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Testimonial
Hi everyone, I gave this intro speech to my class the other
day. I thought I would share this with you all. I had to tell
the class something about myself.
"Hi,
my name is Patty Cooper; I am 34 years old and a single mom
with two great kids. I tried to think of one word that would
best describe who I am... and that word is LOSER... yes...I
AM A LOSER!
I live
in Hopkinsville, KY and am a student at Hopkinsville Community
College. I work part time at the college...and I AM A LOSER!
Eight
years ago, my life was not that great. I lost my job and went
on welfare, then moved into the projects and then went on
disability...and I AM A LOSER!
For eight years, I felt sorry for myself. I was miserable
with the person I had become. I was not healthy and gained
a lot of weight. I never went anywhere because I was ashamed
of who I was and people would treat me like I was a freak.
You see, I weighed almost 500 lbs. I AM A LOSER!
(You should
have seen the looks on the faces of my classmates and instructor.)
One year ago this month (January 18, 2002) I was at my highest
weight, 484 lbs. I am sure I did not have long to live. I
had tried exercising and dieting and all those things that
over weight people try to do to lose weight. Nothing worked.
I prayed for God to help me. He blessed me with bringing a
wonderful surgeon named Dr. John Husted into my life. He performed
gastric bypass surgery on me and saved my life. (I held up
a pair of jeans that I wore a just before my surgery. They
were so tight on me I could barely breathe in them. The looks
on everyone's faces were disbelief. I held up these jeans
and told them that I could now fit both my legs into one leg
of the jeans.)
I have
lost 182 lbs. I AM A LOSER!!! This has been the happiest and
most wonderful year of my entire life. I am healthy and active
and full of life. I just wanted to share this with everyone.
I wanted you all to know that dreams do come true if you try
hard enough and don't give up. I am no longer living in the
projects, I have a great life, I am very independent and I
hold my head up high and smile! Don't ever let anyone tell
you that dreams don't come true. You see... I TRULY AM A LOSER!"
(I got the most heart warming applause from my class. I was
almost in tears as I was sharing this with everyone. My instructor,
a man, and some of my classmates had tears in their eyes.
It felt great to be able to share this with everyone.)
I want
everyone in this group to be able to make their dreams come
true. Many of us have, thanks to wonderful surgeons like Dr.
Husted and Dr. Anderson. Those of you who are waiting or fighting
the battle with insurance companies, hang in there... DREAMS
DO COME TRUE! xoxox Patty
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