Last May I went over to the Fair on the Square near our house in Collierville.  I was actually going to the square on a mission and didn’t realize anything special was going on.  It was a dreary rainy day but Becky and I ventured out in our rain boots for a quick trip.  One of the many local people that had set up a tent was Kristin Irby Photography.  She was having a giveaway for a free photography session and I of course signed up.  I was feeling bad that on such a gloomy day they didn’t have many people come out and I think Becky and I (she filled out a second entry with my name on it) were the first to put our names in the bowl.  I never win anything but the odds were in my favor.  Plus Kristin decided that she would up my chances by giving away 2 sessions for those who braved the weather.  Needless to say I won the drawing and cashed in last weekend.

Kristin met us on the square (so we could have a piece of Collierville in our picts) on Sunday for a fall photo shoot.  We had a great time taking anything from cuddly pictures to jumping off trains. She even took some photos of us trying to reign in our furmonsters.  We have to wait 2-3 weeks for her to pull them together but she posted a sneak peek for us on her blog today.  Check them out and hopefully there will be a way for me to share the others with you in a few weeks.

I promise I haven’t been trying to completely neglect the blog here, but I’ve been determined to make this my next post and I’ve been surprisingly emotional every time I start to write.  I guess when you think you’re losing someone you love it’s hard to write about it even when things have taken a 180 and the problems no longer exist.  So here’s my best attempt at telling Dave’s story without crying the whole way through.  Don’t worry, the ending is happy.

This time a year ago Dave and I took a birthday trip to Nashville.  Having moved to yet another new city, new job, and new house we decided on a much needed break and our 26th birthdays were the perfect excuse. Working nights for the first time had been tough on Dave so we decided on an easy exploration of Vanderbilt’s campus and hopefully to slip out for some shopping and dinner before the football game that night. But our walk through campus ended in the emergency room. For the second time in our short marriage I stood by my husband’s hospital bed. 

The first time had been 2 years earlier.  We had called an ambulance to our house when Dave was only 24 for what he believed was a heart attack. This time Dave was not only complaining of chest pain but of numbness on his left side.  It didn’t seem real.  I kept thinking that heart attacks and strokes happened to people in their 80s, not 26-year-olds. Standing there I was haunted by our previous ER trip; by the look in the doctor’s eyes when he asked “Do you want to be dead by 30?”  Despite the doctor’s warnings after the first “incident”, our attempts at minor lifestyle changes failed. Our lives continued at warp speed, and everything revolved around our hectic schedules, especially meal time. When we weren’t eating extra large fast food it seemed we were celebrating something with friends and family. And what’s a celebration without food?  Before we moved to Tennessee and before the life changing birthday trip, his weight had soared to 260lbs.

A couple of EKGs, numerous other tests and 6 hours later we were back in the hotel room. Our room overlooked the stadium and I stood at the window pretending to watch the game wondering how it had come to this, silently crying while he slept behind me.
 
For the second time in his short 26 years Dave thought his life was over. He’d been given yet another chance and this time he really wasn’t going to let it go. He discussed his ideal weight with his doctor and it was like a night and day change. Of course his night schedule made it easier to stick to a low calorie diet, but his health had become his #1 priority. Fast food was no longer on the menu, instead it was replaced with yogurt, fruit, veggies, and grilled chicken. Almost immediately he began working out.  It was disheartening at first that his once very athletic body could barley squeeze out a 10 minute run or 5 crunches but it gradually got easier. He ran on our elliptical, doing crunches and push ups, then gradually added in weight training. I was traveling a lot for work at the time and could hardly believe the week by week changes.  I know for him it was alot of work, but for me not seeing him everyday the weight just seemed to fall off.  By Christmas (just 3 months later) he had lost 60lbs. By summer he was down to 170lbs. He’s stayed at a constant weight since. He continues to work out and while he still loves to celebrate with food, he looks at in a different way. It’s no longer about the quantity but the quality. He loves to grill and experiment with new recipes. Down from 4 high dosage medicines he’s now only on two low dosages and is expecting at least one to be removed at his next doctor’s visit.  While an official diagnosis of his “episodes” was never found, managing stress and anxiety came naturally with the weight loss and he has not had even a minor attack in the last year. Compared to this time last year he has lost a total of 90lbs.

Dave has always been a very stubborn person, just ask his mom!  When he puts his mind to something he won’t let it go but you certainly can not make him do something he doesn’t want to do. For several years various family members and friends had worried about him and told him he needed to change. But the reality is that a decision like this has to be for yourself. It can’t be about anyone but you. He finally made the choice and changed his life.

I’ve loved Dave no matter how he looked, in fact I’ve never know him this small.  It’s not until I look back through pictures that I realize how big he actually was.  We just celebrated our 27th birthdays and it’s amazing what can change in a year. We have a different life now, a better life. We don’t waste a minute of it, and are enjoying every moment we have. The best gift either of us received is looking at each other and knowing that he has countless more birthdays to come.

The pictures are also in a Picasa album if you prefer to see the dramatic changes there rather than in this slideshow.

 P.S. I submitted Dave to the Joy Fit Club on the Today Show hoping they’ll select him for a highlight.  I’m so proud of him I want to show him off in a big way  

P.P.S. We have a rediculous amount of XL clothes and transition clothes (I think he went through 3-4 wardrobe changes) if you know someone who wants to raid his closet.