Skin Surgery - Part 2
Donation protected
Hi Everyone! The time has finally come for my second skin surgery!!!!!! It is scheduled for November 23 (the day before Thanksgiving), contingent upon funds being raised.
As you may know, I had been overweight all my life and weighed over 300 pounds for 20-25 years. In 2012 we began an incredible journey (I say "we" because I had a group of people around me offering, love, support, encouragement, training and coaching). Through daily, intentional choices based on spiritual truths, God's design for our bodies, healthy eating and exercise, my body responded and the weight came off. You can imagine that after initially losing 172 pounds, I had a lot of leftover skin. This picture below shows the excess skin on the front side of my body (removed in the first surgery).
When Allen and I met with the surgeon in 2014/2015, we pinpointed all the places that skin needed to be removed for me to be healthy and active without being encumbered. There was too much skin in different areas to safely remove in just one surgery. In March 2015, thanks to all of your support, love, and financial help, I was able to have the first surgery. This surgery lasted about 6-1/2 hours. He removed the skin from my abdomen, stomach, breasts and lifted those areas to their proper places. We had planned to do the next surgery about a year later, but little did I know I would nend rotator cuff surgery in September 2015 (requiring many months of physical therapy afterward). We are now ready to do the other skin surgery. I have been for a consultation with the surgeon, been checked by my cardiologist and am in good health - ready to proceed!! I'm so excited to be planning to have this 2nd (and final) skin removal. This will be another 5-6 hour surgery. It will include my upper, inner thighs and the back side of my body. I would show you pictures but because of the location of this skin, I cannot really post pictures in a discreet way, so let me explain to you why this surgery is important.
Thighs - I love being active and this skin gets in the way. I cannot wear regular shorts. I can wear "bicycle shorts" but still have to make sure skin "pockets" on my thighs don't "fall" out the bottom. There are no bathing suits that I can wear. The ones with shorts or skirts do not cover this skin. Again, I can only wear the bicycle shorts with a bathing suit top.
Hips, Lower Back and Buttocks - One of my initial incisions went hip bone to hip bone (in the front). I have similar skin issues on the backside as I did on the frontside. Again, I cannot really appropriately post pictures of these areas. Even with supportive attire, this skin still "flaps" with movement and is troublesome. The surgeon will now continue that incision all around the backside to remove excess skin and lift everything to proper places.
Insurance will not cover any of this second surgery, so we are launching this campaign and appreciate any financial support and prayers. I know some of you have been waiting for me to announce when we would get to do this - thank you for your continued support and encouragement!!
If you want to read more about my story and the first surgery campaign, you can go to: www.gofundme.com/angela-morrell
If you want to know more about this whole journey including: foundational truths that changed my life, weight loss, nutrition, challenges, blog posts, exercise, encouragement, coaching, seminars, resources, etc., you can go to: www.iamfortified.com
As you may know, I had been overweight all my life and weighed over 300 pounds for 20-25 years. In 2012 we began an incredible journey (I say "we" because I had a group of people around me offering, love, support, encouragement, training and coaching). Through daily, intentional choices based on spiritual truths, God's design for our bodies, healthy eating and exercise, my body responded and the weight came off. You can imagine that after initially losing 172 pounds, I had a lot of leftover skin. This picture below shows the excess skin on the front side of my body (removed in the first surgery).
When Allen and I met with the surgeon in 2014/2015, we pinpointed all the places that skin needed to be removed for me to be healthy and active without being encumbered. There was too much skin in different areas to safely remove in just one surgery. In March 2015, thanks to all of your support, love, and financial help, I was able to have the first surgery. This surgery lasted about 6-1/2 hours. He removed the skin from my abdomen, stomach, breasts and lifted those areas to their proper places. We had planned to do the next surgery about a year later, but little did I know I would nend rotator cuff surgery in September 2015 (requiring many months of physical therapy afterward). We are now ready to do the other skin surgery. I have been for a consultation with the surgeon, been checked by my cardiologist and am in good health - ready to proceed!! I'm so excited to be planning to have this 2nd (and final) skin removal. This will be another 5-6 hour surgery. It will include my upper, inner thighs and the back side of my body. I would show you pictures but because of the location of this skin, I cannot really post pictures in a discreet way, so let me explain to you why this surgery is important.
Thighs - I love being active and this skin gets in the way. I cannot wear regular shorts. I can wear "bicycle shorts" but still have to make sure skin "pockets" on my thighs don't "fall" out the bottom. There are no bathing suits that I can wear. The ones with shorts or skirts do not cover this skin. Again, I can only wear the bicycle shorts with a bathing suit top.
Hips, Lower Back and Buttocks - One of my initial incisions went hip bone to hip bone (in the front). I have similar skin issues on the backside as I did on the frontside. Again, I cannot really appropriately post pictures of these areas. Even with supportive attire, this skin still "flaps" with movement and is troublesome. The surgeon will now continue that incision all around the backside to remove excess skin and lift everything to proper places.
Insurance will not cover any of this second surgery, so we are launching this campaign and appreciate any financial support and prayers. I know some of you have been waiting for me to announce when we would get to do this - thank you for your continued support and encouragement!!
If you want to read more about my story and the first surgery campaign, you can go to: www.gofundme.com/angela-morrell
If you want to know more about this whole journey including: foundational truths that changed my life, weight loss, nutrition, challenges, blog posts, exercise, encouragement, coaching, seminars, resources, etc., you can go to: www.iamfortified.com
Organizer
Angela Morrell
Organizer
Murfreesboro, TN