I spent last week with my daughter in Jacksonville, she has a cat and I thought the problems I was having was just my allergies acting up. I was wrong. After I got back home I was in bed for 4 days. Still not 100 % but getting better.
I have been focusing on what I need to do to get OASIS up and running. I blogged about it before, and you can check it out here. http://bariatricstyle.blogspot.com/2012/02/chasing-my-passion.html

There is so much to do when trying to start an organization. I have a meeting with SCORE http://www.score.org/ on Monday which is an organization that provides mentors to help people who want to start a business. SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.
I am really looking forward to this meeting.
This Saturday is my 51st birthday. I can't believe how much has changed in the last 2 years.

This picture was taken right before my 49th birthday. It was my "before" picture. One of the pictures I had taken when I decided to have weigh loss surgery. Right after this picture was taken I was placed on oxygen 24/7. That same year I was admitted into the hospital through emergency 7 times with an average stay of 10 days each time. I know I am smiling in this picture but the truth is I was far from happy. I was at 400 pounds here. I was diabetic, I had sleep apnea, COPD, and asthma. I couldn't walk to my mail box.

The next picture was taken on New Years Day this year. 200 pounds lighter. No longer diabetic, no longer on oxygen, no longer having to use a CPAP machine, no longer taking 23 different medications a day.
In this picture the smile is real. I love my life, I love myself, and I have found my passion. I am active and healthy, ( this cold that I have had the last few days would have put me in the hospital again before my surgery).
I am thriving rather then fighting to just survive. So, Tomorrow I will turn 51... and I couldn't be happier.

There is a lot being said about Disney's new Interactive Childhood Obesity Exhibit at Epcot. There is a lot being said about Childhood Obesity period. Lately.
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/02/disneys-horrifying-new-interactive.html

I have a huge problem with this exhibit. As an obese adult who was an obese child I can tell you from first hand experience shaming does not work and really only makes matters worse. Children who suffer from weight issues already feel alienated, do we really have to make it worse as a society?
Starting out at a very young age I was shamed and made to feel as if I was not good enough in every aspect of my life because of my weight. Shaming caused me to abuse my body with endless fad diets, eventually dieting myself up to 400 pounds. Shaming makes matters worse, when a person, especially a child is shamed for something they truly have no control over (they do not buy the food, they do not fix the meals, they do not set their activity levels) they internalize that shame. I know, I did.

Yes there is an obesity epidemic in this country. But until we realize that obesity is a symptom of so many other issues, not the root problem we as a nation will never be able to get it under control. Obesity is such a complex issue with no magic bullet for a cure, no matter how much society and the media would like to convince us of that. There is no simple answer and no one thing will ever work for everyone. The causes are to varied.

My heart breaks for the children who are obese. I know the pain they feel, and I know it is even worse then when I was a child. My shame came from my family. I know that some kids made fun of me but there really were not that many instances of it. It was being made to feel that I was not good enough, pretty enough, thin enough, in my own home that hurt the most. I can't imagine the how much more painful it would have been if I had to deal with the same thing from society, in the media, and the news on top of all of that. I can't imagine how much worse I would have felt if my parents had taken me to Disney's new exhibit. I can't imagine how I would have felt as a child seeing those bill boards in Georgia.

As it was, I entertained suicidal thoughts as a child because of the shame I was made to feel because of my weight. I felt worthless and unlovable as a child, because of that shame. And all I had to deal with was my mothers obsession over my weight, I didn't have to deal with the whole nation obsessing over it. I did not have to deal with the media. I most certainly did not have to deal with an entity like Disney making matters worse.