“Food WAS my best friend”
Like many people reading this, food was my best friend, my entertainment, my way to deal with life. From the earliest age, food was my reward, whether it was from my family, friends, teachers, or myself. I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t overweight. At 6 years of age, I was 72 lbs, and when my brothers called me a ‘2 ton truck’, I would correct them by saying, ‘No, I weigh 72 pounds.’ My mother and I were the only ones in the house with weight problems, and her weight seemed to be excused because of her age and the fact she had given birth to five children. I was not so lucky, on the one hand, that no one ‘excused’ my weight. I was lucky, on the other hand, that I had a brain and wasn’t afraid to use it.
School is where I excelled and found acceptance. My obesity made people want to ignore me, but my intelligence didn’t allow them to do it. I had goals, very specific ones, and I had a plan to get there. Again, I was lucky, in that I had teachers who saw that I was serious, and they didn’t let my obesity cloud their opinion of me.
In my life, I never let my obesity stop me from doing what I wanted to do. I sang, acted, swam, did whatever activities I thought looked interesting. I worked two or three jobs and took a full load of classes at college. I dated some, but my education was my primary goal, and school and work took most of my time. I applied and was accepted to the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, much to the surprise of my undergraduate advisor, who stated such. I think I know why he was surprised.
During veterinary school, I lost weight. I was in a challenging environment, away from home for the first time, and I was able to break some of the bad habits I participated in back home. My boyfriend of 5 years and I were married, I graduated, and began practicing back home in Savannah. I also started gaining weight, to an all time high of 300 lbs.
A little over 12 years later, my marriage fell apart, and I began single life in an obese body. I still did not let my weight stop me from participating in activities I enjoyed. What was stopping me was the pain in my feet. After being on my feet all day, I could barely walk. I saw an orthopedist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, chiropractor, all with no relief. My general practitioner had told me for years that I needed to have gastric bypass surgery, and he recommended Dr. J. K. Champion in Atlanta. I had been thinking about this for all that time, and now I decided to do it. Because I had to pay for the surgery, I had to rethink my ‘life plan’. I would have to second mortgage my home, work longer until retirement, and watch my spending much more closely, but it would be worth it.
And it has been. Six months and 99 pounds into my weight loss, my right foot stopped hurting. Nine months and 120 pounds into my weight loss, my left foot stopped hurting. Twelve months and at my goal weight of 160 pounds, I could wear heels. I could walk all day at work and still work my dogs after. It was incredible! And it still is…
Five years later, I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful my life has been since my weight loss. I gained the confidence to date again and am now married to a wonderful man. Frankly, I didn’t know men could be this fabulous! I can fly comfortably, no seatbelt extender needed. I learned to scuba dive and have enjoyed dive trips with my husband. Best of all, I can REALLY run with my dogs now!
I cannot thank Dr. Champion and his staff enough for their fabulous care and support. Nisa Grantham and our Savannah support group have also been invaluable to me. At the time of surgery, April 2004, at 5’7†tall, I weighed 291 pounds. My weight today is 160 pounds, the goal Dr. Champion set for me. Life is good.
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