Today I met what I will affectionately call the Vanishing Sisters. They are the nurses and program advisors for the Bariatric Program for Dr. Greenbaum. I never really spoke to much about my surgeon so lets start off with that.
Dr. Greenbaum
I've been interested in WLS for years but the time and place and situations never seemed right. About six months ago I had an appointment with my Primary Care Doctor (PCP) who said that if I didn't do something drastic my pre-diabetes would turn into full blown with little help of diet in a matter of just a few months. My father was and still is recovering from a massive heart attack that should of left him dead 2 years ago, he is my biggest inspiration. Taking these things into consideration I decided Fuck it, lets do this! I diligently searched obesityhelp.com and dsfacts.com and consulted with my insurance company. Through them I found Dr. David Greenbaum (also his profile on OH). Not only are his past patients a great dedication to a wonderful surgeon and bariatric program but everything I have read about and heard about this man is wonderful. He comes highly recommended and his stats are amazing. No he is not "God" but I've heard his hands are like magic once he opens you up. His after care is also phenomenal! He follows his patients very closely and makes himself available to us for anything we need. So now that I've told you about the amazing surgeon I was dying to meet you have to hear the kicker. The best part, the part that made all of this seem worth it, his office is 5 minutes from my house! I've heard of people traveling to him from other states, driving for hours on end just to use him. He's 5 minutes from me! That among so many other things made me feel like this was meant to be.
The Vanishing Sisters
Yesterday was pretty normal, routine pre admission testing things. Some blood work, a chest x-ray, vitals. I actually ran into an old friend, it was soo nice to see her. She is and always will be one of the only phlebotomists who can draw my blood without any pain and actually get my veins to work. Seeing a familiar face also put me at ease a little bit. When that was all done I had my bariatric class. This was fun! I am an over-preparer. I had literature that they didn't even have. I had information stored in my noggin they had expected to teach me. All thanks to the wonderful people over at obesityhelp.com . They had me prepped and ready to go. TinaMarie actually liked one of the packages I had so much she copied it for herself. I still managed to learn alot though. I learned about the tubes and drains (which I already knew but never saw) and a Novocaine pump for the suture line. We ended up just reviewing what I already knew and chit chatting for the time we had. Once we were done with TinaMarie and Debbie We were introduced to one of the Prepare for Surgery volunteers. She was WONDERFUL! She gave us our book and a relaxation CD and a "happy stone".
Not only do I feel confident and more relaxed about my surgery but I feel confident about my support system. They talked to my DP like she was part of the team and actually had some things for her to sign. Now I just have to wait these two weeks, It's like the last two weeks of your due date when your pregnant. No matter what you do to speed things up it just won't happen until it's time and it seems to take forever.
Look at you, educating the educators. You go girl!
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