The very beginning..

a very good place to start.....when you read you begin with...AB....sorry my musical theatre refernces are neverending.

Anyway, I started the post with a theatre reference because that's exactly how I got my surgery.

In Summer of 2007, I was given the role of Sonia in Godspell. Now, anyone that knows Godspell, knows how PHYSICAL that show is.....why they chose a 460 pound woman to take on a role in that show...I'll never know.

At any rate, rehearsals were brutal. 6-10 everyday with 8 hour rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday. Did I mention I had an hour car ride back and forth? GAH!

So, during rehearsal I would don my knee pads, smile, jazz hand and sing my way into theatre history as the largest actress ever to do a 2 hour show with 1- 15 minute break. As we broke every even after rehearsals, my good friend Jenn would usually drive home. As we got to the car I could feel the release building. As soon as we got to the car, I would double over in pain. Why pain? Well, I weighed 460 pounds and was doing the job of an average sized person and did I mention that I have degenerative arthritis in my knees, hips and ankles?

As soon as we got out of the parking lot, I would burst into tears and the occasional moan. I was in so much pain I could hardly stand it. But, I would BE DAMNED if I let anyone tell me I couldn't do it. Maybe some of the dances were changed to accommodate me, but I still did a bang up job, even garnering myself a Best Supporting Actress nomination form the Desert Theatre League!

FAST FORWARD TO SHOW TIME....

As my part called for, I was supposed to go into the audience (feather boa in tow) and play with them....say all sorts of off the wall things, etc. Well, one of my trade mark lines was, "Does this boa make me look fat?" OBVIOUSLY. Any more maribou and I would have been Big Bird. This line ALWAYS killed them. It was ridiculous and comfortable. I wanted to let them know it was okay to laugh at my big-ladiness. Or was it??

I'd always made people laugh at my weight. At the size you have to make people around you at ease. Don't you?

That line, that silly, "look at me I'm fat" line came in handy. One of the ushers watching the show was amazed at how comfortable I was and was perplexed as to how I could call attention to myself with out being embarrassed. She is my friend, her name is Janet and she is an angel.