Then a LIFE changing event happened.  An RN friend of mine recruited me to be the manager of a surgical weight loss program.  It was a time in my life that a career move was important to me so I accepted the position.  However I did have some reservations before I accepted; one being my size and the other was my conviction that surgery may not be  an option for me.  After discussion with the Surgeon I did accept the job knowing that I did not need to feel pressure “TO DO” the surgery.    However I did experience overt discrimination that the morbidly obese experience in the job setting.  When you are obese you must prove yourself because of the negativity associated with your size. No one except my friend knew I was morbidly obese.  When I arrived the discrimination and concerns regarding my size resulted in my feeling very subtle issues which included the following:
 

• Questions regarding my experience in surgical weight loss
• Unspoken tension that I was large and managing a program that advocated weight loss
• Concern regarding how the patients would respond to me
• My poor friend  was grilled and grilled regarding my qualifications
• Prior to my arrival no one saw the need to interview me, however after they saw me the general hum was that they should have brought me in for an interview before I was hired.
• While discrimination is always an issue before you prove yourself it seemed pronounced to me in this particular situation.

On the positive side, here enters into my life Dr. Milton Owens and Dr. Douglas Krahn.

I began to learn about surgical weight loss; the process, the procedures and most importantly to me the disease aspect of obesity.  I had never known that obesity was a disease.  As a nurse I quickly understood that I did not have a weight issue but I had a disease issue.  That turning point in my life caused me to accept that the only long lasting treatment was surgery.  While developing the program I became the second surgical weight loss patient through the process.  Dr. Milton Owens was my surgeon and Dr. Douglas  Krahn assisted with my case.  I chose to have the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and I had laparoscpic surgery on July 24, 2004. I was back to work in 2 weeks.  I proceeded to lose 125 lbs in about 18 months. 

Has my life Changed?  Please let me tell you how…..
 

• Life is so much easier in all aspects
• I don’t have to worry about airplanes anymore; either people not wanting to sit down beside me or having them cringe when I had to sit beside them.
• A fulfillment  a life long dream to ride down the Grand Canyon on a mule.  While the ride was incredible, the entire process was eye-opening.  I walked up to the ticket desk and no one even questioned my size (weight limit for the mule is 200 lbs) and as I road the van from the lodge to the animal pens I realized that I fit in with all the other normal weight people in the van.  WOW what a revelation!!!
• I can now fit into theater seats, restaurant booths and my own car much easier.
• I move much better.
• I don’t get out of breath even on short walks. As I carried my 35 lb grandchild up a hill on a camping trip I realized   I use to carry almost three times that weight on my own frame every minute of my life.
• I fit in the normal weight world.
• I have been told I would not have my present job if I still weighted 290 lbs.
• I also would still have my high blood pressure, my painful knees and back and probably be a full diabetic by now.
• I now fly up and down the stairs in my two story home in Cambria.  My husband gets tears in his eyes when he remembers how difficult the stairs use to be for me.
• I  have energy to live my life. 
• I play as often as possible with my 5 grandchildren.
• I walk on the beach in Cambria and take long walks in the hills surrounding the town. 
• I go to the gym (not as often as I should my personal trainer tells me). 
• I love to dance and can manage the dance floor with ease. 
• I feel better now than I did at 30. 
• Life is better and easier in every way.

  Is gastric bypass surgery risky?  Yes. But isn’t everything we do in life a risk?  We can’t change without risk. My life has changed in so many positive ways that the risk of not having the surgery scares me more than the risks of surgery.  The medical community has also determined that that the risk of staying morbidly obese is greater than the risk of surgery.
 

  Currently   I am the surgical weight loss program manager at Rancho Specialty Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.   I commute 100 miles a day as I work with patients struggling with the disease of obesity.  I see and experience their successes, frustrations, and triumphs. I also work with both Dr. Owens and Dr. Krahn as they dedicate their careers to improving their patient’s quality of life as a result of weight loss surgery.
 

  OBESITY IS A DISEASE.  Did my disease go away?  Absolutely not.  Am I  cured?  Again NO.  But I now have a “Tool” that allows me to fight the disease with success.  Do I need to continue my diet and exercise program?  Absolutely as does every other normal weight person.  Is Obesity a genetic disease?  Unfortunately it is.  Others in my family fight this same disease.  The genes are not always favorable. 
 

  Please know if you struggle with weight issues that it is not your fault.  Obesity is a deadly disease that destroys life.  It is at epidemic proportions in our society today.  Surgery is the only long term successful treatment. 
 

  Thankfully I learned this simple lesson. Life is ironic isn’t it?  A friend called one day and I accepted a career change.   That decision gave me the opportunity to learn what I needed to know to take action over a serious disease.  Surgical Weight Loss is a life changing event; it caused me to no longer be a women of size but a women renewed.

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