Patient Stories

Weight Loss Surgery

Memorial Hermann Memorial City

Carol, Weight Loss Surgery
From 405 pounds to the Houston Half Marathon

Halloween has proved to be a day of new beginnings more than once for Carol. On October 31, 1988, she moved to Houston from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Exactly 15 years later early in the morning, she arrived at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital to be prepped for roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery.

Carol was tired of dieting. "I had pretty much tried everything – acupuncture, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers," she says. "Nothing kept the weight off for any period of time. At first my parents didn't like the idea of me having the surgery. They were worried about the risks, and they said, ‘Oh, you'll be so restricted in what you can eat.' But I wanted to have the surgery. I wanted to stop giving food power over my life."

At 38, Carol weighed 405 pounds before her surgery. "I had a distorted body image. I didn't think I was as fat as I was," she says. "I didn't like to go shopping because I'd have to look in the mirror. I'd choose sizes that I thought I could fit into and when they didn't fit, I had to deal with the disappointment. I finally really looked at myself in the mirror and looked at my photos, and one day I just faced up to the truth."
   

Carol also began to be concerned about the health problems that accompany obesity. "I had borderline high blood pressure, and I was worried about diabetes. I had problems walking. My ankles would buckle under me, and I was afraid of falling," she says. "My ankles haven't buckled since my surgery, and now I'm able to walk long distances."

Carol participated in the Houston Half Marathon in January 2005, and she recently completed the Third Annual Running of the Bulls 5K Walk/Run to celebrate Draft Day for the Houston Texans. "I typically finish in last place when I do these runs, but I don't care. It's my race, and I do it at my own pace." She laughs, "This year I improved – I was second to last."

Carol was divorced at the time she had her surgery. "I didn't do this to keep a man or to get one," she says. "I did it for myself and also for my son. He was starting to gain weight and I wanted to break the cycle."

These days you'll find Carol's 11-year-old son Zach on the treadmill next to her at the gym. "I'm down to 229 pounds, which is a miracle. My life has really changed. I'm more concerned about my health now, and I'm focused on fitness."

"I'm able to participate in these 5K walks, which I could never have done before the surgery. But even more important than that, I'm able to do the little things that other people take for granted. I can park anywhere I want instead of driving around trying to find the closest parking space. I can walk into a store without getting out of breath. I can go to Astroworld or a theater or an Astros game without worrying if I'll fit in a chair – or worst yet, if I'll break the chair."

Carol participates in an online support group and has plans to sign up for the upcoming Walk From Obesity. "I can't eat the way I did before my surgery, but I really didn't mind giving up the food. My quality of life is more important to me than what I eat."