I've been dreading a family function recently. I'm still pretty new in the post-op phases really and very unsure as to how I wanted to handle telling people that I've had WLS. ESPECIALLY my family.
It was my gma's 75th and my dad's 57th birthday party on Sunday (Sept 4). Much of the family that I haven't seen at all this year (and since I was over 220 lbs) would be commenting on my weight loss... this I know. They've seen me lose and regain many many times over the years so I was prepared for the latest barrage of questions and comments. What I wasn't prepared for was the unbeliveable support!
Up until (literally) the drive to the restaurant I was still deciding if I should tell them or just stick to my work response of "medically supervised diet". I finally came to the conclusion that if anyone should understand how hard its been for me, it would be them. So I decided even if they judged me for it, I didn't care and that I was feeling too good (having just broke into the 160's...yay!) to have them affect my mood.
So I told anyone who asked. At one point, most of the people in the room were listening as I recounted my surgery experience and a few were interested in possibly pursing it themselves! I received support like I didn't expect and some family may make this journey along with me.
In short, I'm happy I chose my sleeve. I'm happier yet that I chose to start telling people in my life about it. I'm still uncomfortable with my work knowning though... because its none of their damn business mostly but also because its not up to them to decide if I required that surgery for sick leave post-op or not. A medical doctor said I needed leave for at least a week, so I had leave for a week and I have the dr note to prove it. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment