Hard To Believe A Year Has Passed

Well, it's been awhile since my last post and I apologize, but with the energy I have, I am on the go all the time!!

I once again want to say THANK YOU to each one of you who have prayed for me, encouraged me and stood beside me through my JOURNEY! I appreciate each of you and words will never be able to express my gratitude and thankfulness for your love and support!

I want to share with you that I spent the better half of last evening once again reading all the comments that you have left on my blog and I will tell you they mean the world to me, they have gotten me through some very rough days and I look forward to reading them when my days get a little rocky! PLEASE PLEASE continue to leave your encouraging words, I do check them weekly!! Again, THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU TO LIFE!!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the KC BARIATRIC Team at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, specifically Dr. Stanley Hoehn and his staff, Dr. Ravi Sabapathy, his secretary Cheryl and I can't leave out the most AWESOME cardiology nurse you could ever have, Ron Sanders, RN. There are so many others, but just know that each of you have played a major role in this process, or JOURNEY as I call it, to becoming a HEALTHIER, HAPPIER ME!!

I also give THANKS to my Heavenly Father. He has stood by His promise and has endured this JOURNEY with me. Without His LOVE, GRACE and MERCY, I'm not sure I could have made it through this past year.

Well, I will first share with you a couple of pictures, the first is dated February 20, 2009, the day I began this JOURNEY, and the second was taken this past weekend, October 23, 2010.



I must say that when I look back at old pictures and then look at new ones, I am BLOWN away! I remember the guy of the past, but it is so hard for me to imagine that I once weighed nearly 450lbs. ! I will say this....


I NEVER EVER AGAIN WANT TO BE THE PHYSICAL MAN THAT I ONCE WAS!!

I am beginning to love the new me and starting to feel very comfortable with my new look, of course it always helps when I receive the compliments and encouragement from those around me!

So much has taken place in the past couple of months and I'm sure I could write pages and pages to share it all with you, but I will spare you the boredom and share the most important things, well, I should say those things that are most important to me! HAHA!!

So, let's begin... I, along with my wife, my dear friend Robyn(A.K.A. My Angel & Cheerleadah) and my surprise supporter, my little brother Greg, did my first benefit 5K walk in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure for Breast Cancer!

In the past, I never would have thought that a 5K walk was possible, now, I am HOOKED! I did my first 5K in 1hr 03mins. along with 27,000 other walkers/runners and supporters!


A BIG BIG THANK YOU to my team! I LOVE you guys so much, you are the push behind my will power!!

I shared my story to nearly 50+ people at the KC Bariatrics Seminar in August. I was honored to be able to stand in front of other's, who like me a year ago, need an intervention to get their lives back on track to living healthy and happy! I quickly realized that just a short year or so ago, I too sat in their seat looking for an answer. I pray that I touched at least one of those lives, but hopefully many many more, and, I pray they followed through with the procedure. I am looking forward to sharing at many many more seminars!

September 27, just a day shy of my one year surgery anniversary, I had my one year followup with Dr. Hoehn and all my numbers were in range and he along with his staff were very pleased with my progress.

I will now share with you my progress report:

- February 20, 2009, Weight: 426 Shirt: 6X Waist: 64 Shoe: 12EEE
- October 21, 2010, Weight: 230 Shirt: XL Waist: 38/40 Shoe: 10M

So, moving along... I may lose another 20-30 pounds, however, I am at a plateau now, which is fine. I have decided to let my body handle the changes and do what it desires to do, after all, I feel like a new man, look like a new man and have the energy of a child, so in saying that, I am content.

I mentioned that I am hooked on the benefit walks...

I had an opportunity to walk in honor of my dear friend Robyn Schoonover, who will be 3 years Cervical Cancer FREE this coming December!!

Thanking God for her complete recovery!

Like me, He(God) has given her a second chance to live her life!

I walked with Robyn and her family and friends in the Whisper Walk 5K to support the cure of Ovarian Cancer. I beat my time by nearly 14 minutes!! My Whisper Walk 5K was complete in 0:48:06!! WOOHOO!

I have two more benefit walks scheduled, one on November 21st and the other Thanksgiving morning, if you want to walk with me, let me know!!

So much has taken place over this past year. I will be honest and say that it has not been peaches and cream all the time, but it has been an experience, or should I say a JOURNEY and if I had to do it all over again, I WOULD!!! I have learned to LOVE myself, to APPRECIATE myself and to CARE for myself! These are things that I never did before and yes it has cost me some pain, heartache and loss of relationships, but I still would not revert back to the old person that I once was! I am still the loving, caring, giving man that I have always been, but I am learning that I come first, once I take care of me, if you are still in need then I can come to take care of you!

It isn't easy and it has caused some heartache and pain, but, IT IS WHAT IT IS and I am learning to LOVE it!!

Another exciting goal took place within this past week that I would like to share! I haven't worn a suit in probably 15 years, and I finally purchased a new suit, well, not just one, but TWO! Hard to believe that it has been 15 years since I put on a suit!

So, not only did I buy TWO new Ralph Lauren suits, but, well, you know me and my love for shopping and being STYLISH, I bought a new French Cuff, Ralph Lauren dress shirt, cuff links, new shoes, TWO new ties and new Ralph Lauren dress shocks to match one of the new suits and I had the opportunity to wear it to a wedding in St. Louis this past weekend!! I must say, I was SHARP as a TACK... CLEAN AS PETEY GREEN as my cousin LeeLee would say!!

YES, I POPPED MY COLLA!! HAHA!! LOL!!

So, let me introduce myself... The new Mr. Tony Hatmaker



Yes, I wore both ties, one to the wedding and the other to the reception!! I can't help myself!!

With all the energy I have and so many hours in a day that I need to be productive, I decided to re-open my Auto Detailing business and so far it is keeping me busy and my free time occupied. So, in saying that, if your car is in need of a full detail before the winter sett's in, give your boy a call and get on the schedule! Tony's Touch - KC's Finest Auto Detail-er

Well, I guess I better put the key's to rest, but before I do, I want to say that I have SO MUCH to be THANKFUL for and I am truly a BLESSED man!!

The many obstacles that I faced after surgery have been trying, but as I said before, with your prayers, love, support and encouragement, along with my desire, will power, FAITH and the GRACE of God, I have managed to succeed!!

I have said it before, the road is rough on this life I call a JOURNEY, but everyday the road gets smoother and the process becomes easier!!

I will leave you today with a small request, and that is... when I cross your mind, stop for a brief minute and say a little prayer for me, once in awhile pick up your phone and holler at your boy, whether it be a text message, a voice message or a picture message, they all make my world a happier place to live in!!

Remember...

YOU ARE #1 IN YOUR LIFE...

Take care of yourself first, so when you are needed by other's, you will be there to help them get through whatever it is they are going through!!

LOVE, PEACE and BIG HUGS!

Until the next post,

GOD SPEED!!

Tony