Earlier this year LivingAfterWLS added a community forum to the web-suite. It's called The Neighborhood: A safe haven circle of friends who are LivingAfterWLS. In a short time the forum has become an active support community of which I am personally quite proud.
I've watched several topics and posts the last few days that have truly made me appreciate how different the LAWLS Neighborhood is from other online WLS communities.
One thing that makes me particularly proud is the acceptance of the individual while celebrating in the united cause of living well. Years ago I left an active online WLS community because of the bigotry that brewed between the so-called "light-weight" and "heavy-weight" post-WLS membership. Perhaps some of you have seen this in your online travels. The heavy-weights treated the light-weights with disdain for their "cosmetic" surgery and the light-weights ridiculed the heavy-weights for waiting so long before doing something. It was ugly. Bigotry among our own people.
Morbid obesity is a disease and the best known medical treatment to put that disease in check is gastric surgery: banding or bypass. I don't care who you are or how much you weigh, when you take the plunge into weight loss surgery you demonstrate bravery, grit, determination and resolution to work with the tool to change your health and your life for the better.
We have people of all sizes here. The common thread is we all suffer from morbid obesity and are treating it with the best medical option available. Some recent posts could have taken us down the heavy-weight/light-weight path, but they didn't. All members of this community rallied for our Neighbors when it came time to support, commiserate and encourage. For that I applaud you all!
Thank you,
Kaye
1 comment:
I'm glad you touched on this subject. I sense some of the "lightweight vs. heavyweight" attitude in my local support group and it is very unnerving. It's probably the reason why I have been hesitant to go to their meetings.
I weighed in at 250, and was 236 when I finally had my surgery. But even though I am on the "lightweight" end of the scale, this has NOT been an easy journey for me.
I am so grateful for a safe place like the LAWLS neighborhood, where people are people, despite their differences, and we all work together to support each other. the place is truly amazing and I feel blessed to be a part of it.
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