Hi Sandi and Sewfun,Thank you both for your very kind words! Joy and I were so desperate for information as we were trying to make the difficult decision to have the Nissen surgery that, like you, we were happy to find this very special forum.
I'd never posted on a forum, either. After posting here, I tried another fairly active forum, but it lacked the warmth and support of this one.
Kitt and others who were regular members on the forum welcomed me warmly, and provided me with lots of practical and realistic information about
their own experiences with the surgery. After reading so many scary posts, it was great to "hear" real people with real experiences responding to my questions. They were very positive about
the surgery, but shared the downsides, too. I certainly knew there would be downsides, but it gave me hope and courage to hear how positive they were in spite of those things. Some members here were waiting for a redo surgery, and yet they were positive and enthusiastic about
how it had/would help them and improve their quality of life.
I stuck around for two reasons...to help others the way I had been helped (to "pay it forward") and to continue to communicate with the very good friends I'd made here.
I'm so glad that you both have joined the forum and have stuck around!
Denise