Trip to Washington to Talk About how Gastric Bypass Surgery Helps to Resolve Diabetes

On Tuesday June 5th, when I was in Boulder, Dr. Pomp called to ask me if I wanted to go to Washington with him as a patient representative for Gastric Bypass surgery. I didn't even need to hear any more than that to say yes. What an honor it is to be asked to share my story. The event we were to attend was Advamed's Value of Technology Capital Hill Event. We were to meet with Congressional Representatives and talk about how minimally invasive gastric bypass helped me lose weight and get my diabetes under control without medication. Gastric Bypass resolves diabetes about 85% of the time. They wanted a patient who had diabetes prior to having the gastric bypass surgery to illustrate that the surgery resolves diabetes.

On Tuesday, June 19th I flew down to Washington. The flight, Delta shuttle, was uneventful, thankfully! I got to Washington and it was hot; it was like one of the worst hot muggy days we get during the summer. I got to the Renaissance Mayflower hotel, which was quite lovely and in a great area (lots of stores nearby). I checked in and went to my room to put everything away. I wanted to unpack my suits so they wouldn't get too wrinkled. After unpacking I took a walk to Starbucks and bought an ice coffee. I went back to the hotel and sat in the lobby and talked to a couple of friends. (What did we ever do before cell phones?)

I went back to my room and got ready for the evening. The group organized a dinner for all the patient/doctor teams at Vadalia. Although the restaurant was only a short walk from the hotel I decided to take a taxi there because it was so hot. I was one of the first to arrive. The dinner was in a private room off the main part of the restaurant. I meet with a woman from one of the companies that is a member of Advamed. She asked about me and I told her a little about my story including that I'd lost 150 pounds. She couldn't believe that I was that overweight and commented that I must be a size 4 now. The skirt I was wearing was a size 8 and I told her that and said I loved her for thinking that I wear a 4.

I wasn't at the restaurant for very long before Dr. Pomp arrived. It was wonderful to see a familiar face. Dinner was good. At dinner I met Jonathan Collard and Ellen Evans; they both work for Tyco Healthcare. I had spoken with Jonathan prior to the event to make some of the arrangements.

Wednesday was the big day; we had to be at the Hotel Willard at 7:30. I didn't sleep very well; probably because of nerves. We had a briefing by the Advamed group and breakfast. After the briefing we met with the group we were working with throughout the day. Dr. Pomp and I were going to be mostly with Susan & Susan. One Susan is from Tyco Healthcare and one is from Johnson & Johnson. I was asked to share my story with the group prior to us heading out to Capital Hill. Everyone seemed to think it was a great story. I guess if it weren't my story I would think so too.

Turns out we had 6 meetings scheduled for the day. Dr. Pomp and I were informed that the schedule was subject to change. Susan and Susan would be joining us for some of the meetings and for some we would be with CEOs from healthcare companies that are members of Advamed.

Our first scheduled visit was with Gary Ackerman in Rayburn. As we were entering his office, he was out his out way out. He did stop to take a minute to say hello to his constituent; that was pretty funny. Dr. Pomp, Susan, Susan and I met with one of his aides, Jared Frost. As this was our first meeting, it the most nerve wrecking one, we had to work out the kinks in our message. We found out it didn't pay to discuss insurance issues as these are regulated on the state level.

Our next visit was with Rep. Towns from NY; he was also in the Rayburn building so we didn't have far to travel. Susan and Susan didn't come into this meeting. Dr. Pomp and I were in this meeting with some of the CEOs. It was looking like the CEOs weren't going to let us get a chance to speak; but Dr. Pomp got a opportunity and took off with it. He was great! Then he gave me the floor. I told my story and gave Rep. Town my pictures. I had put together and 8.5 by 11 with my before and after pictures and pictures from 4 races that I've done.

After we left Rep. Towns office, Dr. Pomp observed that the process is similar to that you might read about in a historical novel of people going before the king or queen to petition for something. I thought that was right on target. The system is fascinating to see in action.

After meeting with Rep. Towns we went to the National Republican Club for a drink. It was somewhat appropriate that we went to the Republican Club for lunch as all our visits were with Democrats. We were scheduled to got meet everyone else at Tortilla Coast for lunch, but decided to stay at the Republican Club.

After lunch we went back to the Rayburn building and met with Rep. Diana DeGette from Colorado. Her daughter (who is around 12 years old and had Type I diabetes) was in the room at the computer behind DeGette's desk. We were in this meeting with some of the CEOs. One of the issues they were discussing had to do with pediatric devices. DeGette commented that there was only one continuous glucose measuring device for children. It was cute the way her daughter piped in that there were now three devices.

After seeing DeGette we headed over to Longworth. We stopped for the bathroom by the cafeteria. I went into the cafeteria and Dr. Pomp and Susan went to the bathroom. Dr. Pomp came back with 2 white shopping bags, one of which was for me. He bought both of us "U.S. House Of Representative" mugs. How nice was that?!

Next stop was Rep Tubbs-Jones from Ohio. Next stop was Rep Engel and we headed back to Rayburn. We met with Britt McEachern. It was interesting how different the tone of the meeting was when we met with the Representative versus when we met with the aides. The aides were young and I think not as sensitive to understanding weight issues.

Our final visit of the day was Rep Christensen from the Virgin Islands. We went back to Longworth for this meeting. She doesn't have a vote but is very influential with health care matters. She is a doctor. We had a big group in this meeting with us with representatives from Tyco and Johnson and Johnson.

After our final meeting we went to the Caucus Room in the Cannon House Office Building for the reception. We did a lot of walking throughout the day. Regis Philbin was the Master of Ceremony and Jane Seymour spoke about her minimally invasive spinal surgery. Jane Seymour came around to all the tables to hear everyone's story. She seemed very engaged when she came and spoke to us. I told her my story and she was amazed by the amount of weight I had lost. I told her I lost 150 pounds and she said how much, I said 150 pounds, more than you weigh. During her talk she commented on the size of her herniated disk and how that was quite large for somebody who weight 115 pounds. It was interesting to see how the process worked, her people told her when it was time to move on, and they moved right along.

After the reception I went back to the hotel to change. After changing my clothes and putting on sneakers I headed out to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. I knew I could get their salad pizza there with chicken and have a yummy dinner. I was going to be seated at a table, but I asked for a booth instead. It dawned on me right away what a wow moment that was!