Lynda Blevins is the exception of most bariatric surgical patients. She had maintained a normal weight for her petite frame throughout her life, until a nasty divorce led to serious depression in her mid-20s. “I turned to food for comfort and began gaining weight,” she says. “I tried every diet known to man and had short-term success, but the weight always came back, compounded by extra pounds.”

Lynda began considering gastric bypass surgery after her sister had the procedure. “She had very few problems and began losing weight immediately. Before I got far into the idea, I had emergency gallbladder removal by Dr. Nancy O’Neal from Surgical Associates. I told her I was thinking of having gastric bypass surgery but that Saint Francis was the only place I ever wanted to have surgery. She told me that others in the practice performed Roux-en-Y surgery at Saint Francis and suggested I attend Surgical Associates’ bariatric information meeting."

Doing the homework.

"I did and it was absolutely wonderful. I was amazed at the extent of the rerouting of the ‘plumbing’ and found it pretty heavy that my anatomy would be permanently changed. I did my homework; talked to a lot of people, went on every Web site I could find and read all the pros and cons about the surgery. After prayerful and careful consideration I decided it was more of a risk to live with the possibility of a heart attack at any moment than it was to have the surgery.”

Off to a good start.

Thinking she was off to a good start, Lynda was astonished when her primary care physician refused to approve her for the surgery. “Here I was with a BMI of over 60; I’d moved from the morbidly obese into the super obese classification; I was suffering from asthma and severe sleep apnea; and my weight had caused knee and ankle damage that had required six surgeries – and he refused to recommend me for the RNY surgery because I didn’t also have high blood pressure and diabetes.” 

She immediately switched to a new primary care physician who wholeheartedly supported her decision to have the surgery. With all the requirements met and with the help of Tracy the bariatric coordinator for Surgical Associates, the paperwork was quickly completed.

Taking the step.

Within two days of submission, Lynda’s insurance company approved the surgery. She laughs, “I’m one of those lucky people that the support group ‘loves to hate’ because so many of them have had to fight with their insurance companies for months – even years – before gaining approval. Can you imagine how much additional stress that adds to their lives, when they are already suffering from co-morbidities? Only two and a half months passed from the first time I seriously looked into it until my surgery on October 15, 2002.

"Surgical Associates and Doctor (John) Frame had prepared me so thoroughly that there were no surprises. They’ve really done their homework with this program. I had absolutely no fear at all going in. It was great!”

Lynda admits to being a “wimp” about pain but says she did so well, “I never needed pain pills or even a Tylenol after going home. Two weeks after surgery I’d lost 19 pounds. Dr. Frame calls me his ‘poster child’ because I’ve never had the dumping syndrome and never thrown up – not once. I haven’t been perfect, but I’m very, very careful. I will take a bite or two of just about anything I want, but that’s it – I don’t push it. I savor that bite and chew it to applesauce consistence. That way I don’t feel deprived; but if I couldn’t have that one bite, I’d be a mean person!”

Lynda has lost 103 pounds in seven months and her BMI is now in the low 40s. She credits her strong support group, including the Surgical Associates staff, and her husband, Ben. “I’m blessed with an absolutely wonderful, supportive husband. We got married 18 months ago, when I was at my heaviest – so he loves me for who I am inside. He let me make the decision – without encouraging or discouraging me – he just supported whatever decision I wanted to make. Ben is my rock. He stayed at the hospital for three nights sleeping on the most uncomfortable couch. He wouldn’t leave.”

Learning how to eat again.

Lynda admits that when they first began eating out again, she would order a full meal and encourage Ben to finish what she could not – until she realized she was causing him to gain weight. “Now I order from the children’s menu or plan ahead to take the leftovers home for another meal.” Surgical Associates provides a discreet card requesting that post-surgical patients be allowed to order from the children’s menu. Lynda says, “I’ve only been to one place that didn’t respect my request to order from the children’s menu.” 

Lynda is trying to work in more exercise, but she’s just changed jobs and that’s keeping her pretty busy. “I was an office manager for eight years, but I’ve gained enough self-confidence that I’ve left the security of a paycheck and benefits, to pursue a commissioned sales career. It is wonderful; I feel like, ‘I’M BACK!’”

After years of having to be dropped at the door of a store because she was too weary to conduct business if she walked from the parking lot, Lynda no longer uses her permanent handicapped-parking pass. “I park as far away as possible so I can get more exercise,” she says. “My feet and ankles no longer hurt and swell, and I’ve lost a full shoe size!”

She walks when she can and swims every chance she gets. “I’m a water baby and love the resistance of the water. I rode a jet ski for the first time recently and got dumped into the water. I was able to pull myself back up onto it, in the middle of the lake. I would not have been able to do that last year." 

Renewed energy.

"Now that I’ve lost over 100 pounds, I’m a little Energizer bunny; I just keep going and going and going. I don’t want to stop! I’ve been set free; I can live now. I’m making up for lost time and Ben is digging it. He calls me his incredible shrinking woman.” 

Of the many changes happening in Lynda’s life, two stand out. First, being able to buy from a variety of off-the-rack clothing in what she terms “non-fat stores.” She is delighted that another support group member has been losing inches just ahead of her and consistently keeps Lynda in the professional wardrobe her new job requires. “I pass my things on to others in the group through our clothing exchange. I plan to keep one dress, a shirt and a pair of pants as reminders of how far I’ve come,” she says.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall.

The second change is mirrors. “I don’t avoid mirrors anymore. I took all the full-length mirrors out of my house 15 years ago. I trained myself not to see what was reflected in public windows.” Unlike most heavy people, she couldn’t avoid photographs because she says, “I’m from a large family of ‘camera nuts’ who will take a picture of your backside if you don’t turn around and smile!” 

Lynda believes that group support is essential to successfully losing weight and keeping it off. She says, “As supportive as Ben is, I can’t imagine doing it with just my husband’s support; without this support group. The members understand, as no one else can, what you are going through. Nothing is taboo. We seem to laugh the whole time we are together sharing meals or movies or games. I’ve made some wonderful friends and intend to be part of this group long after I reach my goal weight.” She is looking forward to being a Bari-buddy and providing support for others, as a way of giving back to the group.

The team to choose.

She has high praise for the members of Surgical Associates’ team. “There is an unbelievable level of support and accessibility by the bariatric coordinators, nurses, and doctors here. They are available to answer any questions or handle any problems you may have. I wasn’t expecting that because you rarely get that kind of attention after surgery. These people truly care – they aren’t in it just for the numbers game of how many surgeries they can do – they are in it to save people’s lives and improve the quality of people’s lives. It is obvious by the way they handle every individual patient from the information meeting to the surgery to the follow up care and through the support group. In my opinion, they’ve raised the bar for other surgical groups.”

She concludes, “Part of the change in us is that we’ve begun liking ourselves again, and it shows in our faces. We feel so much better and have so much more energy. We are alive again! This is life-changing surgery that has affected my entire life. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”