"Dr. Joseph Regan at Columbia-St. Mary's is the surgeon I have selected. In the spring, I attended the seminar put on by the Bariatric Center at C-SM and Dr. Regan displayed such compassion and understanding about what obesity is all about. I am sure that the other surgeons at the Center are excellent as well, but in my mind I felt Dr. Regan was for me. I had my consult yesterday with Dr. Regan, Sue, Mauri and Jean, the nutritionist, and my experience could not have been more positive.
Aftercare was the topic most discussed by all I met with. Everyone kept stressing that the surgery is but a small part to conquering obesity -- the rest is up to me. Jean went over everything in detail about proteins, vitamins, liquids, etc. She stressed that she is there for me at any time.
Of course, surgery risk, was explained. To me, the risk is not having the surgery. I am obese, I have sleep apnea and sleep with a CPAP, I have some osteoporosis in my spine, I take drugs for hyptertension, high cholesterol and for hypothyroidism. All this at 54? To me, the risk is minimal if I gain years of feeling good.
I now have to schedule my consults with the other professionals and wait for the final approval from BC/BS. Sue felt very confident that my request will be approved as other similar employees have had success with approval.
When I returned to work yesterday, I couldn't focus. As I write this, I feel like Cinderella. I look forward to the next step.
It is now 4 weeks since I had my surgery and I have nothing but praise for Dr. Regan and his staff. Everything went just as they predicted it would and there was nothing for me to question -- they provide all the answers. I cannot recommend Dr. Regan highly enough. Absolutely not one complaint."
