Moving Toward My Future and New Knees

Yep. That's what a knee replacement looks like.



How can a total replacement of both knees be a Success Story? :huh:

Start with a lady who weighed 280+ pounds last summer. Throw in a wheelchair and a lot of pain. Then, add a great doctor and an equal great surgeon who both said, "You can have 2 new knees and be able to walk again without pain. However..."

There's always a "however", when you are talking to doctors. My 'however' was..."You will need to lose 70 pounds." By that time, I was already down to 270.9 pounds; but that wasn't good enough. :grumble:

Now, comes the best part. Rather than accepting an offer to give me gastric bypass, I chose to lose the weight the 'good, old fashioned way' by changing what I ate and giving up my life of soda and junk food.

In December 2012, I made another great choice. I came to MFP and found help to count calories and get incredible encouragement from so many successful people.

This morning, I weighed in at 230.0 pounds. I haven't weighed so little in more than 30 years. I was so happy to be able to meet my surgeon this morning and share with him MY SUCCESS. I even gave him a print out of the MFP report, showing my weight changes for the past 90 days. He was really impressed and even asked, if he could keep that report to share with some of his other patients.

I couldn't believe it, when he said that he wanted to refer some of his patients to MFP. I told him, "Tell them to come to MFP and become my friends so I can encourage them too."

I learned some facts about my future today. My handsome (Yep. He's a cutie.) surgeon said that I still had be 200 pounds or less, before he can refer me to folks who schedule the surgeries. Yes...2 surgeries...right knee first; then, the left knee will follow a few months later. Rats! I was hoping to get them both on the same day; but the surgeon knows best. :ohwell:

Okay, I won't be getting my knees tomorrow or even next month; but today, I am a happy lady. I am now so thin that my under panties are falling down; and I had to buy some that are 2 sizes smaller. I have a handsome surgeon who is prepared to give me 2 new knees which will give me back my mobility. He said that I will be able to give away my wheelchair with those new knees.

Sure...I know that there will be pain with recovery, but it will be so worth it. I will have my life back. I will be able to walk my dog, ride around on a grannie trike and do so many things that I couldn't do for so long.

I am a very lucky lady. I will have a future that I couldn't have had, if I continued to weigh 280+ pounds. I owe some of that success to the wonderful people on MFP. You have encouraged and inspired me. You have made me wiser about food and fitness. You have shown me that I too can enter Onederland someday...real soon. :happy: