Patient Success Stories
Mary M.
When Mary looks at snapshots from her childhood, she has an easy reference point to when weight gain became a problem in her life. “There are pictures of me as an 8-year-old kid with skinny arms and legs,” she says. “And then at about 9 or 10 the weight started coming on.” It’s these pictures that foreshadow her lifelong struggle with weight, culminating in her decision in December 2007 to have bariatric surgery.
“In the past I’ve had several episodes of losing weight, but I always gained it back. I realized I couldn’t stop this process by myself,” Mary says. “I had high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, and arthritis and I was afraid I was heading to a place of being deeply unhealthy.” So, she finally asked her physician about the surgery, thinking he would answer, “Are you kidding?” But he didn’t. He replied, “That’s not a bad idea.” And soon after Mary was on a different path in life.
Fast-forward to today and there’s a new picture of Mary. A picture of her 125 pounds lighter and crossing the finish line of a mini-marathon approximately 10 months after her surgery. She remembers how she felt on race day: “I started crying as we were heading out. And I started crying again when we got to the finish line because I couldn’t believe that it was me. I was thinking, ‘I did this, I walked 13 miles’ and this time last year a flight of stairs would have done me in.”
Of course, there was a lot of hard work involved between the decision to have surgery and losing 125 pounds, including pre-surgery evaluations and stress tests and post-surgery diet changes and support group meetings. “Surgery isn’t a magic cure,” confides Mary. “It’s a tool. I hope people understand that if you go into it with the right attitude and the right effort it can help.”
Hopefully, Mary will be taking new snapshots of herself in the future because her goals include walking in more races and beating her time in next year’s mini-marathon.
Mary Richardson and Allan Karchner
Mary and Allan are a husband and wife team that decided to lose weight together. For Christmas 2004, they gave one another the gift of health. They worked together to achieve their weight loss goals by modifying their lifestyle and transforming their home into a "healthy home." Their success was phenomenal!
They lost a combined 100 pounds and over 44 inches. However, what you cannot see is that Allan was able to stop his diabetes and high blood pressure medications, which will add additional healthy years to his life. St. John Weight Loss Center guided them on their journey to making lifestyle changes that helped them accomplish their health goals.
- Mary lost 33.5 pounds and 21.5 inches in 13 weeks
- Allan lost 57.4 pounds and was able to discontinue his diabetic and blood pressure medication
Sandra Eckhart
Lost 130 pounds
I decided to have gastric bypass because I had gone for a sleep study and the doctor told me that I was obese. He said the weight around my neck was crushing my airway at night and I was not breathing for periods of time. That was a moment I’ll never forget. I had to do something to get the weight off for good.
I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea, I was pre-diabetic, and at 5’6,” I weighed 291 pounds. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and felt sure I would die at a young age because of the health issues I developed by being overweight. I was constantly tired and I felt the excess weight was holding me back from being the person I wanted to be..jpg)
Now that I have had surgery and have lost 130 pounds, I feel fabulous! I have energy, I look forward to being involved in activities, I’ve made more friends, and I feel so much more confident. Gastric bypass surgery was a gift I chose to give to myself, but the results benefit my entire family as well.
The staff at St. John Weight Loss Center is awesome. They are caring, competent and thorough. They have always been there to answer the questions and concerns that I have had.
(Sandra Eckhart,11/07)
Justine Schram
“Since February 2007, I have lost over 70 pounds. St. John Weight Loss Center gave me the tools to achieve my weight loss success.”
Justine had struggled with weight most of her life and had become a borderline diabetic. She attended an informational seminar in October 2006, but wasn’t ready to start the program until after the holidays. One of the key factors she really liked was that there was a doctor involved and that her health would be monitored throughout the transformation. One of the first things Dr. Machesky discovered was that the migraine medicine Justine was currently taking had a fat inhibitor – which made weight loss difficult.
Patients also have a personal trainer during the program who creates an exercise program for each individual and helps participants read food labels and make sensible food choices. “People are successful when they learn they can do it on their own,” said Maria Lijoi, Exercise Specialist and Registered Dietitian. “I work with what each patient can do at the time and help them realize that they can exercise anywhere.”
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Justine started her exercise program with walking. She was unable to walk for more than 12 minutes without losing her breath. With her son Nick joining the high school cross country team, she was motivated to start conditioning with him. Now she is able to run for an hour on her treadmill and is training for a 5K run.
“They should really change the name to 'Lifestyle Center,' instead of 'Weight Loss Center,' because they teach us to eat, shop and think differently. Now I think about where I am going and I make wise choices. We used to go out to eat at least four times a week, now I really enjoy cooking and preparing meals.”
“I am really disgusted about the past. I have learned to take responsibility for myself and my weight – it's no one else’s fault I was overweight. I have also learned how to eat and I am not on any medication anymore. Everything I needed to succeed was here at St. John. The tools are there if you want to use them.”
Brenda Krajewski
Age 40
Lost 155 pounds
I was raised in a big Polish family. My mother worked as a cook and she could cook. I never had store-bought anything. Everything I ate was homemade. As a child, I was not fat. When I turned 30 my father took sick and I became his caregiver. I learned fast that I had no control over my life anymore. But I also learned that the only thing I had control over was my eating. So I ate and ate until I got to 350 pounds. Then, my father passed away.
At 350 pounds, I was not happy and I became depressed so I ate more and more until I got to 415 pounds. My life became harder and harder to live. It was not easy for me to get around. I had a hard time cleaning the house, taking a shower, going shopping--just doing everyday stuff that most people take for granted. I found it hard to socialize (meaning that I did not socialize at all). It hurt to walk and forget about the seating-- I could not fit into booths or seats.
I never though about what the weight was doing to my health until I was diagnosed with hypertension and I started having knee and back problems. I became handicapped by my weight. I was missing days at work because it was a chore to get up and get dressed. My doctor told me that if I did not take some weight off that it would kill me. I tried to exercise and diet at my doctor’s suggestion and that lasted about two or three weeks. It was hard to exercise with an extra 200 pounds of body fat. So I would stop. I tried Weight Watchers and that did not last but one week. I tried all the weight loss fads--from pills to drinks to weight loss programs--and none worked for me. I would lose weight but I would gain it back plus another 20-30 pounds. .jpg)
I thought that life was over for me. Then a co-worker gave an article about someone who had gastric bypass surgery. After that, I was on a mission--I had to find out all that I could about this surgery. So, I researched all the options in weight loss surgery. I spent two long years researching and decided to have the surgery. I made three different appointments with doctors who perform the surgery. When I met the doctors and staff at St. John Weight Loss Center, I knew that I wanted to have my surgery done there. So on April 4, 2005 my life began again.
I have lost 155 pounds to date. What a difference the surgery made--I have a life again! I have so much energy now. I don’t watch TV anymore. I can’t sit still. I walk every day. I enjoy life again. Life is great and I owe all my success to the staff at St. John, my family and my co-workers for all their support and encouragement through my journey. I have discovered me again and I thank God every day for that and all the caring people who helped through my surgery.
Thank you all for everything.
(Brenda Krajewski, 11/07)