For those of you that do not know me or have not known me for very long, there is something else that you may not know about me.  A little over 4 years ago, I was very close to being totally crippled.  My weight had played a huge part in destroying my hips and I had battled severe pain, MRIs, steroid injections, physical therapy and multiple doctor visits before they realized that my hips were crumbled into thousands of pieces.  I was told on August 25, 2009 (at the age of 38) that I needed both of my hips replaced.  This is not something easy to handle at a young age.  This is something that happens to people in their 70's or 80's, not someone in their 30's.  I cried for days.  I was scared to death and was trying to deal with all the possibilities of what could go wrong and the thought of leaving my two little boys without a Mom.  I was dealing with so much pain that my family was already suffering.  I had no choice.  The surgeries were the best thing that ever happened to me (medically).  I had my left hip replaced in October 2009.  Surgery was on Monday morning.  Monday evening I was up walking, Wednesday I was home and Friday I was at physical therapy.  I had my left hip replaced in January 2010.   Surgery was on Monday morning.  Monday evening I was up walking, Wednesday I was home and Friday I was at physical therapy.

I was a new woman with a new lease on life.  I was able to walk, I was able to do things with my kids, I was able to be more active.  This did not make me realize the need for weight loss at that time.  I'm not sure why but I didn't have that mental break-through at that time but the journey continued...


My youngest son calls me the bionic woman.  These are my hips.  They are titanium steel and yes, I set off the metal detectors across the world.