I am short on success stories again. If you
are 1 year or more post op and can email before and after pictures,
I would love to receive your story. |
I want
to offer a special thanks to Kristine for sharing her success story
with us. Here is her story:
My name is Kristine Maier and I
live in Michigan. I have been over weight since I was a teenager.
The last time I saw a size 14, I was 9 years old. I, as everyone
else, have been on every diet known to man and all of the weight
loss medications on the market.
In 1977, at the weight of 265
pounds I joined Weight Watchers and in 18 months I lost 127 pounds
and kept it off for 5 years. In 1981 I got married and got
pregnant. With the pregnancy came complications. I was diagnosed
with a rare blood disorder and was a case study at Michigan State
University. The treatment was steroids. For the next 5 years and
all three of my pregnancies I was on steroids. Needless to say I
gained all of my weight back and then some.
It seemed that after all of the
years on steroids I could not lose weight. I was even on Phen Phen
and then Redux with only a 17 pound loss. I was on medication
for hypertension, depression, and I had shin splints and heel spurs
from all of the treadmill walking I was doing.
Last year I turned 50 and decided
to give myself a huge present. I went to an informational meeting
on gastric bypass surgery and immediately set out to acquire all of
the information I could gather on the subject. I found a support
group unaffiliated with the facility that I was considering and
attended all of the meetings to learn the good, the bad, the ugly
and the beauty of the surgery. I asked tons of questions and took a
lot of notes.
Out of the blue one day a
co-worker, who had had the surgery 7 years earlier came into my
office and handed me a business card for Dr.David Kam who had just
begun a program at Sparrow Hospital and was now doing the surgery.
I met with him and his staff and decided to go ahead. I began my
paper work in March and had my surgery date by May 1st.
Dr. Kam established a program where we had to be on Optifast for 6
weeks before surgery. It was suggested that we do the Optifast as so
many people gain weight before surgery eating things that they think
that they will not be able to eat afterwards. Plus it readies us for
eating small amounts several times a day and drinking a lot of
water. We had to weigh in and meet weekly for 6 weeks with a staff
doctor, a nutritionist, a behaviorist, and an exercise coach. It is
also required that anyone having this surgery attend support group
meetings for another 6 weeks after surgery with a staff doctor, a
nutritionist, a behaviorist, and an exercise coach before
“graduating” to a support group that now lends support to others.
I had my surgery on Tuesday, June
9, 2003 at 2pm at the weight of 289 pounds and at 6:00 pm on
Thursday, June 11, 2003 I was home. I walked several times a day.
Sometimes only a few houses past mine and back but I still did it.
I recovered quickly.
In 4 weeks and 3 days I was back
to work at both my fulltime and part time jobs with no restrictions.
I have had no problems or complications what so ever and I have lost
a total of 135 pounds to date. I still would like to lose another 15
pounds and have begun a more intense exercise program to reach my
goal.
I have begun doing all of the
things that I have always wanted to do. I have begun lessons in
ballroom dance, I would like to go parasailing and I want to learn
to roller blade. I am also thinking about buying a bike. We have
many bike trails in my area and the exercise would be great. I out and out ran the other day;
actually it was a sprint.
I was amazed that:
#1. I could do it….
#2. My legs didn’t hurt and
#3. I was not the least bit winded.
I truly do not remember the last
time I actually RAN. I am a thinner person with a
“fat” frame of mind. I still gravitate to the Women’s sizes (some
old habits are hard to break) and work my way down. I still am
amazed when I can fit into a size that I only dreamed of. I feel
truly blessed.
Kris Maier
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Before |
After |
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. |