Cindy
Manorville, NY
Age: 48
Surgery date: December 7, 2018
Weight lost: 110 lbs
I suffered with obesity for more than 20 years. My kids were getting older and I realized it was time for me to get my own life since I had lived my life for them for the last 20 years.
The gastric sleeve surgery changed my life in so many ways. I’m a different person. I’m more confident walking into a room. I’m more open to making new friends and new relationships. People look at you differently when you’re morbidly obese. They treat you differently. I kept to myself when I was obese and I didn’t easily trust people. Now I’m much more open. I’m more physically active. I don’t stress out over things like squeezing into small spaces, getting a table at a restaurant, or going on roller coasters. It’s like a whole new world for me. All these things that I didn’t realize were chipping away at me for years. It really wore on me.
I always felt that I was fighting my biology to lose weight. I would do so well on a diet for a period of time and then one bad day would ruin my progress. I used to say that my off button was broken. The tipping point for me was when I went to the bariatric informational seminar. I realized my weight issues weren’t all my fault. Some of my biology really was working against me. It made me feel better about the situation I was in. It made me not feel ashamed to need help. I always tell people, Dr. Ahmad had a lifeboat and I decided to take it.
I do a ton of activities now that I couldn’t do in the past. I’ve gone ziplining, kayaking – I’m even considering sky diving. The sky is literally the limit for me! Anything I want to do, I can. Running is a big activity for me now and I enjoy going to the gym when it’s open. At my best, I can I run for three miles or more. I’ll try almost anything physical now and not having to worry if I actually can do it means everything to me.
The surgery has literally changed everything. I’m not embarrassed to meet my kids’ friends anymore. Even going to the grocery store is fun for me because I’m not embarrassed to see people anymore.
The care I received at Mather Hospital was excellent. I liked going to the bariatric support group meetings. People would talk to me and ask me questions – it made me feel good to be able to give them hope. The icing on the cake is when people tell me that I inspire them.
I knew that if I had the surgery that I’d be adding years back on to my life. My sleep apnea was close to severe but is now considered mild and my C-Pap machine is no longer needed. My blood pressure went back down to normal within weeks of the surgery and my diabetes risk is gone. I finally got my life back and it has been so worth it.