The TL:DR Version: 

I managed to lose 165 pounds during this hellish pandemic through an amazing bariatric program and want to celebrate with an epic trip to the UK. Unfortunately, earlier this year, I had to replace the roof on my house, which ate into some of the money that I had set aside for this trip and I am asking for help in recouping some of what I had to spend on my roof!

The LONG version:

Back in November 2019, I had my first appointment with a new primary care provider. That visit involved the usual physical exam which always starts off with stepping on the scale. I have battled with my weight for the lion's share of my life with varying degrees of success. It has always been a struggle and when I set foot on that scale, it registered the highest weight that I have ever been at: 350 pounds. My doctor made a recommendation of a weight loss program at one of the local hospitals and urged me to attend one of their info sessions as a first step to getting my weight under control. I was a bit skeptical but did eventually attend the info session after the holidays were over.  

February 2017

It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, as I'd gone through a bariatric program several years earlier. I had found success with it until I stopped putting in the work needed and began having some complications with my procedure (lap band). Still, I listened to the talk that the director of the program gave and made a follow up appointment to discuss pursuing the medical weight loss program, as I was led to believe that I was not eligible for another bariatric procedure based on conversations from the previous program I was in.

Turns out I was very much mistaken! The PA who was handling my intake informed me that revision surgeries were very common and insurance approvals for them were routine. It threw me for a loop, so she sent me away with some reading materials so I could think about whether I wanted to pursue the medical or surgical weight loss program. I made the decision to pursue the surgical program to revise my failed lap band to a gastric sleeve. This was at the end of February 2020.

Fast forward 1 month and I am starting to think I picked the worst possible time to pursue this. With COVID-19 rampaging and causing so much stress and anxiety, I felt like I was going to fail. When I get stressed and anxious, I always turn to food. Yet, here I was on a pretty strict medically supervised diet. 

Despite dealing with all of the "fun" that COVID brought into our lives in the first half 2020, I stuck with it and by the time I had my surgery (July 7th...almost 1 year!), I had lost 78.3lbs (I started at 341.1lbs...I lost weight between that appointment in November and my intake into the program!). After my surgery, I lost an additional 86.6lbs for a total of 164.9lbs! I am not exaggerating when I say that I now weigh the same as I did when I was in high school!

It hasn't all been sunshine and roses and there are still daily struggles, but I feel much better than I ever have and enjoy being able to be more active.

October 2020 - At the summit of Mount Monadnock

So last August, I was trying to come up with some way to celebrate what I had accomplished (and would continue to accomplish). In the past, whenever I wanted to celebrate...I'd turn to food. That seemed like it would be entirely counterproductive to what I was trying to celebrate so I was desperately seeking something else. My best friend suggested I travel somewhere I have always wanted to go (since I LOVE to travel) and her words were the bolt of lightning I needed. I immediately knew what I wanted to do.

I wanted to go to the United Kingdom. 

A trip there has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and something that I'd never accomplished. Celebration goal acquired! Now, in August of 2020, most of the world was enjoying lower COVID case numbers that made it look like we might have been in the clear. All the same, I knew I needed more time to plan such a trip, so I figured that Spring of 2021 would be the goal, provided COVID infection numbers continued to stay low.

COVID infection numbers did not continue to stay low.

We all know how fall and winter went when it come to the second wave of COVID. I realized by late October that my Spring 2021 goal was a pipe dream and I would have to pivot to a Fall 2021 trip, which I had already considered for a backup plan. Of course, something else also happened in October 2020 that was unforeseen and kind of threw a wrench in the works.  I received a letter from my homeowner's insurance telling me that they had done an inspection of the exterior of my house and declared that my roof was in poor shape and needed to be repaired. Now, I knew I was going to have to replace my roof within the next couple of years and had planned to float it along for another 2-3 years before having to tackle that expense. My insurance company said I needed to have the work done by October 2021 or they would cancel my policy. While they said that it only needed repairs in some places, it would have been pointlessly dumb to spend money to repair parts of a roof that I was going to need to replace within 2-3 years time. So, I bit the bullet back in March and had my roof replaced. This, unfortunately, ate into a chunk of the money I had earmarked for my UK Trip.

So here we are at the end of June, with Fall 2021 fast approaching. As of this morning, I have booked my airfare for a trip to the UK from August 31st through October 6th. I have a VERY broad itinerary that needs some more fleshing out, and I am in the process of trying to learn the rules of the road for driving in the UK.  I am also hoping and praying that the UK's rise in COVID cases in the past few weeks will subside in the next 2 months so that travel will actually be possible. If you have not yet gotten your COVID vaccine, PLEASE DO SO! The vaccine works and will help reduce your risk of being hospitalized in the event that you do contract the virus!  

While the unexpected costs coming out of the roof replacement haven't made my planned trip impossible, it has definitely put a dent in my funds for the trip that I am hoping that you all can help me out with so that I can make the best of this amazing opportunity and can celebrate my epic achievement in losing nearly half of my body weight!

Your support in this will mean the world to me and help make a literal dream come true. This is a dream I have had since I was a little kid and have just never found it within my grasp until now! I will be more than happy to share my itinerary with anyone who donates to this campaign and send you a photo from the location of your choosing! I am also very interested in ideas of places I simply should not miss!

The only caveat I can think to provide is that this trip remains entirely dependent on how COVID infection rates change within the next couple of months, both here in the US but more importantly in the UK, where the Delta variant has taken hold. My booking the airfare for the dates I intend to go was entirely an optimistic gamble on my part that the trajectory that COVID is on will change and that a US/UK travel corridor will be in place by the end of August. Should that not be the case, I will end up having to eat the "change" fees to try and re-book for Spring 2022. Right now, I am keeping my fingers crossed that COVID infection rates will begin to drop again.

Again, I appreciate any and all support that anyone can provide to help me celebrate such a huge life change!

Thank you so much for reading!