It's not every day that you get to be naked in the same room as four women, including your wife, and you let them take pictures of you. That sure was a first, and most likely also a last. :)
Yup. That's what happened yesterday, though in a more clinical way than it might sound if you have a dirty mind...
Yesterday I went to the hospital to be evaluated for my skin removal surgery.
I went in with an all time low weigh-in of 75.8 kgs - quite an accomplishment for me. I have now lost a total of 79.2 kgs, and I consider myself 100% done losing weight. I will be all about maintenance mode from now on.
We were at the hospital early, and we got called in almost 45 minutes earlier than expected. Nice! I was a little surprised when we got in, as there was a doctor, a nurse and a young lady who was a medical student.
We were properly introduced, and they were asking me tidbits about my case, my weight loss, what medicines I take, do I smoke and drink, and all that. They were VERY impressed that I can reached all these goals on time, and they told me that it's rare to see people actually reaching the BMI under 25. Mine was 24 yesterday. They were all smiles.
The doctor took a good look at my stomach and back, and she could easily see that I needed help to get the skin fixed. She was pulling and stretching, and asking questions.
Then, of course, they needed to see the pelvis area. The doctor kindly asked me if she could see the trouble areas, and naturally I can't get approved for any kind of surgery in places that they haven't evaluated. So I had to drop my pants and let them have a look.
That was SO WEIRD! When I dropped my pants, the medicine student's face turned red like a tomato! LOL! They asked if they could take a few snapshots for the board meeting where they approve/disapprove the surgery requests. Of course they could. Anything to help my case.
So, long story short - the doctor will take the photos to a board meeting, and state my case. She said that she finds if very likely that I will be approved for surgery, it's more a matter of which kind they will offer.
They are considering two types.
One is simply the front. The abdominal and pelvis area. The other is a 360 degree surgery, where they essentially cut out a "belt" all the way around, and take care of loose skin on the lower back also.
The doctor suggested that she'll recommend the latter, but for me to expect that it might "only" be the smaller one. Regardless, it's cool with me. They're both very helpful surgeries, and they will make things easier for me. I do want to have as much removed as possible, as it does bother me.
It's worth noting, though, that she pointed out that the pinching when I roll over is mostly between my shoulder blades, and surgery won't help that. It might get better over time, but there really isn't a whole lot to do about it.
So, as I hinted in my comment yesterday - I am not 100% approved. I am ALMOST approved, in the way that the doctor will recommend surgery, even the 360 one, and state my case at the board meeting. It's my clear feeling tha this will be approved, but of course the other doctors need to be in on it also. She did say that I basically checked all the boxed with no trouble and that I seem to be a valid candidate to her. Nice. :)
So, all I need to do is wait for a letter about a week or so after the easter break. I should hear something fairly soon.
Then, there is the wait.
There is about 4-5 months waiting time for the surgery. This means August or September. That's okay. Time will pass quickly.
If I only get offered the smaller surgery, there is a chance to go to a private hospital that can do it for me. If I get offered the full surgery, then it needs to be a specific hospital (the one I went to), as it is the only hospital in Denmark that is approved to perform this - it's a HUGE cut - a belt of about 3-4 inches will be cut out. That is a SCARY thought. If that's the case, I'd rather wait a few extra months and have the best of the best perform it. I want to be as safe as possible.
...
The rest of the day was spent in Roskilde, the town we were in already. We went to a Viking Ship museum, and took a look at some cool ships - both genuine ships found in the bay, but also new builds by the old specifications, that they use to study viking life. Very interesting.
Here's a pic of Wife in front on one.
On the food side, Indulgence Day was on! I wanted to celebrate, and celebrate we did. We had an AWESOME brunch (see below!), and for dinner we went for running sushi. In between, I had a little bit of chocolate, but I really didn't go much crazy. It was just a nice day out, and the brunch filled us up like crazy. It wasn't the healthiest choice, but boy - it was good!
Well, folks, that's the update on things. It's been a long, pleasant ride to get here. Of course, I am not done with Fatsecret. Of course, I am not done watching my weight. But I think I can safely say I am done LOSING weight.
From here on out it will be maintaining weight instead. Let's start with losing the three kgs. I gained since yesterday morning. I think I can do it. :)
Today, I'm going to work early - as soon as I am done writing this. I will be there early, to leave early. I need to go shopping for easter with Wife, and then tonight I will be rockin' with the kids. It's the last time for the season, and since only have the group is gonna show up (I know this already, as we talked about it last time), we decided to not play music, but hang out and watch some music DVDs instead. I am bringing the brand new Iron Maiden DVD En Vivo, and they will bring some disks too. School is paying for candies and sodas for the kids. It'll be a nice afternoon, and a great ending of this year's journey with the little rockers.
Today, I am thankful for:
- An awesome day yesterday.
- Doctors who are helpful.
- Still being able to make young women blush! LOL!
- Awesome brunch
- One day left at work, then off for easter!
- Morning coffee!
Happy easter, everyone! Life is good!
Oh... by the way... I was telling Wife about the MANY comments I get now and then on my journal. She was really impressed with you guys, and asked me if I had any idea how many actually read it. I have no idea. So I figured, it could be a fun experiment to see how many actually go read the journal. If you look below this, I put a "hit counter" today. This will basically count how many people go to this very page. I'm curious to see. :) Thanks for playing.
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