Re: HELP ME PLEASE

September 6, 2006

Sanita,

Where I live in California we have county run hospitals where people

with no insurance can see a doctor for very little or no fee. I have no idea

what type of programs they have in Ohio, but do they have this type of

county hospital? If you can get in and see a doctor and lay out all your

medical conditions, they may be able to help you out. Please don't give up,

don't ever give up! Keep looking for a job with benefits and in the mean

time look into the county system. Does Ohio have any type of government

aided medical coverage? Please keep fighting, and let me know if anything

like this is available to you. GOOD LUCK.....

Mike T

HELP ME PLEASE

> HELLO! MY NAME IS SANITA I AM A 28 YEAR OLD FEMALE LIVING IN OHIO.

September 6, 2006

Sanita,

I am in a very similar situation, and the only reason I am able to have the

surgery now is that my father-in-law died last winter, leaving us the house we

now live in. We are mortgaging it for the money for me to have the surgery this

year, because I, too, believe that I will die soon without it. If you own your

home, this is something you ought to consider. If not, some other options I

looked into included calling university hospitals (teaching hospitals)--many of

them offer financial aid or free surgeries for low-income individuals. However,

many of them will not do this for what they consider to be elective surgery, and

even though we know better, weight loss surgery is often put into that category.

Something else you might consider is contacting or joining a church in your area

if you don't already belong to one. I am not particularly religious, but if you

are, I have heard of a few people managing to raise the money for their

surgeries through local churches and civic organizations. The last thing I can

tell you, and it's something not too many people are comfortable with because of

the exposure, is that there were two young women (sisters) in a city near here

who simply contacted the local news and told them about their struggle with

super-morbid obesity and their difficulty financing the surgery. The news did a

human interest story on the women, about their desperation and fear of dying,

about the difficulty of getting employment and health insurance due to their

weight, and within a few months enough donations had poured in for both of them

to have lap bands. Sometimes, when everything else fails and we are down to the

last straw, crying out to the public is the only thing left.

I want to tell you that I really, really feel for you, as do, I'm certain, the

other members of this group. I know how it feels to be morbidly obese, scared of

dying, and out of resources. Keep in touch with this group and let us know how

your journey is going.

Kerri

HELP ME PLEASE

HELLO! MY NAME IS SANITA I AM A 28 YEAR OLD FEMALE LIVING IN OHIO. I

WEIGH 425LBS. AND I AM MISERABLE. I HAVE NO MEDICAL INSURANCE BECAUSE

MY JOB DOESNT OFFER IT AND I CANT GET ANY INSURANCE ON MY OWN DUE TO

MY WEIGHT. I HAVE TRIED TO GET EMPLOYMENT THAT OFFERS HEALTH

COVERAGE, BUT ALOT OF PEOPLE DO NOT WANNA HIRE ME BECAUSE MY

EXPERIENCE IS LIMITED BECAUSE I AM SICK ALOT AND HAVE GAPS IN BETWEEN

JOBS. I CAN BARELY TAKE 10 STEPS WITHOUT FEELING LIKE I AM ABOUT TO

FALL OUT. I CAN'T STAND MORE THAN 5 MINUTES WITHOUT MY BACK KILLING

ME. I HAVE TRIED LA WEIGHT LOSS AND WEIGHT WATCHERS I ONLY LOSE ABOUT

20LBS AT THE MOST.

I NEED TO KNOW IF THERE ARE PROGRAMS WHO OFFER THIS SURGERY FOR FREE

OR HAVE A REASONABLE PAYMENT PLAN EVEN IF I HAVE BAD CREDIT. I REALLY

FEEL LIKE IF I DONT GET THIS SURGERY I MAY DIE SOON. I HAVE SLEEP

APNEA, ASTHMA, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, ACID REFLUX AND CONSTANT BACK AND

CHEST PAINS. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME.

________________________________________________________________________

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September 6, 2006

Hi Sanita,

Have your tried insurance through your state's Human Resources? If you are

unable to afford insurance they might be able to help.

-- Re: HELP ME PLEASE

Sanita,

Please don't give up. There is help out there for you. You just need to find

it. My thoughts are with you.