Before weight loss surgery I used to tell my wife stories about how my size affected my everyday life. I weighed 374 lbs then and I can remember telling her about going to the local board meetings for the Dayton Dental Society. I would always get stuck in the chairs. I would nonchalantly and gracefully get myself unstuck hoping no one noticed my predicament.

My biggest fear was getting on an airplane alone. I always took up more than my allotted space and overflowed into the next person's seat. When my family was with me, it wasn't so bad. My kids could sit on either side of me and I did not have to worry about infringing on a stranger's space. I always prayed I would get the aisle seat if I flew solo.

I had lost weight once before with diet and exercise, and then I had knee surgery and gained it back. Exercise wasn't so easy any more and I knew I had to do something or I was going to die. It was as simple as that. Live or die.

That's when I made the decision to have gastric bypass surgery. Dr. David Bruce performed my surgery in September of 2008 and now only 5 months later I weigh 236 lbs. I've lost 138 lbs and I feel great!