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I want to offer a special thanks to Kera
Wilson. Here is her story:
My name is Kera Wilson and I had gastric bypass
surgery. I am 35 years old and can truly say I am blessed and so
very fortunate that I was able to have this surgery 3 1/2 years
ago.
My story begins like this. As a child, I grew
up with deaf parents who were divorced by the time I was 4. My 2
sisters and I lived with my Dad. Our grandmother played a huge role
in raising us and if it were not for her, we would not have known
the values and morals that we all have. Unfortunately all of us
were abused by one member of our family or another and all of us
wound up being overweight.
At 14 I started slimming
down but never had any boyfriends to speak of until I hit my
15th year. I met my first true love. He was the first person who
made me feel pretty and appreciated. Too bad he lived 2 states
away though! I met my husband shortly after I broke up with my
first true love.
I was pregnant at the age of 15 and married my
husband on July 5th which was my 16th birthday also. This is not
something I suggest any 16 year old do. After I had my first
daughter, I gained about 60 pounds and didn't have the desire to do
much about it. I was beginning to fall into a depression and did
not know it.
While living across the country with my husband
it was revealed that my sisters had also been abused and then the
depression really set in. I started some counseling in Indiana but
did not feel it was doing much to help. After a year or so, I felt
like I needed to move back home so I came back to Oklahoma to live
with my grandmother. Soon my husband followed and we wound up
moving to Nebraska where my Dad was living at the time. That only
lasted about 3 months then back to Oklahoma we came. I was pregnant
with my second child and I was only 18.
After the birth of my second daughter, I had
gained another 70 + pounds and depression was hitting me hard. We
moved to Wichita Falls TX and our life really began. I was 200
pounds and suicidal. I finally began counseling with a wonderful
counselor and started getting to the root of things. After 2 years
of therapy, I was on my road to recovery.
I started working for Blue Cross & Blue Shield
of Texas in 1998. This was my first real job that made me feel
worthy of even having. I made a really great friend while I was
there and in 2003, she decided to have gastric bypass surgery. I
watched her for several months and talked with her daily to see how
her progress was and how she was doing. I had heard so many bad
stories about the surgery I was afraid for her life! She recovered
so very well and so I began to pray about it.
I was now 250 pounds and miserable. I would
not go out in public after work, and I didn't want to deal with the
comments and looks. My husband and I were not doing well at all. I
couldn't exercise very much because I had serious low back problems
and I had tried every diet known to man.
I had gotten a new job that paid me almost
double what Blue Cross was paying me and that made me feel
wonderful!!! While at work one day I was praying about having the
surgery and I heard God’s voice tell me, “It's going to be fine.”
That was all I needed. I went to see Dr. Warnock and scheduled my
surgery for Feb 27th, 2004. It was exactly 6 months to
the day that my friend had her surgery.
I began exercising prior to surgery so that I
would be able to exercise after. After surgery, I was able to get up
and walk every hour without the nurses telling me to and I never got
sick and threw up after I got home. My Pastor came to see me while
I was in the hospital and he was amazed at how well I looked. He
said I didn't even look like I had just had surgery! That was most
certainly God on my side lending me his divine strength and
healing. I stuck to the rules with the help of God and lost 100
pounds!!!
My marriage is wonderful now. I have a great
husband who loved me through it all and stuck with me through all of
my "stuff." I now have no problem with going out in public and
doing things with my family. My husband and I have started dating
again on Friday or Saturday nights and it is wonderful!!! Our 2
girls are just about grown, one is 18 and the other will be 16 on
Sept. 6th.
I have been promoted to management and feel
very confident in myself these days. Had I not had surgery, I never
would have dreamed of taking the management position. It is such a
good feeling to walk down the halls and hold my head up and greet
people while looking them in the eye! I will NEVER walk with my
head hung down again. I am a good person and worthy of looking
people in the face! It is amazing what weight will do to a person's
self esteem and confidence. Never again will I allow myself to feel
the way I did at 250 pounds.
Gastric bypass surgery saved my life and my
marriage. Of course God gets all the glory for my success and Dr.
Warnock gets my thanks and appreciation for allowing God to use him
to make me a success in every aspect of my life!
Sincerely,
Kera Wilson
koleta72@yahoo.com
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Congratulations Kera |
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