Most,” as I now weighed 250 pounds.
Luckily, my weight didn’t bother me
as much as it bothered other people.
When my weight topped out
at 301 pounds, I began fearing an early
death if I didn’t do something. I
began looking for a doctor who would do
gastric bypass. In my case, surgery would
be a “revision” since I had
had gastric stapling in 1980 that failed.
It’s amazing how a person adapts
to being morbidly obese (I hate that term!).
I learned to always ask for a table at
restaurants, take my own seat extender
on planes, wear shoes that didn’t
need tying, use a “reacher”
to pick up items on the floor, take the
elevator whenever possible (stairs and
bad knees, you know),
accentuate the positive by making sure
my hair and makeup were flawless, plant
a smile and always be the life of the
party.
(I’ve always said there
is a reason that Santa Claus is “jolly.”
An overweight person has to get past other’s
first impression of how they look and
exude an outgoing personality to block
what the other person is seeing.)
In September 2005,
God intervened in my life by putting people
and ideas into my path. I learned about
Dr. Warnock from a patient I met while
shopping. At my first visit with Dr.
Warnock, I felt like he really did care
about the “fat” me and didn’t
judge me. He laid out the lifestyle
changes, the “forever” commitment
to a new way of living and eating, the
hardships and the victories of weight
loss. I left his office with a commitment
to have the surgery and to do whatever
he told me to do to succeed.
We began the process
of getting my insurance approved.
I had letters from my family doctor and
my endocrinologist stating that I had
several medical necessities to warrant
this surgery. At the time, I was on 70-100
units of insulin, 3 diabetes pills, 2
blood pressure pills and cholesterol medication
each day. I could see no obstacles with
my insurance. I needed to have the surgery
before year-end because my insurance was
changing.
While on a business trip,
the phone call came—I found out that
my insurance company, Aetna, denied my
request because I didn’t provide
medical records from my 1980 surgery! I
was crushed! I lapsed into crying hysterically
and felt that my lifespan had just been
cut short because of a decision by my insurance
company who didn’t even know me. The
next day, after a night of weeping, I
composed myself to jump into action.
First I called the hospital where my 1980
surgery was done, only to find out that
they destroyed all records after 10 years.
I called the surgeon and found they also
destroyed my records. But I was encouraged
by a good friend and determined to fight
the fight.
I began talking with our
insurance liaison at Aetna and didn’t
find any help from her. I talked frequently
with Dr. Warnock’s office. Every
day that went by I got angrier and more
determined that I wouldn’t go down
without a fight, the fight for my life.
I decided I would file my own appeal.
No one could write an appeal like the
doomed person could. I found the Aetna
policy on gastric bypass surgery that
stated the requirements for surgery. I
created an appeal in a table format that
showed what the insurance company required
on one side, and how I met that requirement
on the other side. I wrote a letter to
the appeals board begging them to reconsider
my request. I kept a record of every
date and time and conversation I had with
Aetna, my company and Dr. Warnock’s
office. I researched a lawyer in case
I needed to sue Aetna for denying my surgery.
I got mad!
I’ll never know exactly
what the clincher was for Aetna to overturn
their decision, but I decided I would
write letters to the CEO and President
of Aetna. In that letter I wrote the
following:
I feel as if Aetna
has signed my warrant for an early death
and certainly a quality of life that will
continue in a downward spiral. I’m
currently on multiple medicines daily
to control my hypertension and diabetes,
including insulin. In the long run,
Aetna will pay more on me with the complications
of diabetes than the gastric bypass surgery
will cost.
I express mailed both letters
to arrive on Friday, December 2nd, and
stamped both letters with “Confidential
– to be opened by addressee only.”
I don’t know if they ever read the
letters. At this point I felt I had
done everything in my power, short of
suing Aetna, to convince Aetna to pay
for the surgery.
On Monday, December 5th,
I emailed the head of benefits at my company
and told her that I had filed my own appeal
and that I had collected all information
in case I had to sue Aetna. I told her that
I had written the CEO and President of Aetna.
By 4 pm that day, the Aetna doctor had
called Dr. Warnock, overturned the denial,
verbally approved my surgery, and faxed
the overturned appeal to the office. I scheduled
surgery for 10 days later, on December
15, 2005. The office insurance specialist
said she had never seen an insurance company
act so quickly!
I had promised Dr. Warnock
that I would live by the “rules”
for my new life, and I did just that.
I didn’t cheat. Within 4 months I
was off all diabetic and blood pressure
medicine. I am not diabetic or hypertensive
anymore. My breathing became easier, my
snoring virtually stopped overnight. Within
6 months I had lost close to 100 lbs.
I set my goal for 150 lbs to lose before
January 1, 2007. I reached that goal almost
2 months early. The next chapter in my
journey was a body lift October 2006.
I now have a figure that I could only
dream of having. I’m in size 8
clothes, smaller than I’ve been in
my whole life! I have energy, more self-esteem
and I’m so proud of myself for having
accomplished all this. It took weeks to
be able to talk about this experience
without crying.
Seeing my success, my health and my quality
of life improving, my sister, Carolyn,
had gastric bypass by Dr. Warnock on September
2, 2006. It’s wonderful having
a partner in our efforts to get the weight
off. We talk often to compare notes
and encourage each other. It’s great
to go through this experience with your
best friend.
Will I succeed or fail?
I worry about failing all the time. I
will never take my weight loss for granted.
This time I had the surgery for the right
reasons. The surgery was done for health
reasons vs. vanity and outside pressures.
Somewhere in my mind God put an
invisible switch that clicked to “success”
and once He made my mind up, I was
sure I would succeed. I listened and heeded
everything Dr. Warnock told me to do.
During the last year of losing pounds,
I’ve gained more respect
for myself.
Not only do I look thin, I FEEL thin.
I look in the mirror and see a healthy
woman who has added years onto her life.
I no longer see a fat person and am thrilled
that I can no longer be referred to as
“morbidly obese.”
I’ll be writing the
remainder of the story for the rest of
my life. It will be a daily commitment
to maintain the weight loss. The work
has just begun. I hope I never take for
granted the weight loss or how I felt
as an obese person, and I pray that I
will never be prejudiced against what
I once was. I will forever be grateful
to God for leading me down this path
and for Dr. Warnock in taking me when
other doctor’s wouldn’t. Thank
you isn’t enough for the life they
have both given back to me.
