I met a woman named Lisa the first time I spoke on behalf of the surgical weight loss program at Catawba Valley Medical Center.  It was at a women's show at the convention center in Hickory.  I'd been to a seminar, I'd met Libby Shaver, the coordinator of the program and I'd made the decision to have gastric bypass surgery.

It was a big step for me.  During my speech the whole time I was thinking about how huge I probably looked up there on stage.  I knew every single person in that audience was staring at me and probably evaluating how much I needed the surgery.  I did my best to speak from the heart about my diabetes fears and diet failures.  Afterwards I posed for a few pictures.  When I was back in Catawba County for a chamber of commerce event last week, Lisa reminded me of how far I'd come.  She shared her own "before" and "after" pics of me on Facebook.

I know that now, more than ever before, people are checking out my body.  I feel like they're looking for signs of mal-nourishment or trying to figure out if I'm lying my saggy little bottom off in this blog when I say that I've lost nearly 70 pounds.  Well, I can't blame them!  When I see the pics I'm a little amazed myself.  I'm pretty sure it sounds a little corny when I say that it feels like a miracle to have my diabetes go into remission.  But here is how I thought my life with Type 2 diabetes would play out:

1. you know "sugar" runs in the family

2. you get weight loss warnings from doctors (that lead to many unsuccessful attempts to lose said weight)

3. doctor puts you on meds

4. doctor puts you on more meds

5. diabetes complications begin to show up

6. decide which funeral home is gonna handle your service

Somewhere between #3 and #4 I got a reprieve and I'm praying my intervention came early enough to ward off #5. 

Thanks for the reminder, Lisa.  My weight loss has slowed down A LOT, but then again, I'm less than 10 pounds away from my goal!!