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Surgeon: Dr. Ara Keshishian, Delano, CA
Surgery date: February 15, 2001
Pre-op weight/BMI: 300/48
Current weight/BMI: 145/23 (as of October 3, 2002)

 
Left: Pre-op (300lb.); Right: 19 months post-op (145lb.) down 155 pounds!

 
Left/Center: Five months (207lb.); Right: Fourteen months post-op (152lb.)

 
Above (all): Six months (200lb.)

 
Left: Pre-op; Center: Six months post-op (down 100lb.); Right: October 2002 (145 lb.)

 
Above (both): October 2002 (145 lb.)

by Deanna:

My name is Deanna. I am a mother, a wife, the President of a small corporation, a swim coach and a good friend to many. BUT if you ask me to tell you what comes to mind first when I think of me, it is that ugly three letter word -- FAT!! For as long as I can remember I have felt different then other people. I have had times in my life where I was at a "normal" size for my age, BUT for the most part of my whole adult life I have been fat. I just turned 35, and over the last 15 years I have tried so many diets I would hate to have to take the time to type them all out!!! Each time losing a bit, but than gaining it back, along with more. After each failed attempt, I would sink even lower in the self-esteem department. Each time feeling like I was all alone and not worth a darn if I couldn't even muster up the self-control to lose weight and keep it off longer than a few months! For years, I have worked on my self-esteem. I no longer feel I am a worthless individual just because I am overweight. I know I am a child of God and loved by many just for being me!!!!

However, about the time I figured things out emotionally I began to fall apart physically. In the last few years I have gone from being obese to being super-morbidly obese. That's about all dieting ever got me! Along with this title came a myriad of health issues. I deal with high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, heart issues, incontinence, personal hygiene issues, shortness of breath, fatty tumor growth, arthritis, ulcers, ankle swelling and depression. WHEW... that hurt to type, never mind what it is like to live with all that everyday! I want to live to see all five of our children graduate and marry! I want to enjoy life again not just watch others enjoy as I watch from the sidelines.

This brings me to where I am today! I am exactly 6 days pre-op. On February 15th at 7am I am having the gastric bypass with duodenal switch preformed be Dr. Keshishian in Delano, California. My husband, my kids, my parents, my extended family and my friends all support me in my decision. I am very lucky there! Oh sure some of them have asked a lot of questions and have been leery in the beginning, but in the end they have all come to see why I must do this. They all agree that I have chosen wisely in my choice to have DS. The biggest backer of my plans seems to be my God! He has arranged it so that everything that needed to be figured out and handled has happened. It takes a lot for me to just go away for 2+ weeks. I live in Kansas and I am going to California for surgery. It is by the Grace of God, shown to me thru my family and friends that I am able to do this. Thank you God! Thank you family and friends. Along with that list of friends belongs the new list of the wonderful people I have met on the DS email list. You people have inspired me to carry though with this and do what I need to do to also have a new lease on life. ((HUGSZ)) Thank you !!

I have been very fortunate in the insurance end. I have CIGNA/PPO. They gave me a little grief for a few days about my co-morbidities. They not only wanted a letter of medical necessity but they also wanted to see the notes out of the doctor's charts to back that all up. So, with the help of my Doctor's, bless their busy souls, we got it to them and I was approved all in the same week. My advice to anyone out there fighting for insurance approval is keep after them! I called daily! I think they approved me just so I would go away!

I think this is about all I have for now. I look forward to my next post being from the "other-side." I will be happily switched and getting used to life as it will be! Thanks for your prayers and well wishes as I leave on the journey of my "new lifetime." A much happier and longer one! I have never been so sure about anything in my whole life! ((HUGSZ)) to everyone in my life and everyone who is on the same journey to find freedom from what has "weighed" us down!

March 26, 2001 Update:
On February 15th 2001, I went through with the most important change in my life. To some people it was controversial. To others it was an easy way out. To many it was unthinkable. To me it was a lifesaver. Better yet a Life giver! Because thanks to the talented Dr. Keshishian, that is exactly what I have a New life! Let me say right here that I cannot say enough good things about the man or about his staff!!!!!!!

I journeyed all the way from Kansas to Delano, California for this life-changing event! I never had even one moment of doubt to whether I had made the right choice! Although pulling it off was not easy, it was all worth it! My switch went off rather uneventfully! I had the BPS/DS done along with hernia repaired, gallbladder removed, appendix out, and some adhesions from my hysterectomy cleaned up. Dr. K managed to do all the above in under 2 ½ hours! It takes longer than that to overhaul a car! I was in the Delano Hospital for 5 days. Everyone there was great and my stay was uneventful.

A few days later my incision opened up a bit in three spots. It scared me at first because so much drainage starting coming out all at once! I was staying about 2 hours away from Dr. K. He asked me to come back over to see him before I left for Kansas so I did. It appeared I had a bit of an incision infection, nothing major. He added 5 new pretty stitches to make sure I did not open up further and put me on antibiotics. All was well from that point forward. My incision has healed well -- no worse for the wear!

As I type this I am five weeks post op. I have absolutely no regrets and would do it all over again! I credit my good experience with to a few things:

• Research! I was very comfortable with the procedure I was having and WHO was doing it!
• God! This whole thing has been a "God" thing for me! I asked God to open the doors to make this happen if it was His will for my life. And boy did he! I had surgery 30 days from the day I first called Dr. K's office!
• A very supportive family! Everyone from my husband to my 5 kids to my parents and extended family has been there for me. Sure they asked questions and did some of their own research but they have stood behind me in this from beginning to end! THANKS EVERYONE!

I am 37 days post op and have lost 37 pounds! WOW a miracle! I can do things I have not done in years! Crossing my legs again was the first of those things I discovered! I live each day in awe wondering what the next awesome thing I can now do once again! And amazingly enough I still enjoy my food! I eat all my favorites! I enjoy eating them knowing that I can now stop when I am full and that the portions I am eating are no longer a death sentence putting extra pounds on me by the day!

I thank God daily for you people, you inspired me, for BPS/DS for it has truly given me my life back and for Dr. Keshishian whose immense talents I believe took that tool and saved my life. Thanks God…I have never had it so good!

July 15th Update:
Today I am 5 months post-op! WOW where do I begin!? I have truly gotten my life back. I have lost 93 pounds but even more important is what I have gained………..my self respect! When I look in the mirror now I am proud of who and what I see.

The last five months have not been all smooth sailing but I did not go thru anything I wouldn't go through again for this end result. I had a slight scare with a bowel obstruction that cleared up without the need for surgery. It was just a scary night in ER. I did go through a month long phase of losing my hair, but it has stopped and is growing back. My bowels do not always cooperate with my schedule but that has probably been the biggest adjustment I have had, so I can deal with it. All a small price to pay for a daily life that is so very different than it was a mere five months ago.

I can walk on the beach in my size 14 swim suit with my kids and not wonder if they are embarrassed. I can once again ride my bike and have been enjoying learning how to roller-blade. Something I never would have even tried five months ago!! I can clean house and do laundry and walk to the back of Wal-Mart without wanting to die. My general health has greatly improved. I am off of almost all types medication I was taking five months ago. I take 2 pills a day instead of 13! My blood pressure is normal and so is my blood sugar. I used to be a very depressed individual and that is all but gone too. Of course leaving the flat boring state of Kansas to come back to Virginia Beach helped in that area too. Going from a size 30 to a size 14/16 gave me back the confidence it took to make a major life change and sell my business and move back to the beach! I love it here.

The thrill of buying my first shirt on the "regular" side of the store in 15 years was indescribable. God has truly given me a second chance at life. I look in the mirror everyday and don't recognize myself. It is hard not to still view myself as a morbidly obese person. It takes a little while for the "head" to catch up with the body. Every time I hit a weight-loss plateau I think this is it! I am not going to loose one more pound!! You would think after 4 or 5 plateaus it would sink into my hard head that this time is different and I AM losing weight permanently and feeling great! I will admit I still get on the scale all too often but hey some things never change! At least when I see when I get on it has!

I have about 50 more pounds to go and I know an inevitable tummy tuck will take care of about 20 of that! So that leaves me with 30 some odds pounds to go! WOW that thought makes me speechless. I "know" I weigh almost a 100 pounds less, I just wonder how long it will take for my head to believe it!

I eat very normally now. I eat pretty much anything I want but not near the amounts I used to. But I am always satisfied. Actually I am eating all my favorites again. You know the ones I rushed to eat pre-op that I never thought I would have again! HAHA I even enjoy dairy products with no trouble. About the only thing I still do not like much of is bread. It just fills me up to easy. I was out with a lady who had RNY last week and I had a half of a piece of cheesecake. You KNOW what her reaction was and I was once again so very glad I chose DS.

I want to again thank all my friends and family for being so supportive. I could not have gone through this life changing event without you. Dr Keshishian and his staff are the best. Living on the east coast now makes it hard for me to see them out in California but they made a special point of making time to see me while they were out here for the bariatrics convention. A small example of what Dr. K and his staff are all about!

Well that's about it for now. Sorry this update took me so long to get to. Moving was the quite the process! My days are so filled with everything I CAN DO now that I just do not sit down at the computer like I used too! I am simply out living the life DS gave back to me! I am very grateful person! If I can ever repay the good Lord in any small way it might be in helping others through this process so if anyone out there needs anything while you are going through this process let me know! I am here! Well, what is left of me is! (sorry couldn't resist) Seriously, email me anytime!

August 27, 2001 Update:
I cannot believe my eyes! When I got on the scale the morning of my six month anniversary since my surgery, I actually saw a flat 200 pounds!! I was speechless. I am of course anxiously awaiting 199! (nothing like a little patience huh) I have seen so many miracles in my life since DS. The way I look is NOTHING compared to how much better I feel. God has been very very good to me to allow me this new lease on life. For all of you still drudging along the path to surgery it IS worth it, don't give up!! If I can be of any help or encouragement let me know. Thanks to everyone who has seen my site and emailed me. It is very encouraging to get positive email from others! I want to continue to thank my family and friends for their support and prayers! Dr.Keshishian and his staff are the best! I owe them more than I can ever begin to thank them for. But most of all, I thank my very loving and caring God for choosing to gift me with a new, wonderful, healthy life!! The glory is all His!

January 13, 2002 Update:
My life is but a shadow of what it was! I will do a complete recap of the transformation next month on my one year anniversary but I had to say something now. It is so hard to contain my new love for life!! I am working out daily and I LOVE it! I am even teaching aqua-fitness and enjoying every second on it! I have been promoted at work and work very long hard hours but do not mind it! This is coming from a woman that last February could not get to the back of Wal-mart without crying. The way I look now is still hard for me to comprehend but it isn't event the important part. The level in which I can now enjoy my life is almost indescribable. The zest for life I now have is a gift from God. I have been given a second chance at life. Period. And I intend to use every minute of it wisely! God has been SO good to me! Everyone out there fighting for the right for their own second chance, DON"T stop.....it is WELL worth the fight! I would do it all over again.......twice if need be!

April 05, 2002 Update:
OK…… I have put this off long enough! Do you know why it is so hard to come back and write a one- year update?? Because you are actually busy out living an active, normal life! At least it has been true for me. But I thank everyone who took the time to update their pages to inspire me when I needed it so here I am trying to do the same.

How do I even begin to recap this last year? I am truly almost speechless and for those of you who know me you know that doesn’t happen often! If you would have told me exactly what my life was going to be like a year later, before I had surgery, I might not have had it! But not for the reasons you might think. All this good stuff would have scared me to death! I have actually had to learn that I deserve all this happiness. Crazy huh? But I have to say God has been so very very good to me!!

I have lost 148 pounds. I went from 300 to 152 and my BMI went from 48 to 24. I am proudly wearing size 10’s instead of 28’s. I have surpassed my original weight-loss goal. I do plan on having a body tuck sometime this year, but I am still shrinking inches-wise and I am not in a big hurry. I use to take 13 medications a day for my myriad of health issues and today I take nothing but vitamins. (YES I do take those religiously …now!)

I am able to do things with my kids I never dreamed I could do. I love roller coasters again and playing racquetball. And OH yes being back in the water is pure joy! We have bought a new house with a pool and I am so excited about putting on a swimsuit and playing with my kids everyday!

But even more important than the physical changes is what loosing the weight has done for my self-esteem. Actually it wasn’t really the act of loosing the weight, it was the work I was forced to do on myself mentally as the weight came off. At 300 pounds I carried around a lot of emotional baggage too. I can say confidently I have walked through and dealt with the majority of it. In the process I was able to make a major move geographically, walk away from an emotionally draining marriage going no where, make a much wanted career move, and allow myself to be loved unconditionally again AND feel like I deserve it! WOW! This includes allowing myself to be loved unconditionally by a wonderful new man in my life. He treats with me with the kind of love and respect I thought I would never have. And I in return, because of how good I feel about myself now, actually have plenty to give back to him as well! And you know what? I like it and I deserve it, I think I will keep it! I am getting kind of used to it!!

Bill and I went back to California this last month. I was given the privilege of going to Delano and speaking at Dr. Keshishian’s Support group meeting for my one-year anniversary. It was a wonderful experience. To be able to stand up and talk to a bunch of people who understand where I have been is a great honor. But most importantly it allowed me to thank God and Dr. K’s staff and all my DS friends, THANKS! I owe you the world……..my new world! It’s a world in which I am healthy, mentally and physically. I still have work to do. It will be an ongoing process, but I have the tools to do it now. I am actually REALLY looking forward to this journey they call life!

I will always be out here somewhere, willing to help anyone, in any stage of this journey. Please do not hesitate to email me anytime! In the mean time I am going to head back out and enjoy my God given wonderful new life !! THANKS GOD! It is time to start living life as Deanna! Not as Deanna who once was obese but no longer is. I have put away the “fat pictures” but take with me the compassion I gained from my years of living that way. I move forward with a heart filled with gratitude.

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