Weight loss

LeyAnn,
The best place to stay is the Hampton Inn located at 1940 Edwards Lake Road just
off I-459 (Edwards Lake Road Exit 32 Trussville) and its at the bottom of the
hill from MCE. They even offer a MCE discount. The number is (205) 655-9777 (and
ask for the MCE discount) I had happy relatives that stayed there during my
hospital stay and they loved it.
Hope you enjoyed the "YardBird"
Your in my prayers, it won't be long now!
"The ChanMan"

Hello everyone just had a a quick for anyone out there who has had these old JP
Tubes. When or is there a normal time that they come out? Cause they are getten
on my last nerve . If anyone else has had them please let me know. Dr. Miles
told me that he was going to leave them in as long as they were needed. I might
just have to get up in the GREAT!!!! doctors face and tell him we can just take
it outside.HA!HA!. You know he has done so much for all of us that I would be
just like everyone else and lower my head and say YES SIR!. He is wonderful. All
of us Sassy women. See ya, DWILLIAMS

I have mentioned several times about how just suddenly I have noticed
all kinds of animals in places I had never seen them before, like
beavers, armadillos, and so on. I just got back from a run out to Serra
Mitsubishi for a part for "Monty" and as I was going down Edwards Lake
Road headed towards the hospital (MCE) I saw a dead animal on the
shoulder of the road. It was a cat, a really big cat, with real funny
markings, almost as big as a dog. I turned around in the intersection
where you would turn to go up to the hospital and headed back for
another look. This time I stopped and got out for a look. From across
the street I could easily see the spots on it's belly and I knew
instantly what "type" of cat this was. It was a BOBCAT! And probably a
good 30+ pounds too. About 3 and a half feet long. This kitty has been
eating well. A shame that it had been hit by a car. I called Ruffner
Mountain Nature Center to see if they wanted to come pick it up and have
it mounted as an educational display. It would truly be a shame if such
a beautiful animal was tossed into a ditch.
Now, why am I telling all of y'all about a dead Bobcat. Because all of
this "get your butt off the couch and point yourself to the great
outdoors" that I have been talking up here (4 Wheeling, GeoCaching, etc)
will put you right in Mr. Bobcat's living room. Mr. Bear, Mr. Coyote
and Mr. Mountain Lion also live out there where I'm talking about going.
So I just wanted to remind you that if I can find a Bobcat next door
to MCE, then there's a pretty good chance of finding something equally
as wild out in the real woods when your out there GeoCaching, Metal
Detecting or 4 Wheeling so keep your eyes and ears open when enjoying
all that life has to offer.
And now that I think about it, where the Bobcat had been hit was right
across the street from that park. And I see a lot of little children
playing there when I drive by it. Mostly unsupervised too.
Tim.

Hey everyone,
I haven't posted since my surgery on 8-20. I have lost 57 lbs and I
am having a time keeping clothes that fit me. I don't have the money
to go out and buy clothes every couple of weeks, since I am a stay at
home mom. I am now in a 16/18 and was wondering if anyone had any
clothes that I could borrow. I also have some bigger clothes that
someone can have if they want them.
Thanks,
Jodi Wilson

Dear Group,
I am 12 weeks out and am wondering if I am "on track". I am very
happy with a weight loss of over 50 lbs.
So far, I can still only tolerate very, very small amounts of solid
foods (one or two spoonfuls). I am consuming mostly soft foods such
as refried beans, creamed potatoes, yogurt, puddng, etc. Most of
the time, I feel nauseaus after eating anything. I am torn between
knowing that I should consume something and not wanting anything. I
have been rereading all my literature about newly post op. I am
trying to be compliant about everything. I guess I just feel a
little lost. So many thngs that I enjoyed immediately after surgery
are no longer tolerable, such as grits and scrambled eggs. My taste
seems to be changing all the time. Is this just a normal part of
learning to live RNY? How long does it take to reach a stable eating
routine? I feel basically OK but do get a little tired during the
day. I am not consuming the full 64 grams of protein or 64 ozs of
water but I am trying. I get my vitamins and calcium during the day
(most days).
A little reassurance would be a good thing. Thanks in advance.
Brenda

Is there any Woman out there in need of a Christmas sweater in a size 22W? If so I have one that I am willing to give away just email me.
Love,
Robin

Hey, Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much. Now everyone can go shop for those SMALLER clothes. Hope everyone is staying warm enough. It is cold down here in North Alabama. HAHA Talk to all of you later. Melissa

Wow, Just 4 more days and wake up for me. Please keep me in your
prayers. I am getting nervous. any words of advice from any of you
old pro's? Thanks,Renee

Hey everyone!! Hope you all had a Happy Turkey day! I know I did...it
was my last one before my surgery so i ate ate ate!!!! I have a
question for all of you Birmingham people OR for anyone very familiar
with the area around MCE...we are planning on staying in Bham the
night before my surgery(WHICH IS ONE WEEK FROM MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
and are looking for a hotel in the area. If any of you could help me
out with a few names and phone #'s if you have them I would GREATLY
appreciate it!!!!!! Talk to you all soon!!!
LeyAnn Bennett

OK, Alabama lost to Auburn. There I said it. 2002 is their year in the
sun. Joy and Caitlin even managed to blow my new ALABAMA window flag of
of The Mighty Mighty GeoVan as they flew from one "Day After T-Day Sale"
to another the other day. I didn't even own it 24 hours <sniff
So, to show y'all that I can admit defeet, I share this picture with you
showing that the victory even made it to the War Eagle fans in the
deserts of the middle east.
Tim.

Cait and I were spending obscene amounts of money at Bruno's this
evening when I looked up and spotted Connie Glen coming around the
corner. She looked great! I asked how Jailbyrd Joe was doing and she
told me he was up at the Video store so I ran up the hill to see him
with my own two baby blue eyes. And man did he look good, looked like
he was 10 years younger! Said he was still feeling "funny" on the
inside, but it took Joy a good 6-8 weeks to get past the "funny"
feeling. Said he was eating ok, but was still feeling a little weak and
run down. He said he had a little yard bird on T-Day and enjoyed it.
It was good to see him out and about and it's always good to see
Connie's smiling face!
Tim.

how is everyone doing? great i hope. i'm excited about the Christmas
party i can't wait. you know us girls we like to dress up and this is
my only time of the year to do the dress up thing so i really look
forward to these events. i hope everyone is doing ok. see you all
soon.
love ya,
jennifer

http://www.petitiononline.com/07221976/petition.html
The update on the petition to try to make it a law that insurance
companies cover WLS is that there are now 3703 signatures for the
petition. Shawna Greenway <shawna_izme@...
petition says in the description of the petition that she will send it
to "all the congressman and to the President once I have gotten 1000
entries". I wonder if it loaded up with names faster than she thought
it would. 1000 is impressive, but 10,000, now that's really impressive.
Maybe she'll hold out on sending it until she gets 10k. At this rate
it won't take long. If you haven't yet signed the petition, AND you
agree with it, follow the above link and go cast your vote.
Tim.

Straight from the cat's mouth, and I couldn't have said it better!
Tim.

http://www.smilebug.com/scratch-sniff.shtml
A recent breakthrough in internet technology has now enabled "Scratch &
Sniff" to come to your monitor. Just go to the above link and follow
the on screen instructions.
Tim.

Hey all this is LeyAnn I am at my parents for a visit and needed to
ask a question....can anyone tell me where is the best place to stay
as far as hotels go near MCE? We are planning on staying the night
before my surgery and would like to stay near MCE at a hotel such as
Holiday Inn or Ramada. Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!!! I
know I did...it was my last one before surgery! My surgery is now 9
days away...one week from Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to hear from some
of you Bhammers soon!!!!!!!!!
LeyAnn

Has anyone had a revision from a RNY to another RNY?
My RNY was 9 years ago. My pouch stretched out and my stoma
stretched out. I stared gaining weight after losing 150 lbs after
about 4 years from surgery. I am still 60 lbs less than my highest
but don't seem to be able to lose no matter what I do.
I have insurance approval for a revision of my past RNY to another
RNY but have been reading about the BPD DS. I can't find a Dr. in
Alabama that does the BPD DS. Does anyone know of a DR. that will do
a revision in Alabama either to a BPD DS or to another RNY? I have
approval for a Dr. in Atlanta - just trying to check on some
alternatives.
I am very interested of experiences anyone has had of a revision from
RNY to another RNY.
Please reply
George

Just got this from the BJCC about their new Handicap Access Ramp and
thought I'd pass it along for any of you "wheelers" out there.
Tim.
BJCC Adds Handicap Accessibility
The BJCC recently completed the construction of a handicap accessible
ramp connecting the north side of the piazza to the Box Office breezeway
at the Arena. The project is part of the BJCC's yearlong $8.5 million
capital improvements program and an effort to increase the facility's
accessibility for people with disabilities.
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
2100 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N Birmingham, AL 35203
Phone: 205-458-8400 or 1-877-THE-BJCC
Fax: 205-458-8737 E-Mail: info@...
www.bjcc.org
Copyright © 2002 Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
All Rights Reserved.

Hi,
Wes Here with an update from Angelville, sorry Wendy, it's a little late.
Just wanted to let you all know that Wendy M. is out of the hospital and doing well at home..
If you want to send her well wishes her e-mail address is chrisnwendy221@...
Congats Wendy and Welcome to the other side, We love ya.
Wes and Lisa

'Twas the night before Christmas,
And all through the trails,
A Red Montero was stranded,
His progress like snails.
He had no shovels,
No rope and no winch,
No CB, no cell-phone,
To get out of his pinch.
When out from a mud pit,
There arose such a clatter;
All the other 'wheelers came running
To see what was the matter.
I saw some poor Red Montero
All covered in crud;
He had blown his motor
Getting free of the mud.
As he stood there I noticed
His glowing red face,
And I knew in an instant
He wanted out of this place.
I glanced at his roof,
It was all I could see;
He pleaded for help
From my winch and from me.
So I sprang to the front
Of my trusty old Zuki,
Spooled out the winch cable,
Said "Hook 'er up, Stupi!"
He went for a swim
In the watery hell,
And I laughed as he turned brown,
And started to smell.
He hooked up the cable
To his buried front hook,
I put a coat on the line
Like it says in the book.
I winched him out quickly,
A very fast session;
And I charged him a C-note,
To teach him a lesson.
I then drove my Zuk through
The same mud and same muck;
No problem for me,
Cause I had a REAL truck!
I rolled down my window
As I drove out of sight,
And smugly yelled "Next time TIM,
Stay home Christmas night!"

Hello everyone this is Denise Williams. Had my surgery 11-26-02,
got to come home 11-28-02. I still have those darn drain tubes,YUK!.
I go back to see Dr. Miles in one week maybe he will yank those
things out. I'm having a little bit of discomfort but other wise O.K.
I'm just glad to be home to sleep in my own bed. Thanks Tim for
coming by, it really meant a lot. Also thanks to Debbie my Angel you
have been a great help. I've now crossed over to the (LOOSING) side.
Keep me in your prayers its been ok so far.Thanks to you all
DWILLIAMS

~~~~HI~~~~!!!!!!
HAPPY THANKSGVING TO EVERYONE!!!!
LOVE KRISTY

First, A Happy Thanksgiving wish for you and yours from all of your WLS
friends down here!
And... Are you still with Amtrak? If so, I need to pick your brain a
little. I am putting together a national Jeep "Run to the Sun 2003"
heading to Puerto Vallarta Mexico slated for early spring 2003 and we
are going to need to ship vehicles and people from all over the country
and would like to use Amtrak. Now I know that moving people is Amtrak's
specialty, but I thought you also might have some knowledge about who we
needed to talk to about shipping our vehicles down there by rail??? And
do you know if there's anyway we can get a special rate from Amtrak for
this event? I'm looking at 1000 to 3000 people headed to Puerto
Vallarta and back in a week. Any light you could shine would really
help. Thanks!
Tim.
Also anyone else have experiences or ideas about shipping vehicles to
Mexico by rail or flatbed tractor trailer???

Has anyone heard from Avis A.K.A Pop-Tart? I haven't heard from her
in a long time...... I saw her at the last Sat. meeting and thats the
last time I've seen her. She had been sick so I'm hope she's ok I've
emailed her SEVERAL times and gotten no response. If anyones heard
from her please let me know I'm kind of getting worried about her.
Thanks Jennifer
Date of Surgery (such great words) Jan. 15, 2003 Dr. Gleysteen UAB

All my dear loving friends HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY
THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Mickie
286/213

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Meredith and I have now
6 weeks post op. Dr. Tim Christopher did my Lap Rny at Shelby on
October 16. My husband had his surgery 2 weeks ago. We are both
doing great and I would like to become more involved in a support
group. I stumbled onto your site and thought I would visit.
Forgot to mention, I'm already down 43 pounds and loving every minute
of it.
Talk to ya later!
Meredith

Greetings!
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Hope everyone can see these, I wasn't sure how to
attached these cartoons!

One mo day Niesy Poo! You doing OK? We're planning a "Welcome to the
other side Denise Williams" party for tomorrow morning at MCE. I'll be
up there about 8:am in the cafeteria, and others have also dedicated
their morning to meeting you on the other side, so you'll have a lot of
happy friendly faces (besides your husbands of course) waiting to see ya
when you step across the line to the "Loosing side of life". I don't
know what time your surgery is scheduled, but tell your folks they can
find me either in the cafeteria, the 3rd floor atrium area, or the
smoking hole at the end of the hall where you have to check in. And
they can spot me because I'll be wearing a neon orange sweatshirt.
I know today is also bowel prep day, so I hope you actually get to spend
some time sitting at the computer in addition to all the other "sitting"
on your agenda for today. You got a bunch of friends that'll be there
for you tomorrow, and we can't wait to see you on the "post-op" list!
Love and Huggies,
Tim.

I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL BEST MOST BEAUTIFUL 3 WORDS THAT HAVE EVER
COME OUT OF MY MOUTH TO TELL EVERYONE
I HAVE A DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ITS JAN. 15TH AT UAB WITH DR. GLEYSTEEN........ ALL I
CAN SAY IS GOD IS SO AWSOME PRAISE HIS NAME IS ALL I CAN SAY THANK
YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME
I'M SO HAPPY I'M ABOUT TO BOUNCE OFF THE WALLS.. I LOVE YOU ALL.
JENNIFER MITCHELL

Dear Friends,
IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE BACK ONLINE! Actually I'm only on a borrowed computer
but it still feels good!
For those of you who missed WESDAY last Saturday......it was a rousing success.
It was just wonderful to be able to show Wes how much we appreciate him. For
those of you who missed it, we were able to give him a gift certificate for a
suit, shirt, tie, belt and socks. When he's finally ready to go out and make
the world a better place for people like us. I have no doubt that he'll CHANGE
THE WORLD!!!
HO HO HO - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
2002 F.A.C.E.S. of WLS Christmas Party
December 21st at 3:00
A fun time will be had by all. We're asking each family to bring a dish
(nothing HOT - as in needing to be plugged in to be kept warm - spicy is o.k.)
We just want finger foods and we'll enjoy nibbling. ONE OF OUR GUESTS IS
ALLERGIC TO ANY TYPE OF SEAFOOD INCLUDING TUNA, CRAB, ETC. PLEASE DO NOT BRING
DISHES INCLUDING THESE INGREDIENTS. We will also be playing Dirty Santa again
(only this year we'll be having a "3 Steal Limit" to prevent the flashlight
wars!) The gift limit for Dirty Santa is $15.00 so we know everyone will get a
nice gift. You must bring a gift to be able to play. Women bring women's gifts
and men bring men's gifts. Each gift must be wrapped and the tag should only
say MAN or WOMAN. Please keep gift prices as close to $15.00 as possible so
everyone will get comparable gifts. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!!! This
party is not the best environment for small children therefore we would ask that
you find sitters for your little ones. They'll have more fun and you'll enjoy
having a day out!
Good info for gastric bypass patients from SPOTLIGHTHEALTH.com about B-12
Vitamin B12
October 1, 2002 - Sally Myers, RD, CPT
B12 or cobalamin is a water-soluble vitamin. It helps maintain healthy nerve
cells and red blood cells as well as assisting in making DNA. The Roux-en-Y
gastric bypass (RYGB) transects or partitions off the lower stomach. The first
one to four feet of intestine is also bypassed in a proximal/medial RYGB
depending on the surgeon. In a distal RYGB, typically the last four feet or less
of intestine (ileum) is left to absorb nutrients. The biliopancreatic
diversion/duodenal switch (BPD/DS) leaves more of the stomach and the pyloric
sphincter muscle in the stomach intact, but also only leaves four feet or less
of small intestine left to absorb nutrients. This is somewhat simplified as the
alimentary limb (where the food goes down) also absorbs some nutrients as well
as the common channel.
The process of B12 absorption is as follows. Hydrochloric acid and pepsin
released in the stomach are needed to separate B12 from protein. After the B12
is separated from protein, it attaches to R-binder proteins found in saliva and
gastric juice. Next, pancreatic enzymes in the upper small intestine release the
B12 from the R-binder proteins. The B12 then binds to intrinsic factor and is
carried away to the distal ileum where it is absorbed. When part of the stomach
is removed or partitioned off, cells are loss that secrete stomach acid and
intrinsic factor.
Bypassing the upper part of the intestine can also interfere with the mechanism
of B12 absorption as well as H2 blockers taken for treating stomal ulcers after
RYGB and rapid transit time of nutrients. Other issues that can decrease
absorption of B12 are inflammation of the stomach or intestine and excess
bacteria in the stomach and small intestine.
Lack of intrinsic factor can lead to pernicious anemia which can result in
permanent nerve damage if not treated. Pernicious anemia is a chronic condition
that must be treated for life, usually with an intramuscular injection that goes
directly into the bloodstream. B12 can also be absorbed via the mucous membranes
of the nose or under the tongue to the bloodstream so these are also other
viable ways of treating anemia in some individuals.
Clinical signs of B12 deficiency may include fatigue, weakness, nausea,
constipation, gas, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Other physical signs are
numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, difficulty in maintaining balance,
depression, confusion, poor memory, and soreness of the mouth or tongue. Some of
these symptoms can also result from a variety of other medical conditions so it
is important to see your surgeon and discuss these issues should they arise. The
Schilling test may be used to determine problems of intrinsic factor
availability. Most surgeons are monitoring B12. If yours is not, you may want to
urge him/her to do so.
The DRI for B12 is 2.4 mcg (micrograms) for men and women. In a study by Rhode,
Tamim, Gilfix et al., it was found that it took a minimum of 350 mcg of oral
crystalline B12 daily to sustain normal levels of B12 in 95% of RYGB patients.
B12 is an unusual vitamin in that you actually store a yearâs supply or more.
Many patients donât tolerate or eat foods high in B12 after bariatric surgery
so their stores slowly dwindle along with the lack of absorption caused by the
surgeries. It may not be possible to get enough B12 from food after surgery
again because of the interference in the absorption process and lack of gastric
juice and intrinsic factor. Deficiency may not show up for to two years or more
after surgery depending on the personâs nutrition status before surgery.
Vitamin C in doses of 500 mg or more, taken with meals or up to one hour after a
meal, may diminish B12 availability from food or destroy the vitamin.
The normal range for serum B12 is 250 to 900 pg/ml, the range will vary
depending on which lab your blood work is sent to. Anything under 160 is
considered critical. B12 has no known toxicity level but there is no reason to
have levels way over 900 either. B12 levels should be checked pre and
post-operatively to make sure patients stay within their usual range if it was
acceptable pre-surgery.
Some food sources of B12 are as follows: 3 ounces of beef liver, 60 mcg, ¾ cup
of 100% fortified breakfast cereal, 6 mcg, 3 ounces of cooked rainbow trout, 5.3
mcg, 3 ounces of cooked beef, 2.1 mcg, 3 ounces of canned water packed tuna, .9
mcg, 1 cup of milk, .9 mcg, 3 ounces of cooked pork, .6 mcg, 1 egg, .5 mcg, 1
ounce of American cheese, .4 mcg, and 3 ounces of cooked chicken, .3 mcg.
In general, vitamin/mineral supplements should dissolve easily and be consumed
with food so absorption and toleration will be greater. Smaller doses taken more
often are more effective than one large dose as only 10 to 30% of any food or
supplement consumed is absorbed at one time.
Loose powder, liquid, soft-gel caps or quick dissolving tablets usually allow
for greatest absorption. Chelated minerals are best absorbed. When minerals are
chelated, they are bound to other substances to aid in absorption. The highest
absorption substances are malate, ethanolamine phosphate, ascorbate, citrate,
fumarate, peptonate, succinate, lysinate, glycerate, picolinate, and acetate.
Moderately high absorption substances are amino acid chelates, aspartate,
chloride, sulfate, gluconate, and phosphate. Lowest absorbing are carbonate and
oxide. Synthetic is fine as the cost of natural vitamins is usually too
expensive. One exception is Vitamin E. Use the d form, not the dl. Synthetic
fat-soluble vitamins are difficult for the liver to break down and utilize.
Supplements should be used under medical supervision. A typical schedule for
labs is every three months the first year, twice the second year, then on an
annual basis after the first two years post-operatively to monitor nutrition
status. It is important that patients take their supplements as directed and
follow-up with their surgical team to optimize their health and surgical
outcome.
What do you think of the recent lawsuit with McDonalds? Personally I think it's
a little ridiculous. How can parents sue McDonalds for their children being
obese after they ate McDonalds "every single day"? Sounds to me like these
folks need some assistance with their parenting skills! It makes for good
discussion though. Let me know what you think!
DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR GOODIE BAG SUPPLIES TO THE NEXT MEETINGS! THIS IS A
FUN PROGRAM AND FOLKS REALLY APPRECIATE THE STUFF! YOU CAN BRING
NON-PERISHABLE, GASTRIC BYPASS APPROPRIATE ITEMS TO THE SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS
AND WE'LL MAKE GOODIE BAGS TO GIVE TO FOLKS AT THE MEETING BEFORE THEY HAVE
THEIR SURGERY!
ARE YOU SIGNED UP TO BE AN ANGEL? DO YOU NEED AN ANGEL? AN ANGEL IS A SURGERY
"BUDDY". A PERSON WHO CAN TALK TO YOU WHEN YOU'RE NERVOUS, HELP YOU FIGURE
THINGS OUT, GIVE YOU A HUG WHEN YOU NEED IT AND BASICALLY JUST LOOK OUT FOR YOU
DURING YOUR JOURNEY! IF YOU'RE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE ANGEL PROGRAM YOU'RE
REALLY MISSING OUT! CONTACT THE ANGEL COORDINATOR, Lisa Robbins, AT:
FOWLSANGEL@...
TO SIGN UP FOR THE PROGRAM. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
According to USA Today...........
Bariatric surgery emerges as drastic remedy for obese kidsCHICAGO (AP) â
Drastic surgery for obesity, once viewed as suitable only for adults, is
emerging as an option for children, a new pediatrics report says. Courtney
Dunham, a high school senior, listens to instructions during band practice.
After numerous attempts at dieting Dunham chose gastric bypass surgery to lose
weight.
Al Behrman, AP
Whether gastric bypass surgery, which shrinks the stomach from the size of a
football to the size of an egg, might have long-term side effects for youngsters
is unknown. But with childhood obesity reaching pandemic proportions, some
families and their doctors see it as the only effective solution. Researchers
also haven't determined what age and weight a youngster should be before
surgery, or whether the surgery, which can result in nutritional deficiencies in
adults, could interfere with a child's use of bone-building calcium, said
authors of a report in November's issue of Pediatrics. Youngsters in one recent
study who underwent gastric bypass were 15 to 17 years old, a time when peak
bone mass is occurring, said the authors, Dr. Sue Y.S. Kimm of the University of
Pittsburgh and researcher Eva Obarzanek of the National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute. Because childhood obesity is so pervasive â about 15% of youngsters
are severely overweight or obese â more research "is urgently needed," they
said. Doctors say demand is strong, bolstered in part by famous patients like
pop singer Carnie Wilson, who dropped from about 300 pounds to 148 after an
Internet-broadcast surgery in 1999, at age 31. Most of the more than 100,000
people who are likely to have the surgery this year are adults, said Dr. Walter
Pories, president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. He has no exact
figures on how many children have undergone obesity surgery, but in an informal
survey of 600 group members earlier this year, about 10 said they had done
surgeries on children, all with positive results. Some doctors cringe at the
thought of subjecting youngsters to elective surgery that's so extreme. "People
change their habits. Doing something in the first 20 years that can affect you
for the next 50 years ... ethically it's very hard to justify that," said Dr.
Timothy Sentongo, a gastrointestinal specialist at Chicago's Children's Memorial
Hospital. For some children who have exercised and dieted to no avail, surgery
is the only alternative, said Dr. Henry Buchwald, a University of Minnesota
surgeon who has done obesity operations on 18 youngsters under age 18. "Their
life is turned around from being ridiculed at school to living a normal child's
life," he said. Ideally, patients should have achieved their maximum growth,
said Buchwald, though his youngest was a 13-year-old who was about 150 pounds
overweight. Families should be told about surgery consequences, which may
include malnutrition and gallstones. "They're going to have to restrict their
eating behavior or they'll just vomit and be uncomfortable," he said. Ohio
teenager Courtney Dunham says the risks were worth it. The high school senior
says she has been teased since kindergarten, when a classmate said she triggered
earthquakes when she walked. Before her Aug. 2 surgery, she weighed 329 pounds
â at 5-feet-3-inches, nearly 200 pounds overweight. So far she's shed 40
pounds, with no side effects. Her goal is to fit into size 16 jeans. "It was a
pretty big step, but ... it was the right thing to do," she said. Her family is
prone to obesity and associated ailments like diabetes and heart disease, and
Courtney knew she was pushing her luck. The doctors assured her that her biggest
concern â that surgery might rule out eventual motherhood â was unfounded.
So shortly after her 18th birthday, she underwent a two-hour gastric bypass, the
most common type of bariatric surgery, in which a small stomach pouch is created
by stitching the stomach's upper portion closed. The intestine is redirected to
attach to the pouch and to bypass a portion of the small intestine that normally
absorbs nutrients. The operation results in weight loss by reducing food intake
and nutrient absorption. Courtney is now required to eat no more than a cup of
food a few times daily, but must avoid sugar, which can cause symptoms including
nausea, rapid heartbeat and stomach bleeding after the surgery. Dr. Victor
Garcia, who runs the program with Dr. Thomas Inge, has done similar operations
on about six youngsters; four more are scheduled for surgery this month. Not
every obese youngster is a candidate, Garcia said. "We have refused a number of
patients for whom we felt the family would not be supportive," he said. "It's
challenging because most parents are overweight along with the child."
Well folks, that's it for today. Remember to tell Wes and Lisa THANKS for
letting me use thier computer so I could send you this email so you'd know to
come to the Christmas party.
OH AND DON'T FORGET THAT WE HAVE A MEETING ON MONDAY (DAY AFTER TOMORROW) AT
6:00. WE'LL HAVE PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS AVAILABLE TOO!!
I appreciate you all and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am so
thankful for friends like you!
Love and Hugs,
Rona
Your Bari-Godmother

Denise Williams is on slated for getting a new WLS life on Tuesday, so
that leaves....WHO ELSE?
And for the Denise Williams support team and MCE Party Animals...
I'll be up there about 8:am, in my neon ORANGE sweatshirt. No, I didn't
loose a bet, I happen to like orange, just not on football jerseys thank
you very much. Congrats to all the Auburn fans out there, the next 365
day are all yours! It's the 366th you have to worry about.
See all of you there in the morning!
Go Support Teams!
Tim.

I just talked to Lynda and she is doing great after her cancer surgery.
I think she was pleased with everything that was done and she just got
her stitches out last Friday and I think she still has some swelling and
bruising to contend with but hopefully she'll be back to herself in no
time at all. I told her about Monday's evening meeting and told her to
bring her black and blue smile our way cause we were all missing her and
Rickie is still on the WLS road to happiness and is doing great too.
Hopefully they'll both be back at the meetings with us soon.
Tim.

A THANKSGIVING POEM...

I am sure by now you all are aware of the petition attempting to get
Congress to mandate insurance companies to cover WLS. I have signed
the petition, I'm #1177. I had an idea to escalate the petition
signing to not only people of AMOS or our weight loss groups but also
to our friends and relatives that know of our struggle with weight
loss and insurance companies. I have forwarded the message on the
petition with an added message from myself to several
friends/relatives. If we work hard enough we just might get THE
WHOLE DARN COUNTRY SIGN THE PERITION. LOL!!
Below is what I sent out:
I don't know if you are aware of my "fight" with my insurance company
to have a revision of my past weight loss surgery. It took me 6
months many letters and appeals to finally get the approval. I am now
awaiting a surgery date. There is a petition online that is
attempting to get Congress to mandate that weight loss surgery be
required of insurance companies.
I have just read and signed the online petition:
"Weight Loss Surgery "
hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition
service, at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/07221976/
I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might
agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and
consider signing yourself.
Best wishes,
George P. Brown

The Brick
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street,
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting
out
from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.
As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the
Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the
brick
had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the
nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that
all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new
car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you
do
it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I
didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one
else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the
youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he
said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't
lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you
please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too
heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump
in
his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the
wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh
scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very
noticeable,
but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the
dent there to remind him of this message "Don't go through life so fast
that
someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't
have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to
listen or not.
Send this to every person you wish to bless, and return it to
the person who sent it to you. God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for
the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
Love and Hugs, Renee

Well...
I now know what a Shrimp at Red Lobster actually feels like before it
gets to your table. Wet, frozen, hot, wet, cold. In that order. It's
4:20am on Sunday morning and I have been so cold for so many hours that
I really feel hypothermic.
I headed out to get Joy at about 7:pm with the thought in mind to try
and salvage as much of the evening plans that had previously been made
before I had to meet Matt at UAB after his show (Flaming Guns of the Red
Sage) at 10:pm to head out to the WMA in Helena to extricate our oldest
son Wes and his Jeep from a creek. I had talked to Wes several times on
his cell phone and he was indeed stuck. VERY stuck. He had buried the
front axle in a soft spot while trying to cross a creek, and in his
attempts to get the front end out of the hole, he had now dug his own
hole for the rear axle to reside in. He was in a T-shirt, no jacket, no
GPS, no shovel, no flare. About the only thing he had was a very stuck
Jeep. And his boss. He had taken his boss 4 wheeling to show him how
much fun it is. Luckily his boss is about the same age and is a little
under privileged in the "adventure" department too, so he was having a
ball too.
Before he called me, he had called one of Matt's Jeeper room mates,
Scott, and had managed to talk him "in" to where they were stuck. Well,
almost "in". Scott somehow managed to loose his ability for 4WD and it
was only pulling with the front axle, and he was down in a hole when he
discovered this little problem. Let me just say that he now could not
make it out of the hole and was just as stuck and helpless as Wes was.
That left Matt's monster Jeep and me and Monty to effect the rescue.
Wes told me they (4) were very cold and were all huddled in Scott's Jeep
for warmth since Wes' tailpipe was in the water and he didn't want to
run the engine until it was time to "go". Scott was running low on
fuel, so they ran it a little, cut it off, got cold, ran it some more.
He said if they didn't run out of fuel before I got there, they would be
lucky.
Do y'all believe in "Murphy's Law"? I do, so before stopping to get
Joy, I made a detour by Wally World and picked up 6 heavy sweatshirts
(all orange, just for my Auburn buds), 8 thermal "Emergency Blankets",
yet ANOTHER tow strap, a 12 pack of AA and AAA batteries for our
handheld radio's, GPS, etc., and a 3 pack of the "Sky Blazer Aerial
Flares" and 12 packs of the chemical reaction hand warmer pouches, some
"Power Bars" and other assorted high energy foods and Gatorades. Plus I
had already packed 2 shovels, a Come-A-Long, some chain, some wire rope,
and assorted short straps to protect the trees when we anchored to them
for winching with the Come-A-Long, and a bunch of flashlights.
Picked Joy up at 8:pm on the money and she said she would pass on the
evening of fun that I now had before me. "Just take me home and I'll go
to bed" was the exact words I believe. So I did. Made it back to UAB
by 9:pm so I only had an hour's wait for Matt to come out. Monty has a
heater fan problem, so no heat unless the vehicle is moving, which means
I would sit there and freeze my bottom off until he came out. I knew he
had gotten wind that Wes was stuck, but I didn't know if he had planned
to be part of the rescue posse or not, so I had no choice but to sit and
shiver.
Wes called and gave me a new update... He was still stuck, Scott was
still stuck in the hole, and we now had another player. They had gotten
ahold of another Jeepin' friend, Dillon, and while trying to pull Scott
out of the hole, his tow strap popped off and he was now nose down in a
ditch, STUCK! Well, let's see... 3 Jeeps in, 0 Jeeps out. This place
was starting to sound like the Bermuda Triangle of the 4WD world. I
suggested they might try to cannibalize some parts off of Dillon's Jeep
to try and repair Scott's Jeep while I waited for Matt. Or now that
there were 5 of them there, they might try digging Wes' Jeep out. Wes
said all they had to dig with were sticks, and that just wasn't working.
I tell him as soon as Matt comes out we'll head that way.
Wes calls back in about 20 minutes and tells me that they had coerced
another friend to attempt a rescue in his 4x4 truck, and he too was now
stuck on the other side of the creek from Wes. I told him to stop
calling people, I couldn't get them all out tonight if I had too. As I
was sitting there shivering at the Alys Stephen's Center, two more Jeep
"Buds" pulled up in their Jeeps after hearing the call for help. And
just before Matt actually came out, we had one more rescue crew arrive
with 3 more people. Matt makes it out about 10:15pm and we make a
convoy and head towards Helena. Finally!
It was about 11:pm when the asphalt turned to dirt under our wheels as
we rolled on to the last know landmark. We would have to try and get
them to "talk us in" by cell phone, or just start wandering until we
flushed `em out. After 15 minutes of calling all of their cell phones,
all we ever got was "Please wait while we attempt to locate the Nextel
Customer for you..." message. Great. So we all head out in different
directions hoping one of our 4 vehicles will run across the "Jeep
Abyss". I tell everyone to tune to CB radio channel 4 and give me a
comm check so at least we won't loose anyone, and to call in every 5
minutes. I am all alone (I tried talking a friend into going with me,
but they said, and I quote, "no, hell no. Call me in the morning") and
riding around in the woods looking for a needle in a haystack. It
wasn't long before I hear "I found them". I replied "Where", and the
reply I got was "Right here, under my Jeep". Seems they had found
Scott's Jeep down in the hole as they tried to run over it. No serious
damage done. We all converge on the GPS coordinates given, and sure
enough, Scott's Jeep was there, but that was it, no people, no other
Jeep that should have been stuck in a nearby ditch, nothing... but tracks.
We follow the tracks for about 10 minutes further back into the
"nowhereness" and we all started smelling wood smoke at about the same
time, but that's all we can determine, is it is wood smoke from a fire,
but we haven't got a clue which direction to go in. I tell everybody to
turn off their vehicles and be very quite, it only takes a few minutes
before I hear Wes' very loud and unique laugh. We head "thataway". We
start to see a faint glow off in the distance between the pine trees and
we follow it all the way to the little lost boys. They had been good
little Scouts and had built themselves a heck of a bonfire to stay warm
by. We all take turns standing by the roaring fire and try to figure
out how to get Wes' Jeep out of the hole he dug for himself. They had
managed to get Dillon's Jeep out of the ditch, but it had damaged his
shift linkage and the best he could do was 4High and it wouldn't go into
1st gear. Basically that means he had absolutely no pulling power, so
they hadn't even bothered with trying.
I break out the shovels and pass them around as I tell them we'll all
take turns digging. We dig the rear out without too much effort, but
with every shovelful we remove from around the front tires, the mud and
water just slide back in, replacing what we had removed. We manage to
cut some relief's behind each front tire and the "pumpkin" (center of
the differential) so maybe that will allow us freedom to move rearward
without having to fight the added drag and friction of the mud and dirt.
We let Matt hook up and try his hand at pulling his big brother out of
the pit. We shortened his pull strap to 10' so we could let it out 5
feet at a time if he started spinning those massive meats he calls
"tires" and digging his own holes. Three attempts later, we're at the
full 20' length of the strap and Wes' Jeep hasn't so much as moved. So
we put another Jeep with big tires side-by-side with Matt's and hook
double 20' straps to the sunk Jeep. Still no movement, but man did we
toss some real estate around. We hook another Jeep to the front of
those two and "heave ho" again. Still not much in the way of movement.
I have never seen anything that 3 Jeeps hooked together could not
pull, until tonight. But both of his bumpers were on the ground, so he
was "stuck-stuck" (highly technical Jeep terminology).
We hook the fourth Jeep side-by-side with #3. So it now looks like we
have 4 horses hooked to a wagon, and still no go. Monty and I are the
last vehicle to hook up, I "V" my strap going through my trailer hitch
mount and hook the two free ends to both of the front Jeeps. I tell
everyone that we are going to do a slow pull, and try not to spin our
tires. First tug, nothing. Second tug, nothing. Third tug, nothing.
This is starting to look grim. I survey the situation again in solitude
while everyone else heats their backsides over at the fire. The only
thing I can figure is we are basically trying to drag Wes' Jeep over a
wall of dirt that it is hunkered down behind. And that's going to be
hard. We need some way to lift it as we pull. I jokingly ask "Anyone
got a chainsaw". I hear "Yup, I got one" We quickly do the "t i m b e
rrrrrrrr" thing to the largest diameter pine we can find, cut us a 2
foot long section from the thickest part of the trunk and wedge it in
front of his rear bumper and put the straps up and over it. This time
it will be lifting the rear bumper upwards before it starts trying to
pull it rearward.
We all climb back in and try one more slow pull. Without even spinning
a tire it lifted Wes' Jeep up out of the hole and rearward about 6
inches before we had to stop to keep from running over the tree trunk.
We repositioned the makeshift lever and once again gave a slow pull and
that did the trick. Wes' Jeep was now about 2 feet beyond the holes he
had dug with his wheels and the bumpers were sitting about 18 inches
above ground level. We hooked two 20 foot straps together and tossed
them to the other side of the stream for the truck to hook up to. We
gave a 6 Jeep tug and pulled that little Toyota truck out if his mud
hole, across the holes that Wes had created and right on up the bank.
We unhooked everyone and got everyone turned around heading the same
direction and boogied for the the next "stuck".
After pushing Scott's Jeep out of his bowl he was stuck in, we put
Scott's Jeep in the lead so we could all push if we had too and headed
for the city lights. Hungry, wet, tired we were a silent bunch as we
headed back to Southside. As we got on the RME from 280 I heard my CB
crackle to life and the voice said, "Hey, y'all wanna go to Al's?"
That's all it took to wake everybody up and get us fired up again. I
was on my last nod as I called it a night, thanked everybody, and headed
for the house. I got to get back up in about an hour and take Joy to
work @ 7:am. Something tells me I'll be going back to bed when I get
back home!
Tim.

It's so nice to see y'all here and there as I spend my day running
around like a chicken with no head all over Birmingham. I was was
feeling a bit empty so I decided to head up to the Festival Center for
some fried rice at one of my favorite Chinese places The Golden Palace.
While I was sitting there, my "Redhead Detector" went off, so I
glanced around the room to see what was up. Nothing, must have been one
driving by the restaurant, so I stuff another forkful of the best fried
rice in town into my food hole, and then my "detector" goes off like a 3
alarm fire bell and in you walked. So here I was sitting with about 5
pounds of fried rice in a 3 pound capacity mouth, so grinning and saying
hi was not an option at that exact moment. That's ok, I'll just holler
at y'all when I get ready to leave. Well that was my plan...
My phone rang, it was Matt and the Jeep. The driveshaft had decided to
to take lunch while he was trying to go to lunch and he was now sitting
in the middle of 6th Ave. South during lunchtime rush traffic in the
heart of the UAB complex. He said lot's of friendly people were waiving
at him as they drove by, but none of them were using all five fingers
and the tow trucks were circling the block like vultures. While I was
talking to him, one of the downtown bums grabbed his driveshaft from the
pavement 20 feet behind the Jeep and took off running with it. I told
him to "Go get it back"! He did. When he got back to the Jeep he said
it looked like it had copped a squat right there in the middle of 6th
Ave and had left a big pile of parts and fluid. So, in my haste to not
to have a nervous breakdown (common with kids and Jeeps, more common
with kids DRIVING Jeeps), I ran out of the restaurant and forgot
completely to say hi, waive, burp, or anything. So please excuse my
apparent rudeness as that was not the case. Hope y'all enjoyed your
meal a little more than I did!
To finish the Jeep story...
As I was heading his way I remembered that a Jeep is 4WD (Four Wheel
Drive) and if he lost his rear driveshaft, he still had his front drive
shaft and by putting it in 4WD, he should be able to make it move. I
called him and suggested he try it, worked like a charm, so I told him
to get his parts out of the street and I would meet him back at his
apartment.
Damage Report: Driveshaft unharmed, scuffed, but still serviceable.
Rear u-joint was toast however. And it was apparent what caused the
failure too. He and the other "Jeepers" had replaced that rear u-joint
just a little over a month ago, and when they went to grease it up, they
stopped injecting grease into it when it started oozing out just one of
the 4 cups, that left 3 other cups dry which led to excessive heat,
which leads to metal fatigue, which led to the cup hand grenading itself
into space. The u-joints are about $25 apiece, so that's not too bad.
The real problem was it broke a bolt off in the yoke that holds the
u-joint. Laying under a Jeep in the dark, in 45 degree weather on cold
wet ground trying to drill out a broken bolt is NOT my idea of fun but I
didn't have much choice. Do you think anyone in town has a new yoke?
Of course not! It should be in today and I'll be swapping out the yoke
for my lunchtime entertainment. Oh kids, what fun they are.
Tim.

I just got a call from one of my oldest Son's friends saying that Wes
(mine) was down in Helena at the WMA (Wildlife Management Area) in his
Jeep and he was unbelievably stuck in a creek. And the other Jeeper
that went to rescue him broke his Jeep on the way into where Wes was and
he too is now stuck. That leave Matt with his Jeep, who will be tied up
at UAB until 10:PM and me and "Monty" as the only two moving and running
4x4's left. So, it looks like I get to trashcan my dinner plans that
Joy and I had for tonight, and instead I get to go play in the mud down
near Wes Robbin's house. Oh what fun! I bet I get a story or two out
of this little trip. And don't forget, last time it was ME they were
having to come extricate. Gives me a good reason to go buy that winch
I've been wanting at Sam's...
Anybody else want to go play in the freezing wet mud?
Tim.

Looks like I have to burn another flag. Once it's been defeated by
Auburn, it'll never fly again. I don't know who kidnapped the Alabama
Football Team, but they could have at least substituted impostors that
knew something about football. Everybody make sure you ask Lisa and
Felicia why they can't stop smiling... until next year!
Tim.

Tonight my girlfriend and I went shopping at the mall so I could get
a couple of new outfits to wear to the Brittany Nationals (I needed
some evening wear).
When I was shopping I tried to keep in mind that I needed something
for the Holiday season coming up.
Well, I went and looked at size 16's since I was wearing some size
16P hand me down's slacks Mary Ann gave me. Size 16P was just a
little too big so I tried on size 14P and it fit. I brought a
beautiful red suede dress with a jacket (orginal price $88.00), a
black houndstooth with leather trim jacket that had black pants
(orginal price 69.99) and an olive green slack suit (orginal price
59.99). They were having a charity sale and if you brought a $5.00
raffle ticket you got 50% off of everything. I had been saving gift
certificates (two from the Health Club for $25.00 and one that I got
for my birthday last March)all summer and fall so when we went on our
trip to the Nationals I would have them to buy some clothes for
evening wear so all of this only cost me $20.30 out of my pocket.
They are beautiful.
This is so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But what makes them even more beautiful was the fact that on June
18th I was wearing a size 24W and now I am wearing a size 14P.
As of this morning I have lost 80 pds and only have 50 pds to go to
my goal.
Isn't life beautiful! I praise the Lord for giving me the privilege
of being able to lose this weight and becoming healthy and happy.
Love in Christ,
Nan

Hey All,
Sometimes I wonder if I should sit quietly by or express an opinion that might
not be shared by all....well, as you can see, this is a time when I chose not to
sit quietly by.
I am dismayed by this lawsuit. I think it pushes our fight against obesity
discrimination back 20 years. Who in the world thinks McDonalds should be held
responsible for parents feeding their food to their kids ""every single day of
the week""? I mean - this seems to be the ultimate form of denial which is
trying to make someone else take the blame for our own shortcomings. Can we
never take responsibility for our own actions? I am just ANGRY that this
lawsuit was even allowed to be filed. I was watching the Today show this
morning and it said one of the young plaintiffs was morbidly obese because she'd
eaten food from McDonalds almost every day of her life. What's wrong with this
picture? I mean, my kids saw their share of happy meals but how come this
mother never cooked or for that matter how come this mother never made certain
that her child ate balanced meals? Seems more like child neglect than anything
McDonalds did wrong. Next thing you know we'll be sueing Krispy Kreme because
we got fat eating their donuts. DUH! It wasn't like anyone put a gun to these
folks heads and forced them to eat at McDonalds! Am I the only one who thinks
this is ridiculous? This lawsuit is going to make the whole obese population
look like a bunch of idiots and it just makes me sick. AGH!! If only I could
rule the world. Oh well, thanks for letting me vent.
Love,
Rona
Your Bari-Godmother

That's right! The ALABAMA / AUBURN GAME! So don't forget, the game
starts at 2:pm on Saturday I think. Ought to be a good one too.
WAR EAGLE
ROLL TIDE
Tim.

Tim
just wanted to let you know that Terry Yancy is my dad!!!! I have
been here for awhile and have gotten him interested in some of the
things I have learned from you guys! I am sure he will post back with
all of the other answers but I just wanted to let you put the
connection together!
LeyAnn

Help guys. I am almost 6 month post op. And for the past two days if it is not nailed down it has went in my mouth.
Diane

Subject: Letter from Santa Claus
To: All Concerned
From: Santa Claus
I regret to inform you that, effective immediately
will no longer serve the States of Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North and
South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas on Christmas
Eve. Due to the overwhelming current population of the earth, my
contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209.
As part of the new and better contract I also get longer breaks for milk
and cookies so keep that in mind.
However, I'm certain that your children will be in
good hands with your local replacement, who happens to be my third
cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South Pole.
He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls;
however, there are a few differences between us.
Differences such as:
1.There is no danger of the Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba
Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker
that reads: "These toys insured by Smith and Wesson."
2.Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave
an RC cola and pork rinds [or a moon pie] on the fireplace. And Bubba
doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an
empty spit can handy.
3.Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs
instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a
couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's
fireplace.
4.You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and
Blitzen.." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead, you'll hear, "On
Earnhardt, on Andretti, on Elliott and Petty."
5."Ho, Ho, Ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you also are likely
to hear Bubba's elves respond, "I her'd dat!"
6.As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus' sleigh does have a
Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words "Back Off."
7.The usual Christmas movie classics such as "Miracle on 34th Street"
and "It's a Wonderful Life" will not be shown in your negotiated viewing
area. Instead, you'll see "Boss Hogg Saves Christmas" and "Smokey and
the Bandit IV" featuring Burt Reynolds as Bubba Claus and dozens of
state patrol cars crashing into each other.
And Finally...
8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you,
the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put
presents under the tree.
Sincerely Yours,
Santa Claus
Member of North American
Fairies and Elves, Union 1225

Hey everyone I wanted to say I can't wait till the Christmas party I
wanted to let everyone know that I have a deathly allergy to any type
of fish products or seafood even being in the room with it sends my
body into shock and I have to be put in ICU! So please I know I'm new
and all to this group and I hate to ask but please if you can don't
bring this to the dinner. I'd greatly appricate it. I have to be so
careful now and all so thats why I wanted everyone to know. I don't
mind missing if someone has already made plans on bring something
with fish or seafood in it just please let me know ahead of time.
Thank you everyone your all such great folks I feel so blessed to
have meet you all.
God Bless,
Jennifer Mitchell

Hi Tim,
How about a camping trip soon? The weather is cool
enough now and a big camp fire would be great!! Maybe
we could plan a trip to Tannehill. Wouldn't it be
great to roast some marshmallows or weiners on an open
fire? Ummmm!!! See ya at the meeting monday.
Terry McFarland

Hello out there where are u Avis????? :( I'm getting so worried about
u. I haven't chated with you in so long I"m lost! Lol anyway I hope
everyone here has a blessed and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. WE have
all so much to be thankful for the Lord has blessed us with this
great support group and friends we can lean on.. God bless you all.
To Christ be the Glory!
love ya all.
jennifer

I just thought that you guys should read this:
NEW YORK (AP) -- Are Big Macs hazardous to children's health?
Lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's on behalf of New
York children who have suffered health problems, including diabetes, high blood
pressure, and obesity.
In federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, a lawyer alleged that the fast-food
chain has created a national epidemic of obese children. Samuel Hirsch argued
that the high fat, sugar and cholesterol content of McDonald's food is "a very
insipid, toxic kind of thing" when ingested regularly by young kids.
The plaintiffs include a Bronx teen who ate every meal at McDonald's for three
years while living in a homeless shelter. Another is a 13-year-old boy from
Staten Island who says he ate at McDonald's food three to four times a week and
is now 5-foot-4 and 278 pounds.
McDonald's lawyer Brad Lerman insisted the lawsuit was a frivolous attempt to
cash in on the Golden Arches, "the kind of lawsuit that shouldn't be in court."
"People don't go to sleep thin and wake up obese," Lerman said. "The
understanding and comprehension of what hamburgers and french fries do has been
with us for a long, long time."
McDonald's has asked Judge Robert Sweet to dismiss the case, arguing those who
filed the claims cannot show their health woes were caused by Big Macs and
insisting the company has never misled customers about its food. The judge did
not immediately rule on the request.

Hi Terry and WELCOME to the Funny Farm as we like to call ourselves
around here. Looks like the Yancy Family is going to have a unique
Christmas present this year. So how long have you been here, and is
this your first post? Certainly hope it won't be long before your
typing your fingers to the bone telling us all about y'all.
Who's the surgeon/hospital that's doing the Triple WLS??? Good luck and
keep us informed.
Tim.

Hi everyone I went to this last support meeting it was my first but
not my last well I've been going to my WLS doctor and have been
approved just waiting for a surgery date since July well my health is
getting worse everyday and so I called (and i hadn't called in a
month or so) and just to check to get maybe a general time frame well
there office staff was AWFUL to me so rude like they could care less
when I got a date so I've decided to go to this Sat. to another doctor's
WLS seminar and if I can get a date with him I'm going too. I guess my
question is wouldn't you all do the same? I feel like I'm getting
pushed to the back burner with my doctor and I can't wait forever I"m
not expecting tommorrow just a genreal date to look forward too. I
really value everyones advice here (especially you Tim) so what do
ya'll think? I'm open to suggestions.... Thanks again for letting me
vent..
Love ya all,
Jennifer

This one reminds me of some of the bowel prep stories...
Tim.
Good Medicine
The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against
a wall.
The owner asks the clerk, "What's with that guy over there by the wall?"
Clerk : "Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his
cough & I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle
of laxative."
Owner : "You idiot! You can't treat a cough with a bottle of laxatives!"
Clerk : "Of course you can! Look at him; he's too afraid to cough!"

Hello Everyone!!!!!,

Just dopping a note. I have six more days until the big day [INLINE] . I'm so excited [INLINE] i can not even stand myself [INLINE] . I have realy enjoyed all the support everyone has given me. [INLINE] I received an e-mail as far away as Canada the other day WOW! [INLINE] You all have been great, all the advise and prayers have been humble received and taken to heart [INLINE] . What an inspiration all of you have been for me. Thank you and please remember me on Tuesday November 26, 2002. Thanks

Denise Williams-Doublesprings, Al

Oh Tim....that sort of thing dates us BAD! Yep, I remember it! I
also remember the poor little housewife that was afraid her marriage
was over because she couldn't make a decent cup of coffee until Mrs
Olsen came to the rescue! LOL
Nancy (dumbunnie)
PS...CHAN HOW ARE YA? How much weight have ya lost? I am sorry we
missed the meeting! I had the wrong day marked on my calendar too!
With Thanksgiving being so late, it has thrown me off all month! I
wish I could have been there. Wes deserves all the accolades he
seems to have received! His story is awesome!

Hey everyone!!
Weighed in today and I am down 105 lbs!!!!! woohoo!!! Just wanted to
say how happy I was today!
HUGS
Melissa

Tim, Grandma Peg and Brenda, Thanks for your kind
words! We are all fine!
I am of the personal belief that God has a terrific
sense of humor. Let me explain:
Ever since I had my appt with Dr. Clements, I have
KNOWN that I needed to start exercising. I HATE
exercise...it involves sweating and pain. But I do
know that it will be necessary post op and that it is
best pre-op to get ready!
However, I have put it in the back of my mind with
endless excuses like "I'm too tired." "I work 60 -72
hr weeks, I don't have time, yada yada yada."
In working that 72 hour week, the family and God have
taken a back seat too. Prayers consisted of "God,
please let me find a parking space as close to the
door at WalletMart as possible, You know how tired I
am." I have snapped and snarled at the family and my
number one obsession was WORK, WORK AND WORK.
On 11/10/02, God decided to blow some sense back in to
me and to help me get my priorities right. First off,
He KNEW how much I had griped about the old 6 ft Dish
that was no longer in use in my front yard.
SWOOSH...He took care of that, it is gone!
As for exercise...it is amazing what cleaning a yard
will do for a figure! Sqatting, bending, shoving etc
are great aerobics AS WELL as weightlifting!
And the family...my, my what quality time we had for 4
days being THANKFUL that we were still a family as we
worked together to start piecing our lives back
together!
Not to mention PRAYERS of thanksgiving to God that
were given that we all survived!
As for work? Well I didn't even THINK about it for an
entire week? And to boot...I didn't even have to burn
a sick day or vacation day....I had plenty of comp
time!
So here is the humor!Here is pic of me yelling "I GOT
IT GOD!" *grin*
Hugs to all,
Nancy, aka Dumbunnie (but a much WISER bunnie!)

Ditto on what GP said! Is there anything we can do????
Tim.

Everyone has to look at this if you ladies don't like fishing you
will after you check this out LOL
http://www.cutestuf.com/flash_1102/naughty_fishing.cfm
Jennifer

Hi All,
I was browsing obesityhelp.com today and came across a post from a girl who has
written a petition and is going to file it once she has 1000 signatures. The
petition is to make it mandatory for insurance companies to pay for WLS. I
think this is a GREAT idea. I signed it and wanted to give you the web address
so you could go to the site and sign it too. Being electronically challenged I
don't know how to make a "link" so you'll have to cut and paste but I promise
it's worth the effort. Please forward it to your friends and family as well and
let's work hard to get enough signatures. In fact, after signing this petition,
why don't we start one of our own? Does anyone know how to do that? I nominate
Tim - he can do anything! Ok - here's the address so go there right now before
you forget and then forward it to everyone.
http://shawnag1976.tripod.com/shawnasweightlosssurgeryjournal/id13.html
Love,
Rona
Your Bari-Godmother

Hi all,
Saturdays meeting may have been the first time in the "history of Wes" that I was nearly at a total loss for words. I think I said "......Uhhhhhhhh Thank you" and that was about it. So I would like to express my thanks here.
Saturday turned out to be a very special day to me. I wanted to say thanks to all of you who were part of making it "WesDay", especially to Rona for putting it all together.
Thanks to Dr. Miles, Chan, DeNene, Tim, Bob (Lisa's Dad), Lisa, Rona and everyone for all the kind things you said, I was truly touched by all your kind words.
I was given an awesome and incredibly generous gift, a gift certificate for a suit and accessories from McMillans. Thanks to each of you who contributed toward it. The gift was really appreciated and I look forward to wearing it, just as soon as possible.
In my entire adult life I have worn a suit 2 times that I can remember, they were both tuxedo's and they were both in weddings. I really look forward to wearing the suit.
It is my passion and pleasure to help others who are traveling the same road I have already traveled with regard to being very overweight and finally finding a tool and a group of people that will help them accomplish the goal of just being normal.
After being close to 900 pounds and losing over500 pounds I can tell you that there were many times when I really thought it was just a matter of a few days before my struggle would be ended by my own death. God spared my life and gave it back to me and I am very thankful for that. Although I still have some more to lose before meeting my personal weight loss goal, what I enjoy the most about the whole process is the Extreme amount of HOPE I experience daily, knowing that each new day will uncover new things I can do and new places I can go. When I have an opportunity to help someone with their journey I get a great feeling knowing that they too will soon be feeling this same HUGE AMOUNT OF HOPE....
I want to say thanks again to all who were involved and to all who shared the special day with me, and also thank you to those who were unable to make it to the meeting but called or E-mailed me with special messages.
I want to especially thank my wife Lisa who has stood by me through my WLS journey she is a major driving force behind my motivation and desire to help others.
Thanks again and God Bless You All.
Wes

I'd like to ask anyone from the Shoals area if they would like to
carpool to the support group meetings each month? I'd be more then
happy to swap up I have a older van and so its hard for me to make
the long trips but I don't want to miss one either I live in
Russellville so anyone in the suronding areas please email me at
jenn28@... and I'd love to talk about this as I"m sure I'm not
the only one with this problem. Thanks so much
Jennifer

"When she was halfway across the room there came a
great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so
hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly
upon the floor." ~~The Wizard of Oz
Sorry I've been out of touch, but I can now say that I
have TRULY faced a life long fear of tornados! Our
house was hit (with all of us hovering in the hallway)
by an F3 tornado with 150 mph winds on 11/10/02. The
garage is gone. 1/2 the shingles of the roof are gone
and two cars are gone...but GW, Julie, Nancy and all
the kitty cats are fine!
It killed three people in our neighborhood and totally
demolished my nephew's trailer that was 1/4 mile down
our driveway and the double wide trailer that was on
the other side of us. GA Power, The American Red Cross
workers and a man from Christian Disaster Relief that
have all worked tornado disasters said that our house
SHOULD NOT BE THERE...but by the Grace of God it is!
Folks, when they say it sounds like a freight train
coming at you, it is the truth! It was the longest 30
sec to 3 min? of my life! We lived in beautiful 20
acres of woods. Now, there is not a tree standing in
my yard and I can see lights from other homes, which I
NEVER could before. It is really eerie to hear the
wind hit my house now, it used to be buffered by
hundreds of trees. But as I stated earlier, we are all
fine and it sure puts life back into perspective!
GOD IS GREAT!
Hugs to all!
Love, Nancy, aka dumbunnie

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.
Support Group Meeting
Date: Monday, November 25, 2002
Time: 6:00PM CST (GMT-06:00)
This is the regular weeknight meeting at MCE. Doors open at
5:30, meeting starts at 6pm.

4 wheeling can be expensive...
Last week it was a $150.00 starter on Matt's Jeep
Last week it was $100.00 on Monty for tune-up
The week before that it was a $150.00 starter on Wes' Jeep.
Today...
$2.00 in gas last night to take Matt to his apartment.
$2.00 gas to go get him today so he could write a paper.
$2.00 gas to go get serpentine belt.
$30.00 for serpentine belt.
1 hour to install serpentine belt.
1 hour to UNINSTALL serpentine belt since the alternator was locked up!
1 hour to remove alternator.
$2.00 gas to go get new alternator.
$100.00 for new alternator.
1 hour to reinstall new alternator.
$5.00 for 100 gallons of water to wash the mud off so he could see where
he was going.
$5.00 for another 100 gallons to wash the mud out of my driveway.
$25.00 for the pair of pants I ruined with mud while working on/washing
the Jeep.
$10.00 for the T-shirt I ruined too.
My shoes will dry out!
$5.00 for the electricity to run my air compressor.
.05 for oil to lube my air ratchet and impact wrenches.
$2.00 for the water for my shower to wash all the mud off of ME!
So, lets see how much it really costs to play in the mud...
That comes to...
$373.00
Oh I forgot...
$89.00 for the tent I got him so he could go sleep in the mud.
$30.00 for a "mud" sleeping bag.
$35.00 for the drinks/chips/hotdogs and buns for them all to eat.
$10.00 entry fee to the off road park so he could play in the mud and
tear up his Jeep.
So that would now be...
$537.00
Not bad for a weekend of fun!
He better be glad his Daddy loves him!
And he better hope his Momma never finds the credit card receipts!
Tim.

Hey everybody! I missed seeing all of you Saturday. I hope that after this semester is over I can start coming to the meetings more. I have great news!My friend Missye that I wrote you all about found out last night that Jeff most likely won't be leaving after all. This is going to make for a great holiday season. Thank you all for the prayers....keep them coming. I love you all and can't wait to see you all. I hope to be at the December meeting.
Love Ya,
Nikkia
July 27,2001
-170lbs all together

This was my first meeting and I never felt more at home. It was so
great I was so nervous I'm so shy and all but after everyone got to
talking I felt like I'd known you all forever. Me and my husband
Donnie drove about 110 miles to get there and it was the best miles
we've ever rode. I am going to do my best to not miss another one I
can't wait I wish it were tommorrow... My husband is also shy and he
really enjoyed himself as well. I kind of draged him there but he had
a great time also and he said today well be making alot of trips to
Birmingham now won't we and that made me SO happy! I want to thank
eveyrone for making me and Donnie feel so welcome and at home. I
didn't get to talk to many because we had such a long drive ahead of
us we left right after but we did get to meet Rona, Tim, Avis (my
angel) and others who's name's I've done forgetten (SORRY) short
memory span I was so excited I barely remembered my name LOL! I wish
my surgery were tommorrow I'm so ready for LIVING again.. I told some
people in my church today I'd not really told many before besides my
family and they all think I'm nuts but my hubby really supports me
and to me thats ALL that counts. I wanted to tell Wes happy birthday
personally but we missed him so happy birthday Wes from me! Tim you
were so nice to me and my husband thank u so much.... Avis I felt
like I'd known u my whole life you truely are an angel and you look
so GREAT!!!! I can't wait till December I"LL BE THERE!!! God bless
this group your the best!!!!!! Love you all Jennifer Mitchell
(Jen35654) name on here

http://abouttreasurehunting.com/states_index/BLALA.HTM
For those of you that start foaming at the mouth when I start talking
about metal detecting, treasure hunting and GHOST Towns... Here's
another of my little research places. And the Marengo County Ghost Town
is in there too!
So, who all's getting a metal detector for Christmas? And when are we
forming a WLS Treasure Hunters Club???
Tim.

HEY EVERYONE!!!!
mY SURGERY IS 3 WEEKS FROM TOMORROW AND I FEEL LIKE ALIENS ARE
COMING TO ABDUCT MY BODY!!! HAHA!! I AM SO READY FOR THIS
TRANSFORMATION INTO THE NEW AND IMPROVED ME!!! I HAVE ONE QUESTION
FOR ALL OF YOU POST OPS....HOW DID YOU AND DO YOU DEAL WITH OTHER
PEOPLES NEGATIVITY BEFORE AND AFTER SURGERY??? I AM VERY EXCITED
ABOUT THIS AND AM RECEIVING SOME NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM MY HUSBANDS
FAMILY....MY FAMILY IS SOOOOOO SUPPORTIVE AS A MATTER OF FACT BOTH OF
MY PARENTS ARE HAVING THIS SURGERY DEC 27TH AT MCE WITH DR SCHMITT SO
THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS THERE...THE PROBLEM IS HIS SIDE OF THE
FAMILY...THEY MAKE COMMENTS LIKE "YOU JUST WON'T BE YOU IF YOU LOOSE
ALOT OF WEIGHT" I MEAN COME ON...LIKE AL ROKER SAID MY FAT CELLS DO
NOT MAKE ME ...WELL ME....AND OTHER COMMENTS HAVE BEEN " I HOPE THIS
DOES NOT MAKE YOU VAIN" SO ANYWAY I WAS JUST WANTING SOME ADVICE ON
HOW YOU GUYS HAVE DELT WITH THIS....LET ME KNOW!!!!
HANGING ON TIL DEC 9TH!!!!
LEYANN

And, just for the record... Some of these were really crass, funny as
all get out, but crass. So I cleaned them up so as to not "pass the
trash" while still trying to keep the gist of the punch line. Should
you have a desire for the "uncut" version, send me an email to
timsuggs@... and I'll send the original version yo ya.
Tim.
Not the way I remember these Nursery Rimes...
Mary had a little skirt
with splits right up the sides
and every time that Mary walked
the boys could see her Thighs
Mary had another skirt
twas split right up the front
but she didn't wear that one very often.
Mary had a little lamb
Her father shot it dead.
Now it goes to school with her,
between two chunks of bread.
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,
her clothes all tattered and torn.
It wasn't the spider that crept up beside her,
But Little Boy Blue and his horn.
Simple Simon met a Pieman,
going to the fair.
Said Simple Simon to the Pieman,
What have you got there?
Said the Pieman unto Simon,
Pies, you idiot.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings horses and all the kings men,
said "So, He's only an egg.
Mary had a little lamb
It ran into an electrical pylon.
10,000 volts went up it's rear
and turned it's wool to nylon
Jack and Jill went up the hill
to have a little fun.
Stupid Jill forgot her pill
and now they have a son.

Folks, I just wanted to say thank you for letting me do my thing with my
presentation about Wes. And I also wanted to say I'm sorry for having
to cut out so quick too. Caitlin had to be back at SVH for her show
tonight NLT (No Later Than) 5:30, and it was about 5:10 when we made it
to the parking lot. I really wanted to stay and meet some more of you
and catch up on all the stories. I did get to meet Jenn and her Husband
Donny which was really nice to put a face with a name. And if there
were any more of you that was waiting to meet me, I'm so sorry I had to
cut and run.
JOE: You looked so good from the front of the room where I was sitting,
sorry I didn't get to give you a hug, er... ah... sorry, I forget us
hairy ones aren't supposed to do that, I meant a handshake! Seems like
Nurse Connie has been doing her homework and taking good care of you bud.
RONER: Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to participate
in Wes Day, I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.
AVIS: You sexy thang! And that's all I'm gonna say. (Well, tell
Ronnie I said hi too)
RICKIE and LYNDA DAVIS: Anyone got any updates on how Lynda's surgery
went at the Eye Foundation? Anyone got their phone number so I can call
and check on her? I think they live out Warrior way.
MILLIE: You were looking good girl! 35 pounds was it?
Congratulations! And it was so nice to see your Mother again, I hope
she knows she's always welcome at our meetings. And I'm working on some
kind of permanent transportation for you to/from the meeting, just bear
with me.
TONY and PAM: I only got to see you from the front of the room, but I
got a hug from Pam! She seemed so happy tonight! Good for her!
Last but not least... WES and Lisa: I hope you enjoyed the show bud!
You've got a lot of people that love and appreciate all you do/have done
for us. And I wanted to personally thank you Wes for giving me the
rarest of gifts, a friend. Thanks!
Tim.

Brilliant Marketing Screw Ups
Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read
as "Suffer from diarrhea."
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an
American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron into German only to
find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use
for the "manure stick."
When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same
packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the
label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put
pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read.
Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a
notorious porno magazine.
An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market
which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa),
the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).
Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi
brings your ancestors back from the grave" in Chinese.
Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a tender
chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make
a chicken affectionate."
The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke-la" meaning
"Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on
the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic
equivalent "ko-kou-ko-le" translating into "happiness in the mouth."
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were
supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you".
Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate)
meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and
make you pregnant."

Hello you gang of losers. WOW! [INLINE] what a meeting we had. I finally met my angel her name is Debbie Caten, and she is just wonderful. SO much heart felt emotion was running rampant through out the room tonight. [INLINE] Lolts of love goes out from me to all of you. You know It was once written that it takes a village to raise one child, well it takes a great support team of friends to raise each other to levels that this world will not soon forget. For we are human to we have rights and we live in a country that is suppose to help us defend our rights. We are not going any where, we are only trying to house GODS wonderful craftmanship in a smaller/healthier package. People must be able to look past the exterer of someone in order to know the true them. When you buy a book do you only buy it for the cover????or the content????. God tells us to judge not lesst thought be judged. I'm so glad I have trully found a group of people that are willing to let their feelings
guide them toword a better understanding of this disease of obesity, and congure the ever changing beast of burden that has inchained thier lifes for much too long.Free Free Yes Free indeed. From the bondege of sickness and dispair I'm free indeed. Novemeber 26 if I can physically I will be on my knees if not on the bed praying and thanking God not only for you guys but for your inspiring stories, and thanking him for bringing me to such a wonderful place in my life. A turning poit of great magnitude, that will be a new birth, leaving the old behind and journying into what I like to refer to it as The Winning loving self surgery. May God richly bless each and every one of you those who have crossed over, and those on their way. Pray for me and my recovery may it be short and comp...free. Thanks be unto the Lord our father, and all things that are in me give thanks!!!!!! Denise Williams

Hi All,
Millie needs a ride to tomorrow's meeting!! I can take her home but
can't take her to the meeting. She lives on southside. If you can
give her a ride please call her at 930-9950. Lots of you know
Millie, she is blind. This will be her first meeting as a post op.
I just know one of you can help out. If I didn't have to be at the
hospital at 7:00 a.m. I'd take her but I'm working all day tomorrow.
Thanks in advance for the nice person who's going to help out!
Please let either Myself, or Wes and Lisa know via e-mail or e-group post if you
can help. dtpgoose@... or facesofwls@...
You'll get angel wings for it!
Love,
Rona
Your Bari-Godmother

I had a very nice email from one of our members that had beat me to the
punch and gathered the contact info for the Rob and Shannon Show on
106.9. I will paste the info below for any of you that wish to write,
call, or otherwise voice your concern over Shannon's negative comments
about "Fat Women" and "Heifers". I'm still ticked, well, actually I've
gone past ticked and I'm close to bent. Either way, I'm out for more
words to come spilling out of her mouth, in the form of an public
apology. I hope you will join me in my efforts, and I would suggest
based on the info below, that we write a letter and mail it to them.
Besides, the GVMNT probably needs the money from the postage anyway.
Thanks!
Tim.
OUR FRIEND AND FELLOW WLS MEMBER WROTE:
I went to the web site for 106.9 The Point (that's
http://www.birminghamspoint.com <http://www.birminghamspoint.com
get some information. Rob and Shannon actually have their own little
web site there (if you care to visit it and send her a message by
email). But, I know how easily emails can be ignored. According to FCC
regulations, all "snail" mail to broadcasters must be read, and must be,
in some way, dealt with. They may not have to give you a response in the
form of a reply, however a record of their response (in whatever form it
may take) must be maintained in the broadcaster's office (the FCC
checks these things out periodically). Obviously snail mail is the most
likely, and probably the only, communication which will get a response
from the station management.
In other words, snail mail will at least be read by someone.
The request line phone number is 205-741-1069
The office phone number is 205-916-1100
Their mailing address is
301 Beacon Parkway W, Suite # 200
Birmingham, AL 35209

Joy and I now have a daughter who is an Actress. Caitlin's first stage
was last night and I was so proud, and she was so good too. If you like
live theatre, you need to go. The set is cool, but the costumes are
fantastic! All the kids had a great time and aside from one "trip and
fall", it went without a hitch. Now I'm not going to tell y'all what a
"Katler" is, you'll just have to go to the show and find out for
yourself. Tickets are $7.00 at the door, the performance lasts about 2
hours with a 15 minute intermission in the middle. Located at Shades
Valley High School on Old Leeds Road. Once in the parking lot, take a
hard right and go to the extreme right hand side of the school, and make
your way around to the back of the building. Handicap parking is at the
top of the hill just on your left and they have a ramp that can handle
large wheelchairs. Bring a couple of "pushers" to make it up the long
ramp though. They have double doors, but if your wheelchair is wider
than 36", you'll have to do the "hop up and walk through the door" thing
as the doors have a solid divider.
Shows start @ 6:30pm for Friday and Saturday, and then a matinee on
Sunday @ 2:PM.
If any of you would like a private and unbiassed report on Jerry The
Katler, feel free to ask The ChanMan, I was able to talk him and Felicia
out of the Chan-O-Cave for a night of fun. And I got to tell you
folks, I was so proud to be sitting there with my friends Chan and
Felicia, and was tickled to be able to introduce them to all of my other
friends up there at SVT.
And let me insert a Mini-Chan-O-Gram here... It had been several weeks
since I had actually laid eyeballs on ChanMan, but I could easily tell
the changes. His face is getting so thin! I think ChanMan is going to
be the type of WLS postop that looses inches and inches before he starts
seeing the scale move a whole lot. I won't pretend to understand that
one either, but that was the way Joy lost weight, inches first, pounds
last, whi