Elaine C.
To tell my story I must start with the story of My Mom.
My Mom struggled her entire adult life with her weight, starting from the time she got pregnant with me (I am the first of two girls). She gained, she lost, sometimes in excess of 100 plus pounds. But, the weight always came back. When she was 47 years old I introduced my Mom to another woman I worked with at the time. This friend was getting ready to have gastric bypass surgery at the military hospital here at Ft. Sill. Mom started looking into the program that they were offering and eventually was approved and scheduled her surgery for the end of January 2001.
She had a hard time recovering after surgery because she had severe headaches that prevented her from getting up and around as quickly as she should have. She was given blood thinners to prevent blood clots while in the hospital but when she was sent home...no blood thinners. After two days home she was back in the hospital. The hospital staff insisted she had pneumonia. After several days of her not getting any better my sister insisted on a test to see if, in fact, she may have a blood clot.
Mom died on St. Patrick's day, March 17, 2001, three weeks after having bariatric surgery.
My Mom was my best friend. We ate lunch together every day, shopped together, and a day did not go by that we did not speak on the phone. My father, my sister and her children, and I, were devestated.
In spite of it all, our lives have continued. I now have a 2 year old son that I adopted through foster care in September of 2005. My sister has a third child born shortly after we lost Mom. Five years have now passed and I am on a new journey.
