Debra Bohannon:  

So I guess I will give you guys a little info on what has been going on with me. I worked at Santa Fe High for 10 years as an Administrative Assistant before we moved to the Albuquerque area. I now live in Rio Rancho and work for a large Law Firm. As many of you know I have been overweight since I was about 13. When I finished high school I was weighing 175 pounds. That seems so small to me now from where I am but for a teenager...that was big. Well, I had some things happen to me when I was younger and I ate to escape and along with 2 pregnancies I gained a lot more weight. The depression from my mom's death in May of 2006 didn't help my weight either. In 2006 I was topping the scales at 325! What was I doing to myself. I finally said enough was enough. I made a decision to change my life and get healthy and be here for my girl. I decided I would have weight loss surgery since I could never get the weight off myself...was this drastic....yes but it was the only chance I had to live longer than a few years. I did pre-op testing for 6 months and some of those test were horrible and I would never want to go through them again. They don't do the surgery in NM so I had to travel to Lubbock to meet the surgeon, for the surgery and follow ups. I have an amazing boyfriend who was there with me everystep of the way. He went to support group meetings, dr appointments, follow ups and the surgery with me. Well my surgery was on April 15, 2008 and I have since lost 106 pounds and over 90 combined inches. I still have a long way to go...Expand for more