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My Life Before Bariatric Surgery
I weighed 365
pounds on the day of my surgery. I now weigh 190 pounds. I went from a size 50 pant to a 33. This surgery
has changed my life in so many ways. Gone are the days of making excuses not play with my young children. Gone
are the days of running out of breath walking up and down steps, getting light headed bending down to tie my shoes and sucking
in my gut to button my pants. I now walk around with confidence in myself--something that I have never had in my life.
Making the Decision Prior to making my decision,
I did what most people do--I researched and researched and researched some more. I kept coming back to one place over
and over and that was Barix. To me, it was a no brainer. This surgery is all they do, I didn't even consider going
anywhere else. I mean, heck, if my car needs brakes, I don't take it to a pizza shop. If I have a toothache, I
don't go to a grocery store. Barix is the king of weight loss surgery.
My
Barix Experience
My
surgeon was honest, sincere and straight to the point during the initial consultation. I was immediately impressed with
the Barix facilities, from the size of the door openings down to the size of the HUGE patient chairs. Right after
my initial consultation, the entire insurance approval process began. I worked to get clearances and the Barix staff
kept me informed on my status. It took just seven weeks from the initial consultation to my surgery date. There
was not one snag.
I remember walking through
the hospital doors on the day of my surgery. I could't have been more ready. I didn't question what I was doing,
I mentally fast forwarded to the life I had to look forward to--a whole new me, if you will. My
hospital stay was second to none. I will never forget the professionalism and warm hearted manner of the nurses.
The hospital was clean and well-organized. The nurses took you for walks and I actually had a chance to get some
decent sleep.
Making Success Happen
I was told to walk at least 4-5 times a day around the hospital halls after surgery, but I
wound up going 8-9 times. After being discharged a day early, due to my fast recovery, I started a fast track to a new
active lifestyle. It started like most people, a 15 minute walk here, 15 minutes there. Before you knew it, I
joined a gym and a little over a year after my surgery, I RAN my first 5K race in 26 minutes. In March of 2008, I topped
that by running a 10 mile race down Broad Street in Philadelphia. I am currently training to run a marathon.
The best part of my post-op experience has been the great support received at the support groups.
I loved it so much that I jumped at the chance to be a volunteer leader. It was the most rewarding experience, watching
people shrink before my very eyes from month to month.
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