Surgery is booked

So I have a date. And it's soon! September 21st I will be going to Mount Hospital to have the gastric sleeve done.

My appointment with Dr Valibhoy went really well. He works with Dr Cohen at Mercy Bariatrics and they do the surgery together as a team. We talked about my history with being overweight, my medical conditions, and what brought me to see him. He explained the lap band and the sleeve, although they don't usually perform the band anymore.

He also ran through the potential complications, mainly bleeding from the staples (which can be addressed straightaway) and a leak which is quite dramatic and means a long hospital stay. Apparently the leak rate is around 2%, but they haven't had a leak now for two years which sets my mind at ease.

He did a physical exam to check my stomach and groin which was easy. Then the weight and height - I gained a kilo and lost a cm on his scales! So my weight is 126.1kg and only 171cm, putting my BMI at 43. It's never been that high before.

I got to meet Dr Cohen, and together they said I was a very good candidate for the surgery and they waived the normal two week waiting period to make a decision, so I was booked in there and then. I had brought my friend along who has had the sleeve done and I had done a lot of research, so they were comfortable that I knew enough about it all, and it was what I really wanted. I'm so grateful I didn't have to take the two weeks, I think it would have played with my head.

Originally I was planning a November surgery as I have a busy work period at the end of October and uni would be over for the year, but they basically took it out of my hands and booked me in to the first available which is Friday September 21st! 4 weeks from my first appointment!

So now the race is on to get access to my super to be able to pay for the operation in time. I've completed all the forms, I'd checks and gotten letters from my doctors to verify the need to access my super. The only thing I have left is to get a quote from the hospital and my private health insurance to say they will cover my hospital stay.

Iam booked in on Wednesday September 5th for my appointments with the dietician, exercise physiologist And Bariatrics assessor. I will have to do a shake diet for two weeks before the op to reduce the size of my liver, to give better access to my stomach.

It's all happening very fast but I feel very much at peacetime my decision, and am really excited to see where this leads me to.