Landrain
Hello, my story starts a long time ago. I have always been a 'Husky body' From the earliest days I can remember. 2nd or 3rd grade, I remember being one of the biggest boys in the class. By the time I was in High School, I easily weighed in at 200+ lbs, being only 5'7" this was rather on the large side. Although I also always did a lot of sports and exercise, so I was not overtly fat and flabby but rather solid. Having played a catcher for almost 8 years, my legs were and still are very muscular. This hard body mass, masked my true size and weight problems...
A few years after graduation, I went to join the US NAVY. It was a lot of work, because I did not make the 'standard body size' I was able to lose enough weight and enter the Navy. While in the Navy for 8 years, weight was always an issue. I was always in the 'fat boy club' but also being a Nuclear Machinist, I was valued for my non-body issues. This also helped mask my problems. In the Navy, I eventually rose to over 300 lbs. But due to extreme exercise and working out (on board ship, not a lot else to do but hit the Gym 1-2 times a day) I was able to drop to 214 lbs. Was very muscular and active. I was on the Rugby Club team, Softball team and was a devout weight lifter.
While on a cruise to the Med, I had the first of my crisis's. Somehow, I got a very bad case of Celluitus in my Lower Left leg. Now being a weight-lifter and the Tight-head Prop on the Rugby club team, My legs were already the size of small tree trunks. And while it seems vain and a little weird, I did have quite a few admirers of my Calves. They were well muscled, and looked like Popeye Arms. In fact more than a few called me Popeye for my large calves and forearms. But again, this was able to mask my real issues. The Celluitus really hit me hard, keeping me in sick-bay for over a week. Eventually, I got better and slowly back into the routine.
It was about 35 days later when it happened. It was Sept 10, 2008. Two days before my birthday. we were in Bahrain.
It was 5am and I was on the Start up team, getting ready to pull out to sea. It was 30 minutes before the end of the shift, we had been spinning the mains and putting the shaft on/off the jack for a couple hours. So the drop down to the jack was open... As I was preparing for end of shift, I was wiping down the Main Engine of lube oil. As the Big E was at this time over 40 years old, the Mains had their fair share of leaks. Not quite as bad as a Harley, but close.
Walking along the backside of the main, I was using two hands to wipe up the lube oil. When after a step to the left, the entire Engine room starting to rise up into the air... In actuality, I had just stepped out into thin air. That jacking gear platform, well the safety chair had been left down and I steeped off the walkway. As I fell, I thought, this is going to hurt...
Luckily there was a sub platform about 4 feet below. But my momentum brought me forward, my left ot trapped between an angle iron support and the armoured bulkhead. The restricting V acted as a pair of scissors on my leg, about 2 inches above my ankle. With a loud thump and pop I landed on the sub platform, my arms stretched out on the deck plates. Reaching up I pulled on the handrails, and jerked my leg free of the V. Crawling slowly to my feet I stood up. Being very careful, as I had on my weight on my right leg. slowly I shifted to my left leg, and promptly fell down in a screaming heap of pain. Deciding that this was now past the 'bad' stage. I slowly crawled across the deckplates towards the workbench and a phone.
As I crawled across the deck, my lower level watch came up the ladder. All 95 lbs of him, soaking wet. Seeing me crawling across the deck, by now with a stupid grin on my face, thanks adrenaline, he started to laugh at me. When he got close enough I grabbed him by the shirt collar and looked into his aims, and yelled, "GO GET EVERYONE!" Well soon, bells were sounding, the PA was blaring "Medical Emergency in Main Machinery Room 4"...
The medics came downstairs, and told me, yep you sprained it very badly. I just looked at them, as they took off my shoe, slowly lifted my leg about six inched off the deck... at which point the completely severed tib/fib decided to make a 90 degree angle n my leg about 3" above the ankle, so that my foot was flat on the floor. As the young corpseman looked down, I thought he was going to throw up all over me. needless to say, we all realized it was broken.
6 hours later I was on a Helo to Bahrain. The next morning I woke up on the way to surgery. They put 2 plates 22 screws, 3 pins in my ankle that day. For 30 days I was in the Bahrain Hospital, and then I finally flew home to Va. The next week at Portsmouth, they realized that the wrong plates were used in my leg. and I had the second surgery on my leg. They removed all the hardware and replaced it. I was in a cast for almost 8 months.
After removal of the cast, they determined that there were more problems, and performed another surgery. 6 more months in a cast. By this time all of the inaction and bed rest was starting to catch up with me and all of the masks to my problems with weight were removed. I ballooned in size and weight. Soon I was over 360 lbs.
It wasn't long before I was out of the Navy. Between my size and my disability caused by the break. I was unable to work aboard ship. And I went back home. At home, walking started to become an issue. The pain was bad whenever I put pressure, or flexed my ankle. The mobility of the ankle was listed at 80% immobile. Running was no longer a possibility. Also to go along with this, the 3 surgeries on my leg left a wound that never fully healed and closed up. It is still an issue to this day.
I was able to find work, and was doing quite well. As long as I did not need to be very mobile. Some days were very bad. As the wound in my leg would exudite fluid. It would look like I stepped in a bucket of water after an 8 hour day at a desk. Eventually my training and knowledge led me to a better job working for Duke Energy. I went through the training course for a new plant opening up. I easily had the highest score and knowledge of the facility. The hours were long as we started up. 12 hour days. But I loved the job and the challenge. Unfortunately my weight caught up with me again, I ended up in the hospital with CHF and a heart attack. This was a shock to me. I was also determined to be a diabetic and have hypertension. After a week in the hospital, I went back to work. Only to be laid off permanently due to my medical conditions. Although that was never the express reason, it was my limited mobility that was the issue.
For over a year I scratched by eventually returning home. I got another good job, ironically working for GM, after I just left Michigan. But this is a great job. I get to work from home, I travel for deployments. It is very technical and requires knowledge and problem solving. I love it. Over the years, that wound on my leg has become infected several times. Placing me in the hospital on more than one occasion. Once on the verge of organ failure. And the whole time, the weight slowly crept up. soon over 400 lbs.
Two years ago, while travelling for work to Brazil, I hurt my leg. yes, the left one. For two days I could barely stand on it. and then as we prepared to leave I felt better. I returned home to Ohio. Three days later I was in the Hospital. I couldn't stand on my foot. The pain was insane. And my WBC was over 45,000... Something was very, very, wrong. necrotizing fasciitis had hit me, so a week later, and 7 or 8 surgeries later, I was very ill and in the hospital. For over 2 months I was in hospitals or rehabs. Wound vac on my legs. And still that open wound.
Six months later I went from being pretty healthy to another WBC 35,000. And several surgeries later another pair of holes in my leg. Slowly I recovered, but the constant pain made movement harder than ever. and the weight went further upwards.. 450 lbs.
A year after the First series of surgeries, they attempted to strip a vein from my leg. to lower the swelling in the leg. Well two surgeries later, it became extremely infected, and another very large hole was cut into my leg to removed the dead tissue. At this point I had had 13 or so surgeries, and 7 separate incision sites on my leg.
Now it is a little more than a year after the last surgery. And Last week I found myself in the hospital. Another infection. The original wound is as large as ever. While 4 of the other 6 sites are fully healed. This time they checked for a biopsy to see if I had some form of tumour at the original wound site. No word on that diagnosis yet. But they stressed that I need to lose weight. Something I have known for quite a while.
Over the last 3 years I have tried to get surgery. through the VA system, as well as through my private insurance. But have run into so many hoops and hurdles. Twice the process stopped because of my surgeries and infections. The VA actually told me I was too heavy for their surgery table. (at 500 lbs.)
Well now I am trying again. With a new insurance company that appears to have fewer hoops I start again on June 5'th 2013, down the road to freedom. I am attending a meeting at University Hospital for new patients. Hopefully after that I can get on the path to surgery. I have researched the different options a lot, and have had two separate psych tests for prospective patients. Hopefully, we can get this fast tracked, and On my way to freedom.
Current weight: 475
Height: 5'7"
-Diabetes
-Hypertension
-High Cholesteral
-Sleep Apnea
BMI: 74.3
