Tomorrow!

Matt and I have been down in Edmunds, Washington for the last few days.  It is about 20 minutes outside of Seattle and at 40 000 people it is considered a small town.  Today we actually found someone who knew where the Yukon was and had even canoed the Yukon River in his younger days!  Most folks have no clue where we live, but are shocked when we say there is snow there already.  We are walking around in t-shirts when everyone else is wearing winter jackets and mittens!  Of course, we are getting odd looks.

Again, the reason we are down here is so I can undergo weight loss surgery.  Tomorrow morning at 8am I will be at the clinic and I should be back at the hotel by noon.  I have gone through all of my pre-op appointments and I think I am ready to go.  My stomach is full of butterflies, so good thing it is getting cut out tomorrow!   :)

This is going to be life changing for me.  I honestly don't think anyone who isn't obese can understand what it is like and how it will change my life.   I was 100lbs when I was 9 and 200lbs by the time I was 15 and 300lbs by my late twenties.  Go ahead, strap 100lbs onto your body and try carrying it around for a day and see how you do.  It is exhausting, but it is all that I know.  I do not know what it is like to be an age appropriate weight.  I need to lose nearly 160lbs to get to a proper body weight.

I am not doing this as an easy way out.  It definitely isn't, for anyone who has that thought in the back of their mind.  This is going to be hard work.  I have failed at dieting, and it is not because I am lazy or lack motivation.  It is because I have an addiction and having this surgery is going to give me a tool to help me manage my eating in the future.  This is a great website that is very informative on all forms of weight loss surgery if any of you readers want to educate yourself more on the matter.

The support I have received from friends has been phenomenal.  I don't think many of our family members are on board yet, but hopefully as I go through this process they will come around. 

I have been reading a couple of books about life after weight loss surgery.  It is going to be hard for sure.  It says that people who have been obese their entire lives go through a lot of identity issues once they have lost a lot of weight.  Also anxiety, depression, loneliness rear their ugly heads once you can no longer turn to food for comfort or to hide from life.  I will be outside of my comfort zone and I just hope I don't turn into a complete wreck!!  I have done a lot of work to ensure I have the help needed to get me through after my surgery.

Tomorrow is the start of a new life for me.  Not that I don't love my life right now, but it will be a life that is much healthier.

Riding a ferry just for shits and giggles!  We went across the bay and right back again.

Boat, boats and more boats!  Our hotel is just a block away from the water front and we have been enjoying walks along the pier.

Thank you Matt for being such an strong support for me to lean on!

Flowers left in my room from the Faro Girls!  Thank you Michelle, Heather, Brittany, Sarah, Erica, Nicole, Tina and Lorraine!

More flowers for me!  These are from a dear friend that I met while living in Kugluktuk who now lives in the Vancouver Area.  Thank you Tarama, Jason, Garrett and Tanner!