Life-Changing Surgery for Amanda

Hey y'all! So let me provide a short back story... in January 2020, I weighed 532 lbs. but sadly, was not my heaviest recorded weight. The combination of needing an industrial scale and having significant trouble completing everyday tasks sparked my decision to move forward with weight loss surgery. One month later, I went to Mexico where I had the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery... and it was the best decision I've made in my life!

Fast forward 20 months later, I've lost a total of 282 lbs. It is completely hard for me to wrap my head around that but so completely pumped about it! So much has changed over the course of my weight loss journey. The non-scale victories have been far more rewarding than seeing the number on the scale go down... although that has been amazing as well. Not only has my physical health improved, but my mental health as well. (Side note: Therapy is a necessity when undergoing such drastic changes & I highly recommend!!!) I have freed myself from the mental and physical prisons, only to step into a new one, my excess skin. I was fully aware that with the weight loss, this would be an issue but was truly unaware of how great of an issue it would be.

Thankfully I have a larger body frame but the pounds of excess skin hanging from my body causes pain and discomfort. If I'm being completely transparent, it becomes irritated & infected under the skin folds . I think my body has responded as well as it can to the drastic weight loss but is causing some limitations to additional physical activity. Exercising helps me to continue to lose weight but the vicious cycle that occurs is... you guessed it... the extra movement causes the skin to rub and develop the rashes. So my only option is to have it surgically removed.

The proceeds from this fundraiser will be used to pay for a Corset body lift (also known as Lower 360 body lift) as well as an inner thigh/calf lift. While my arms and chest have excess skin as well and additional surgeries will be needed, my main priority are the areas that are causing me pain. I will need to have an additional surgery performed on my outer thighs as well.

I have attempted claims for insurance coverage but have been denied, as our policy does not cover such procedures. I even attempted an appeal and was still denied. As discouraging as that was, I have chosen to persevere and seek other means... and that is where YOU come in... I cannot do this without your help! While I do have a portion of the $34K needed for the first 2 surgeries, I still have a huge portion needed so I would greatly appreciate any help received. As far as timeline, the plastic surgeon who will be performing the surgeries stays booked 4-5 months out but I am hoping to have the surgeries done in February/March 2022 but will depend largely on funding.

It is a major step of faith for me to put my story out there but I know that God has greater plans for me that far exceed my understanding. So thank you in advance for your help, for your love, and for your prayers!!!