June 2007
by Margaret Houk, RN, BSN
Margi Houk, RN, BSN, is a case manager with Saint Mary’s Health Plans, Reno, Nevada.
My Journey to Surgery
I have struggled with my weight since my birth. It is a family disease; my older brother has also dealt with a lifelong battle against morbid obesity and all of its associated health problems. In the fall of 2002, my brother nearly died while on a hunting trip to Colorado from complications of being at a high altitude. He was in the ICU on a ventilator for seven days and was the forced to be dependent on a supplemental oxygen tank for a full year following the trip. That development was the slap in the face I needed; I suddenly saw myself going down the same path and realized that with my similar health and weight situation, I was staring at an untimely and young death looming on the near horizon.
Posted in 2007 June, Patient Perspective | 2 Comments »
