She Ain't Heavy

I watched part of a television episode of the docu-reality show Heavy last night on A&E. Though I am no longer that kind of heavy, I can, and will always relate to these folks suffering. In one of the first segments of the show the producers flashed a sign across the screen that read something along the line of lymphedema is caused by extreme obesity which I thought was really careless of them. That is my paraphrase, however, when I read their statement, I was annoyed. I was not born an obese baby yet I was born with lymphedema as are many people on the planet. You don't have to be fat to have primary lymphedema and you don't have to have lymphedema to be fat. These TV people, whoever they are, pretending to be the font of  knowledge (my projection onto the TV gods) need to get their facts straight. Everyone knows that lymphedema is caused by aliens.  If you're doing a television show where the obese have pannus of lymphedema hanging from their legs, at a minimum use that moment to inform correctly. The National Lymphedema Network has a page dedicated to the causes of lymphedema.


The TV show should have posted the following statement after asking for my opinion (IMHO): 

Lymphedema can develop when lymphatic vessels are missing or impaired (primary), or when lymph vessels are damaged or lymph nodes removed (secondary).

Of course, being obese doesn't help ones lymphedema and having lymphedema doesn't assist with obesity anymore than either of those conditions helps a heart condition, ones predilection to diabetes or a thong fitting properly. Where obesity plays a part in lymphedema or vice versa, is when the lymphatic vessels have been overwhelmed and/or damaged by excess weight gain. Don't take my word for this. Consult a real doctor. I only play one in my mind on occasions.

I weight 187 (at 5'8") which probably sounds (to some folk) like I still have pendulous blobs (pannus) of lymphedema hanging off my body though I've reduced my own leg lymphedema by a third easily or more since having the gastric bypass surgery in June 2010. I do not have measurements, only pants. I now have what "the others" refer to as normal-looking legs. The pounds come off more slowly now though they are still coming off. Again, I have no regrets about choosing the surgery to gain better mobility as I age, the increased energy I experience has been phenomenal, the ability to pick myself up should I fall, is reward, and fitting into much smaller clothing. Anyone who says gastric bypass (or weight loss surgery of any kind) is the easy way out (which you hear all the time because I guess we're supposed to keep on suffering - all together now) can kiss my much-skinnier-than-their-ass. Dieting, occasional binge eating, the constant obsession with food, and beating myself up for failing and flailing was the easy way out (aka death) at a much younger age.


I'm preparing for a trip to Honolulu. My son lives there though  -- get this...he's moving back to the mainland about a week after I return from visiting him. By that time I'm going to be sick of him. I mean, if I have to pick him up at the airport, I'll cringe. I'm hoping he'll phone a friend or call a lifeline. Maybe he'll take the cash cab. 


I'm not taking Bella with me so can she stay with you? Let me know how you want to arrange for my sending her to your place. She has a lot of toys, balls and chewie things, plus a crate. 


I'm going to Honolulu with my mom. She's currently wintering in San Felipe, Mexico. She'll fly back to N. Calif and we'll fly out of San Jose to Honolulu where we'll stay at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio in a deluxe ocean view room complete with breakfast. (I'll pilfer fish to eat throughout the day.) We get an official lei greeting at the airport. 


This may be my last opportunity to visit Hawaii in this lifetime so I'm considering bucket list-type items (lei, drink on the deluxe, ocean view veranda, umbrella in drink, muu-muu fitting, breakfast with Dog & Beth, torture session exercising with Gilad) The lei greeting..., well, my prospects for getting lei'd otherwise are slim.