Deedee518
In January of 2017, my mother-in-law suffered a stroke and was hospitalized at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. We sayed by her side for about seven days but unfortunately she passed away. She was in relative good health, but suffered from type 2 diabetes most of her adult life. She and my father-in-law also lead pretty much a sedentary lifestyle.
I had recently been told I was pre-diabetic and was already taking medications for GERD, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Every time we went anywhere while we were visiting at Mercy, we took the elevator and I noticed a placard there about the relatively new Gastric Balloon procedure. That placard, along with Phyllis' passing, made me realize how much I had let my own health decline due to overeating and not being active.
The day Phyllis passed away, on January 9th, 2017, I went home, got online with the Mercy Hospital website and the Bariatric Surgery page, and filled out a pre-screening questionnaire and submitted it to Sara Maduka online. By March of 2017, I had my first official appointment with the entire team which included Dr. Saurabh, Jen (the dietician), and Lori (the RN). I found out I qualified for surgery (weighing 252.4 pounds and being 5 foot 3 inches tall) and they scheduled me for the gastric sleeve procedure on June 19th. Because of the pre-tests that Dr. Saurabh ordered, they found out that I also was suffering from a hiatal hernia, which the doctor said he would repair during the gastric sleeve procedure at no cost.
Dr. Saurabh set a goal for me to lose 30 pounds before surgery by exercising and watching what I ate. On March 7th, I joined the Wellness Center at the University of Iowa, which houses an indoor track, and I began walking two miles every day at the fastest pace I could. Initially, that pace was about a 20-minute mile. My reward every day was a 20-30 minute sauna! The dietician, Jen, also set me up with weekly menus to go from that took me up to my surgery date. Appointments were also scheduled on a regular basis up to surgery so that the nurse, Lori, and Jen could track my progress.
By following Jen's diet plan, with the walking, I actually lost not 30 pounds but 50 pounds total by surgery time! The hard work definately paid off because the procedure and the recovery went extremely smooth. The walking continued (along with the sauna visits!) and by the time my sixth month follow-up appointment rolled around on December 22nd, 2017, I was walking under a 15-minute mile and I was under my goal weight of 140 pounds. The scale at weigh-in read 137.8 pounds!
None of this would have been possible without the help of Sara Maduka, Jen, Lori, and Dr. S! I thank God everyday for my team, as without their support, none of this would have been possible. I am still continuing my walking everyday and am going to start swimming for exercise five days a week AND no longer have to worry about the tedious task of counting calories every minute of every day. By listening to what my body is telling me, and eating the proper foods in the proper quantities, I now have the correct tools to eat and to live!
