Carla Boone

February 07, 2007

Surgical Patient

Carla Boone
Pounds Lost: 145lbs.
Lost her weight in: 2004

"I have been overweight my entire life. In high school I was able to get my weight down and maintain. After I married and had children, my weight was like a yo-yo. Each time I lost weight, I would gain it back with an extra 20 or 30 pounds. I had been on just about every weight loss program you can name. For me, the consequences of my weight became very clear one evening as I was helping my daughter move from a second floor apartment. I had been having pain in my knees for sometime. I twisted my knee, and ended up in an orthopedic doctor's office. He told me if I didn't get the weight off quickly, I would be in a wheelchair in five to ten years. I had just watched my mother die from complications of her weight. This is when I went to an orientation for gastric bypass surgery at Solutions For Life.

"The presurgery education classes helped me understand the lifestyle changes that would be required after my surgery. Through the classes, I was able to start making simple changes that would be a huge benefit after my surgery. The Health Educators are knowledgeable and very helpful. They helped me prepare by taking me step by step through what to expect before, during, and after surgery. They presented very specific lifestyle changes necessary, provided examples of problem-solving techniques, and taught the six rules for life after gastric bypass surgery.

"The post-op education classes provided a place to ask questions, listen to others who had been through the surgery, and to continue to learn how to live a new life. I can't tell you how much the support of this group meant to me during the first year.

"I weighed 292 pounds before my surgery. One year later, my weight is 147. I'll do the math for you, that is a 145 pound weight loss. I have more energy than I have had since I was 25 years old. I can run and play with my grandkids. I work out every morning. I can go to a restaurant and sit in a booth. I think the feeling of being free is what I love the most. Free from constantly worrying about how I look and what people think. Free from the hold that food used to have on me. Free from pain in my knees. Free from shame knowing that my family was embarrassed by how I looked. Free from the health problems that plagued my mother's life. Free to choose whatever activity I want to do.

"I'm alive and walking today because I had the surgery. For me, gastric bypass was the only answer."

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