Moving Forward

As the weeks ticked by, and I still hadn't heard from my weight loss surgery program, despite my repeated outreach to them, I gave up. Between the repeated cancelations and rescheduling to poor experiences with my counselors, in August—when I should have been having my surgery—I scheduled an appointment with my primary care physician to discuss my options.

I shared my experience at the program and brought up, again, the idea of wanting to get the duodenal switch. He supported me in moving on to a new program but made sure I was aware that I'd likely have to start over again with the process, and there was a chance that the place might have a waiting list. The programs in Boston were popular. I understood; if it meant that I got to have the surgery and I'd feel positive about the place I was going, I was ok with starting over from scratch and waiting. That day, my doctor spent time with me googling programs in Boston that offered the DS surgery. I left his office armed with several programs to research, feeling once again optimistic about my options.

Two days later, I made my choice, and he sent in a referral immediately. I was thrilled to hear that I could get my first appointment just a month. And with the surgeon of my choice. I couldn't believe it. It felt like the stars were aligning for me.

Because of the format of the appointment, I had to take the day off of work. For one, without traffic, Boston is over an hour away. With traffic? Could be over three hours away, you never know. Two, unlike program 1, which spread out appointments week by week, month by month, the new program stacked appointments on the same day. I'd see the dietitian, mental health counselor, nurse, and surgeon all on the same day. I loved that model, such a time saver.

They had an extensive pre-appointment paperwork routine. Three sets of questionnaires that I had to complete before I arrived. That alone felt more thorough and personal than the entire experience at program 1. It took me three days to complete it all, and I emailed it over to the office as I completed the forms. I was so excited for my appointment in Boston.