FEBRUARY 13, 2000

Rhonda went to for her six month check-up this week.  Dr. Husted said she is doing fine.  By the scales in his office Rhonda has lost fifty six pounds.  He explained that if that didn't sound like much to her that she had to keep in mind she was a borderline case.  She was exactly one hundred pounds over her ideal weitht when she had the operation.  Had she been larger her loss would probably be much greater.
When we started this we knew it would probably take at least a year for her to lose what she wanted to lose.  Now six months later she is over half way to her goal.  I would say things are going just as they should.
I received an e-mail from a lady a few weeks ago that is contemplating wls.  She told me her husband was against the surgery.  All of his reasons were legitimate. What would he tell the children if she didn't return from the hospital.  He could not stand the thought of possibly lossing his wife.  After all she could die on the operating table.
Believe me I went through all of these feelings myself.  Rhonda and I have no children, but on the other hand she is all I have.  We both have brothers and sisters and she has her father.  But she is the person that fills my world everyday.  She is the one that gives me the strength and the fortitude to get up at four a.m everyday and drag it on in to work.  She is the one I reach for in the middle of the night.  So yes I know exactly what this ladies husband is feeling.  I felt all of those things prior to the surgery.  If you have read all of this you know that on the morning of the surgery we were both scared to death.
But let me tell you some of the things that I am feeling now.
Rhonda and I went out for a Valentines day dinner. She wore one the new dresses we bought for her a few weeks ago.  She was so proud of herself.  She walked with her head up high.  She felt prettier and sexier than she had in years.
I love the transformation she has gone through in the past six months.  If I had one thing that I would do differently I would have become more involved in the process of getting her approved.  I would have been a positive force on those days when she was certain she was never going to be approved for the surgery. 
Bottom line, she would never have been as happy as she is now if it had not been for the surgery.  I better quit preaching.  It is not for me to judge who should do this and who shouldn't.
I will just say that Rhonda is both happy and fine and leave it at that.
Good luck to all of those who choose to do this, and God Bless all of you !!