Meet David Snyder - Our 2011 Lap Band Winner
Hi, I'm David. I'll be 29 next month and it's time for me to get on with the real business of having an adult life. I've struggled with weight all my life. I am a big man - by that I mean both tall and large. I am 6'3". Honestly, when I look back on grade school I realize that I wasn't really that overweigh, mostly BIG for my age. But I didn't get it then. Of COURSE, my thighs were larger than everyone else's when I was over a foot taller! But when another kid in second grade made fun of them being so much larger than his, that was the day I stopped wearing shorts! My mother tried to tell me, get me to see that. but when you look around and EVERY one you love the most, parents, grandparents - the WHOLE family! - are overweight you just KNOW it's not true. Really though, I've had a good life. I have a loving family and a good mind! Despite my weight I was active in my church and in Boy Scouts growing up and finished my Eagle. I lived in Brazil for 2 years learning the language and working with the people that I learned to love so much! I have finished my degree in Psychology and work in the mental health field. I love the young people I work with but I have decided that I want to work with our growing senior population. Towards that end I am taking classes in gerontology. I love my life but I want MORE! I want to apply for an executive director training position and learn to manage senior care facilities. I know that getting a good job and having a real shot in any industry as a manager is going to be greatly hampered by my size. My grandmother calls me her gentle giant but I know that my size is not an advantage in a professional arena. Most of all I want to find someone wonderful to spend my life with and raise a really fabulous kids with her. But I lack the confidence to find her. Why would ANYONE be willing to yoke herself to a big man like myself who is 150 pounds overweight and take a chance on life with him!? I want MORE out of life
I am hoping to reduce my weight by at LEAST 40%. I want better health! I want a better life! I was diagnosed with sleep apnea at only age 18. I had my tonsils and uvula and some extra palatal tissue removed and it helped. But now that I am nearly a hundred pounds heavier than I was then I am pretty sure I'm having problems again. I work graveyard and sleeping is difficult enough without adding apnea to the problem! It seems like everyone in my family has joint problems. I know that if I don't get the weight off my knees, these knees that already have problems will be as bad as my mother's at an earlier age than they were a problem for her. I have daily acid reflux and I am only 28 years old! I pop Tums like candy and although I'll never get osteoporosis doing that, what other damage am I doing to my young body?! I know my weight and my health are impacting everything else in my life - my confidence and mental outlook and my stamina and ability to do the things in and WITH my life that I CHOOSE to do! So, what am I hoping to achieve following Lap-Band surgery? Better health and a better life!! I guess that sounds simple enough but as simple as it sounds I haven't been able to achieve it on own. I am young and there is LOT of life left ahead of me! I want it to be the best life it can be. It's the only one I have! I need help to achieve my dreams. I need YOUR help.
I have a lot to give in this life and a lot of life yet to live. I want to find someone to love who will love me in return and build a home and family with me. I want to raise a houseful of really terrific little munchkins. In that home I envision I am able to climb a 3 story ladder to put Christmas lights on the peak of the house during the holidays, not groan when my wife mentions the gutters need cleaning because I know it means I will have to heft my bulk up a ladder. With those terrific munchkins I see myself coaching their sports leagues, being their scoutmaster, and wrestling and playing in the yard with them - not couch potatoing my Saturdays because I am exhausted from hauling an extra 150 pounds around my work week or searching my mind frantically for excuses to keep my from having to accompany my son's scout troup on a weekend campout because I already know that NO air mattress will adequately cushion my 350 pound body on that hard, hard, Nevada ground! In my NEW life when my wife hugs me her arms reach more than just half way around my body. I can carry my toddlers on my shoulders because their little legs fit comfortably around my neck. I have the stamina to work a 10, or 12, or 15, hour day if needed and still be cheerful because I am not completely exhausted by hauling around TWO of me! I am managing a senior care facility where they love me and are not afraid of my size. I serve in my church and my community willingly and happily because I have enough energy to do it. And I have ALL of that in my life because I had the confidence to go out and get it for myself. The confidence that came from finding new health and a new life when you chose ME for this fabulous chance!! PLEASE, choose me!!
Updates
Jan. 9 http://youtu.be/sSP_sAA95Tw
Oct. 28 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDJTG9cVDRE