I want to offer a special thanks to Stacy
Leary for sharing her journey with us. Here is her story:
Hi Barbara,
First, I would like to thank you for all that you do for us!! I saw
you speak when you were in Portsmouth, NH in August sponsored by
Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Atlantic Surgical.
That is where I had my Roux-En-Y laprascopic
gastric bypass on Nov. 14th, 2003. I know it hasn't been quite a year
yet but I am at goal and have been for over a month!!
I have been told that this surgery is only a
tool and what we do with it is our choice. I am so grateful for
having this surgery. Just over a year ago I was 263 pounds and a
size 26-28 tight!! I would get out of breath just crossing the room.
I had no energy, never exercised, and ate huge portions.
My husband and I have known each other since
7th grade and he has seen me at all my sizes. When we started dating I
was dieting and had yo-yo'd down to about 220 pounds from around 230
pounds. Two years later when we got married I was 218. After we got
married I was happy and before you know it I was 263 pounds.
I started doing research and discovered gastric
bypass surgery. I read all I could, both the pro's and con's for
about 6 months and then went to an informational seminar for
Atlantic Surgical. I was very impressed with their presentation and
filled out the paperwork and sent it in thinking I probably wasn't
going to be a good candidate or something would go wrong. I feared I
would still be morbidly obese until the day I died. Well, I was told
I was a great candidate and started all the pre-op testing. My
insurance accepted me in less than a week for the surgery!!
I had the surgery and it was so hard after the
surgery!! I didn't have any major problems with the surgery; my
problem was mourning food. I missed the comfort of eating. My friend
was gone. I remember one day, my mother-in-law was taking care of me
and I was drinking my Carnation Instant Breakfast for the 2nd time
that day. She was eating lunch and I just started to cry because she
could eat and I couldn't.
But every day got better and eventually I was
able to eat a little. One day my nutritionist, Kristina, told me I
could have pureed egg or chicken. My mom brought me home and made me
egg salad for lunch, just pureed egg with fat free
Miracle Whip. I
ate that and I knew life was going to be OK! I said, "Mom, I love
you. This is the best egg salad I have ever had!!" She said I was
easy to please!
I had only one glitch in the road in the
Spring. I had a lot of severe pain in my stomach and had to go in
for emergency surgery. I had an internal hernia and a problem with
adhesions. My surgeon repaired my hernia through the same holes from
my surgery.
It is now 11 months since my surgery. I am 133
pounds and am a size 4 to an 8 depending on the cut of clothes.
Even my shoe size went from 7 1/2 wide to 6 1/2 regular. I have so
much energy now. I can run up the stairs instead of going up half
way and pausing to catch my breath.
I work out 4 times a week at
Curves and I am
trying my best to help others on their journey of gastric bypass
surgery. When I went to hear you speak last month in Portsmouth, NH,
I received your blue ribbon for losing over 100 pounds. You have no
idea how much that meant to me!!
Thanks again for all that you do!!
Stacy Leary
I love good news. If you have good news, a
success story to share, or inspiration,
please send it to me at
Barbara@wlscenter.com so that I can
include it in future issues. |