I received the phone call of a life time…when I was least expecting it.
On Wednesday, September 28th, I saw a post pop up on my Facebook newsfeed saying “Sign up to be Star 92.9’s Biggest Loser” and was intrigued. (I was literally watching episode 2 of the cable TV show’s new season on demand while my daughter was napping in my arms) Upon further investigation, I found out that our local radio station was searching for 5 finalists to participate in a challenge they were putting on to be Star’s Biggest Loser. On a whim I decided to submit an application. They asked for basic info, including the dreaded weight number, and for us to tell them why we wanted to lose the weight.
I have to believe that my finding this contest was somehow meant to be because I had been on the phone that morning with my best friend and cousin, Janey, discussing this very issue. At a Doctor’s appointment the week before I had blood drawn and my cholesterol checked. The results were not favorable and I’d been diagnosed with High cholesterol at age 28. Scary; like stay-up-worrying-about-it scary. Janey and I had also been discussing the possibility of my donating my eggs to her so that she may try in-vitro. There are specific guidelines for donors and one heavily emphasized (no pun intended) point is that BMI for a donor is to be below 29. My BMI was at 35.6 (according to an online calculator using height and weight) Not only does my weight affect the possibility of giving my cousin the best gift I possibly could, it also affects the prospect of adding to my own family if I ever wanted to.
For the past 2 years I’ve been focused on raising my daughter as well as dealing with some family issues and have let my health and wellbeing go by the way side. Maybe this was the kick in the pants I needed. I submitted the following entry:
“Last week I was diagnosed with High Cholesterol, which at 28 is very scary. I’m a stay at home mom with an 18 month old daughter, Rachel, who is now my main priority. I feel so guilty that I’ve let my health get to this point because the greatest effect has been on her. I don’t have the energy to keep up with her and if something happens to me I can’t bear the thought of leaving her without a mother. I know that I use food for comfort and would love the opportunity to learn how to change my behavior and work on my self-image. I also would love to start thinking about adding to my family but at the weight I’m at now, my fertility has been hindered. Getting in shape would help make that dream come true for my family as well make donating my eggs to my cousin, Janey (who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26 and her body is now in menopause due to the chemo treatment she went through), a reality. Getting the diagnosis of Hyperlipidemia last week was a shock but it was also an eye opener. I have to take care of myself. I have the motivation to do this; I just have no idea where to start. It would help to be accountable to someone/something and this contest seems like the perfect opportunity. Thank you so much for your consideration”.
The entries were due by noon on September 29th, 2011 and the winners would be announced after 7am on the morning show with Tara and Nolan. So on Thursday, Rachel and I went out to pick up some Mums and visit my Dad at his office. When I got home I checked the missed calls (because we don’t know the password to our voicemail) and I saw a call from a local phone number I didn’t recognize. Nothing other than instinct told me to call it back. I did and where did it lead?! To on air personality Miss Jennifer Foxx! She graciously told me that they had already chosen the winners but that they loved my entry. She told me I was in the “second tier” of entries and that if someone backed out there was a chance I would be chosen to replace them. I should listen to the 7am reveal, just in case. I thanked her and we ended the phone call. Let me tell you, I did not sleep at all that night. I had my radio on until 2am in the hopes for some kind of hint. I prayed to hear my name in the announcement in the morning; not that I wanted someone else to back out, but for me to be chosen. The radio went back on at 6am.Well, 7am rolled around and I continued to wait through all the teasers and weather and finally the winners were announced!!!
I was not one of them.
DARN.
For me, not darn for them. Congrats to them…
You know, something similar like this happened while I was pregnant with my daughter. I got sick with the flu and ended up in the hospital for dehydration. When the doctor came to check on me, he told me I’d be lucky if I made it to the weekend without giving birth. Well, every day I waited for her to come, and every day she didn’t come. She finally came exactly a month later. If only he hadn’t told me she’d be there by the weekend! Sometimes it’s that little bit of hope…Right now, I don’t know what was worse: waiting for my daughter to be born or waiting for Tara and Nolan to announce the names of the 5 finalist!
Later in the morning, after not hearing my name, I decided that I was going to do this anyway and I put on some gym clothes and took my daughter outside and ran up and down our front yard for half an hour. (We live on the side of a mountain, so it’s steep) Rach and I had just walked into the house to dry off because we were soaked from playing in the wet leaves and grass. (Well, at least she was, I was drenched from sweat) when the phone rang. The caller ID had an odd local name/number show up that somehow my brain processed fast enough to realize who was calling: Star 92.9. Oh. My. Goodness…could it be? I answered and Holy Moly, whose cheerful voices do I hear: Tara and Nolan. Tara and Nolan are calling me. **Pinch** Hello? I must admit that my heart started racing a million miles a minute and I think I struggled to process what they were saying to me but I remember Tara saying that she knew I had talked to JFo the day before and she’d told me that I was back up should the need arise…well, someone backed out and that meant: I WAS IN. Nolen was so endearing, asking if I was okay with talking about my weight, because he was uncomfortable just asking about it. I, of course, said it would be fine. After all, that’s what this is about, right?! We discussed logistics and I think I cried a little because I was so overwhelmed. I was shaking for a while afterwards…I wasn’t expecting it. I thought the choices were made and I was doing it on my own. I guess there were other plans…
Stay tuned for Part 2 next week :)
Fondly,
Betsey
Great story, Betsey....can't wait for part 2!!
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