 Hi, YouTube family. I promised everybody that I would be bringing you an update on my health, my decision of whether or not to have bariatric surgery and going forward from here. So that is what this is. This video is all about my bariatric surgery, when it's going to be, what I am discovering as I'm preparing for that. And I wanted to make sure that I told you guys everything that is going on. I want to share this journey completely with you guys because I'm scared. I'm happy. I'm worried. I'm all of those ball of nerve things, anxious, everything rolled into one. And I'm finding that each day I'm a little bit more excited, but each day I'm a little bit more apprehensive too. It's a big change. It's a huge life changing decision. And I haven't taken it lightly. And I know so many of you reached out to in my original video. And I thank you so much for all of your input. This is not something that I have stepped into lightly. Some people said that they were really upset that I had made this decision, but this is a decision that I had to make for myself. So originally I was going to go with the gastric sleeve, but after I consulted with my doctor and after reading about all of the things about them, I decided that because of my age and because of some other factors that the gastric bypass was going to be better for me. So I am going with the gastric bypass, which is where they bypass small part of your small intestine, which is yes, it's a little bit more drastic. Yes, it does carry a tiny bit more risk, but it it's only a 0.01% more risk than the gastric sleeve. If you are, if you are in fairly good health, which I am, I don't have any of my organs compromised. I don't have any immune system compromises. So going forward, it was just the best choice for me. I researched it like crazy. And then my husband and I came to the conclusion that it was probably the best thing for me. One of the reasons is that a lot of the people that have had the sleeve talk about the very bad heartburn that they get and the very bad regurg that they get and that it really has caused them a lot of problems. And down the road that they have even decided to have it transitioned into a bypass. So I just, I'm too old to go through this twice. I just want to go through it one time and that's it. Okay. So let's get down to the nitty gritty of what's going to happen. My surgery is on July 1st. I'm filming this on Monday, two weeks before. So it's 14 days from today. I am hyper sensitive about everything right now. I, for the past two weeks, since I made the decision of the date, I had, you know, two a month before I even made the video for you guys. I had decided, but as soon as I became a month, I became really, um, really teary. And I just everything that happens seems like a bigger deal and kind of like reflective, I guess, of what my life has been. And then I also have my son that lives in Florida and he has a new wife and I haven't even met her yet. And I just feel like I wish that he was here closer. And then of course I have my parents that live about 700, 600, 700 miles away. And I did go see them. So I'm feeling really very reflective and really like I just want to cherish these people in my life and have them as close as I possibly can right now, because it is such a huge decision. And maybe I'd be in a total baby, probably because I'm usually a baby about everything, but it's, it seems to me like it's so life changing and so different that I just want to have that, you know, that big cocoon around me, that big worm blanket around me and people that I love and people that love me. So that's been one of the things that I've found. Um, the other thing is that I'm really settled about the surgery. I'm not worried about complications or anything like that. I've, you know, done enough research and done enough, um, investigating and talked enough to different health care professionals that I'm not worried about that. I don't like being put out. Um, that is one of the things that not because of the risk factor, just I don't like the feeling. I have had three cesareans and I had an appendectomy and each time I just don't like that feeling of losing control and going out without it, you know, just falling asleep. So that's kind of unnerving to me. And I do get really nauseated and I know that there's stuff that they give you now for that. So I get really nauseated after I wake up. So I'm a little worried about that. Let's see. Before I even talk to you guys, um, so I said that I had decided to do the surgery. I had started to go on the bariatric program. And so to date, I've lost 26 pounds, which is really great. And I feel really good about that. I'm going to continue on this. I have a really much more strict diet for the next two weeks. And then three days before I go on a completely clear liquid diet. And then of course you quit eating, you know, the day of surgery, the day before surgery, blah, blah, blah at midnight. And so all of this preparatory work that you do, it makes me feel a lot better about what's going to happen. So I will tell you that it is really, really hard to stick with that. I have found that even, you know, being on that, there was plateaus in there. And then these last two weeks, I'm really trying very hard to be very good about everything that I put into my mouth, drinking the water, taking the supplements. That's the other thing that you have to do. You have to make sure that you go on all of these supplements so that you do not experience any malnutrition later on, um, after the surgery. And you have to be on these supplements for the rest of your life. I'm excited about the weight loss that I've done so far. So, and I'm even excited about how much it has decreased my pain and helped me. So for the next little while going forward, I have two weeks until the surgery and then probably two weeks after, I'm only going to be putting up one to two videos a week, whereas I was doing, you know, very strict three a week. So I'm thinking right now, Mondays and Thursdays. And then if there are weeks when I really can only do one, it will be Thursdays. The other thing I'm going to try to do is I'm going to try and keep you updated as much as possible in the hospital. Now Bill's going to be with me, of course, and I'm just going to have him do some filming here and there. And then I'll decide what I do and what I don't want seen of that. I do want you guys to see, you know, the, the before the excitement, the frustration, whatever it is. Cause I want to share that with you guys and you guys know that I love to do that. If you guys do have any questions about anything, please leave them in the comment section below. But I do ask you guys, please be respectful. I know that there are so many of you that have done weight loss on your own. And I couldn't be happier for you, but I hope that you can respect that this is a decision that I have not come to lightly. I would never decide to do something like this lightly. I've been thinking about doing this for years and it's just come to the point to where I'm able to do it. So I just ask that you be respectful and understand that not everybody's on the same playing field. Not everybody has the same attitudes about different things. And that when one, something works for one person, it might not work for another person. I don't mind other opinions. That doesn't bother me. I, I, I really love the input, but it's when somebody gets combative that it really is destructive. I had so much anxiety in that original video and trying to sort through. I read every single comment. It took me days and days and days to read every single comment. Some of you were there that had had this all done before. Some of you were there that had had success and some were, were there that had really bad experience with it and have, are having bad experiences later on. There were some that should never have had it done. There were people that want to have it done. They're people that, you know, it was just this vast array and I love hearing from you guys, but I'll be a hundred percent honest with you. It was so hard at that juncture where I was, even though I'd made the decision and I was really comfortable with the decision to read everything that came in. Cause I think I got over a thousand comments on that video to read everything that came in. The majority was love and positivity and wonderful, wonderful people and my family that I share all this with, but there was a lot of things that I just couldn't read and just couldn't, you know, couldn't handle at that point. So I'm just asking that everybody just respect everybody in this forum right here cause this is a touchy subject. This is dealing with not only people's lives and, you know, life and death situation, but this is also dealing with the way you feel about yourself and whether, you know, your and your own self-worth, your own ego, which is a very negative word, but really being self-assured is about having a little bit of an ego. I think I'm going to do one more video next week so that you guys know, and then I probably won't see you again till after this surgery that I'll be prerecorded, but I love you very much. You all take care of yourself. I'm wishing you all wonderful health and happiness, and I'll see you in my very next video. I love you. Bye bye.