My Journey

Nine days ago I started a journey that I have been looking forward too for a very long time.  I had a bariatric procedure called Sleeve Gastrectomy.  It's where they cut away a portion of your stomach so that it's shaped like a banana.  YouTube has some good informational videos if you're interested in learning more.
 
You see all my life I've been a "big" girl.  I can remember being 9 years old and getting a pair of navy dress pants for a gift that were a size 14 juniors.  I also can remember how cool I thought it was that I was 9 and can fit into a 14, thinking I was 14 as I always thought the number correlated with your age. Silly me.  I also remember my senior year in high school weighing 195 and thinking, "Oh I'll never let myself get to 200!"  Yeah right.  When I started the process to have this surgery on December 14, 2010, I weighed 254.  46 pounds away from 300.  Now that's perspective.

I actually started this with my husband as a support for him and just for shits and giggles so to speak.  Who knew it'd be me having surgery first.  Back in August when he got ill, after he got out of the hospital we went to an informational class so that he could be less scared to have the procedure and well, get more information.  We decided to do this together since I qualifed with a BMI of 42%.  Now mind you, there are hoops to jump through.  We had to do a minimum of 6 dietician visits, a psychiatric evaluation, change our eating habits, and I had to lose 10 pounds on my own  (Tommy 25 since he weighed more).  Easy right?  Not even.  Those 10 pounds were the hardest thing to do.  And my weight had to be documented at the Dr.'s office, which meant many trips there (after constant weighing of myself at home to make sure I'd hit the mark).  I was so proud of myself when I hit that 10 pound mark. That meant I could schedule my surgery.  And my goal was to lose 100 pounds.  Half of me.  So that I could go to my sister's closet (who has been skinny all her life) and borrow her cute clothes that I could never fit into. 

As of today I have lost 24 pounds.  I weigh 230.  I am so excited.  And I'm so grateful to my family and friends for supporting me on this decision to be a healthier me.  I will try to post monthly updates here, along with measurments and weights, so that I can track my progress and make a scrapbook album about it (of course).  So stay tuned for progress reports!

Love,
Tonja

12

Twelve years ago today at exactly 11:58 a.m. I gave birth to my last child Monique Louise Trump.  The history of her name is deep as she was named after my childhood friend Nicole Monique Johnson.  I loved Nicole's middle name and always told her I was naming my daughter after her.  Monique was supposed to be Monique Nicole after Nicole, but my mom was a little jealous that Gabby's middle name was after Tom's mom so we named Mo after my mom's middle name.  Turns out that Louise is an old family name and belongs to a great-great aunt, my cousin Janine, and my mother.  We couldn't be happier with our choice of a name for this baby girl.  She has nicknames like Mo, Mo-Lou, Louie, and MoniQue.  She has amazed us in ways that we could never imagine.  She was walking at 8 months old and talking shortly afterwards.  She is funny, silly, goofy, and beautiful all wrapped up in one.  She has had to fight for herself with her 2 sisters and brother.  Although she favors her brother over her sisters (when he's not picking on her).  This year she played football on the 6th grade boy's team.  She learned alot, played hard, and kicked ass and took names.  She is my blonde baby and sometimes shows it (Bless her heart!).  She is the good child still and doesn't sass back her parents yet.  Hopefully she never will.  At 12 she is in the 6th grade.  She gets good grades and still listens when we tell her to get her homework done.  She still loves on her momma and daddy.  She's still a little girly, but sometimes lets the tomboy out.  She is my pride and joy and my baby of all my babies.  She's everything we hoped she would be and much, much more!  We love you baby!!

Love Always,

Mom