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Image is compliments of Brittany Jenkins©
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August 4, 2001....6 A.M. I was sitting in the
OR Holding Area waiting to have my Gastric By-Pass Surgery.
Was I scared, oh yea..but I was more afraid to think about what life
would be living the way I was living. I had to keep my
thoughts to myself, because there was no one with me that day who
thought having the surgery was such a good idea. So I kept
my fears silent. I was fat, miserable and literally had no life bearing 275LBS lbs on my 5'2 small frame. Squeezing into a restaurant booth, airplane seat, or amusement park ride was unimaginable. Walking was an unbearable chore, my knees would not make it up a flight of steps without stopping half way in the middle to rest for a bit. Today, I am literally half the woman I used to be. I'm a BIG LOSER! I am so grateful for the little things in life that normal weighted people don't even think about, like tying my shoes, fitting into a boot that is knee-high, sitting comfortably in the movies taking a walk around the block with my dog; the list goes on ad infinitum . No radical weight loss drugs for me...no... not this time. I had successfully managed to lose in excess of 100 pounds more than once in my lifetime. What I was not so successful doing is keeping the weight off! I researched, and researched Weight Loss Surgery a whole year before I even started to interview surgeons. I set a criteria for myself. I wanted to find a surgeon who was approachable, I wanted a surgical center than had a stable aftercare program, and I wanted a surgical center that had a support group. You are welcomed to read "my story", compliments of WLS Lifestyles. Click here for a copy of my Article. I owe my slimmed down body to gastric-by-pass surgery and the skilled hands of my surgeon, Dr. David Greenbaum of South Jersey Bariatircs. The procedure I personally had done is just one of several weight loss operations that fall under the heading of bariatric surgery. I had a full open Roux-en-y. ABOUT THE DECISION As obesity rates creep skyward, so do the number of Americans turning to surgery as a weight loss tool. Although, today's bariatric surgery is safer and more effective than earlier versions the procedure is NOT an instant cure. Reserved only for the severely obese (those who tip the scales at 100 pounds or more over their normal body weight), bariatric surgery is a drastic step with a high rate of complications. Patients must make radical, lifelong dietary changes and permanent weight loss is not guaranteed. Still. a growing number of doctors are recommending bariatric surgery for severely obese patients who find themselves at wits end about weight loss. The increasing demand for bariatric surgery reflects the country's obesity epidemic. In the US, 55% of adults are overweight. Four million Americans are severely obese. Of that group 80% are woman of child bearing age. |
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