Dateline (Long)
I was really impressed with Al Roker on the Dateline show last night. My
17 year old son watched with me (after almost pitching a fit because he
couldn’t watch a movie he wanted to see) and he was really impressed
also.
I thought the video diary was an excellent idea. Although I was appalled
that anyone would put a popular public image ahead of someone’s health
and life (as Al’s agent did), I could see that for a celebrity, this was
a real issue of concern. I was also taken aback by his own Mother’s fear
that he would have a drastic personality change if he had the
surgery—it really brought home the need for some heavy-duty education
to the general public.
I enjoyed everything about the show, and even though I have always been
an Al Roker fan, I am completely in love with him now, because he really
told the truth about what it is like to be morbidly obese in this world.
I also have a tendency to use self-deprecating humor to get through
social situations–and at the same time, I yearn for the time when I
won’t feel I have to.
The one thing that really bothered me is when Jane Pauley, at the end of
the show, sort of dwelled on the “danger” of the operation and it’s rate
of complication and death. She made it sound like it was more dangerous
than other types of surgery, when, in fact, it is about the same as
having your gall bladder taken out. All surgery has elements of risk and
the potential for complication. You could go in to the hospital to have
your toe operated on, develop an infection and die–but nobody seems to
think it is important to put WLS into perspective along side of other
surgeries.
I think it is because, even with all the studies and findings, the
disability status for MO, etc….people still have it in their minds
that obese people aren’t in a “life-threatening” health situation. They
can just ‘push away’ from the table or just use ‘will power’ to lose 100
pounds–you don’t need surgery to do that. It reminds me very much of
how depression was viewed 20 years ago—people were thought to just be
down in the dumps, and they didn’t need medication, they should just
“buck up” and “pull themselves up from their own bootstraps”—just stop
being “sad”.
Well, I’ve tried over and over to just stop being “fat”. It has never
worked for me, and I know I have to have some major help in the right
direction to do this–I have to have the right tool. And I am really
grateful to Mr. Roker for putting his heart out there for everybody to
see–I think it will do wonders for the education of the general public
on Obesity and the surgical treatment we all need(ed).
Teri
Eugene, Oregon
Regence BCBS-PEBB
Very Pre-op, very hopeful for a miracle