In the sadly all-too-close example of why I opted not to have gastric bypass surgery…
The daughter who lives with me also has a little girl who’s 7 years old, my only granddaughter. Granddaughter’s daddy recently married his long-time girlfriend; just a few months ago, in fact. Both the daddy and new wife had gastric bypass over the last year. So far the dad’s doing fine. Unfortunately my granddaughter’s stepmom (a remarkable young woman and one I’m glad is raising our baby) has not stopped losing weight and can’t stop. The doctors just let her know she’s unlikely to live another year, and there’s absolutely nothing they can do about it. They took out too much in the bypass operation and there’s no putting it back; drugs meant to help her system absorb nutrients not only failed, they sent her into ongoing bouts of vomiting that are exacerbating the damage.
These are young people in their twenties, and she also has two young boys of her own. Needless to say, everyone is horrified at the outcome of what was supposed to be a positive step in this young woman’s life.
Topping it all off, my granddaughter’s begun spouting off to this young woman that “You’re not my real mom,” among other things. This little girl is too young to be filled in on the fact that her stepmom is dying, especially since everyone is hoping for a miracle turnaround. She doesn’t get how much it hurts her dad and her second mom. We’ll have my granddaughter a couple of weeks from now and are going to try at least to instill a bit more respect, if not love, for a lady who’s been nothing but good to her.
It’s a grim reminder that there are no guarantees in life. Routine or not, altering your body can kill you.