Karen's Slideshow:       > Before       > After Surgery       > Karen in Europe!

Karen’s Story:

195 pounds lost, 1 active life gained

Like so many weight loss surgery patients, Karen’s life is divided into two segments: before surgery and after surgery. For the 42-year-old office manager, her life was ruled by weight-related worries.

“It was the simplest things: worrying about chairs. Would they have chairs big enough and strong enough for me? The thing that pushed me over the edge was that I couldn’t even walk a block without having to stop and bend over because my back hurt so badly. Stairs were a nightmare, because my knees hurt. I had a constant thread of worry that was with me 24/7. Slowly but surely my activity became limited because of these worries,” she says.

In 2003, Karen made the decision to have weight loss surgery and has since lost 195 pounds.

After her surgery, she embraced a life full of activity and new experiences. “I’ve been skydiving and whitewater rafting. I just got myself a Mini Cooper. I work downtown, and to run an errand to buy stamps for my job, it might as well have been 10 miles away. Even though it’s been 3 years since my surgery, I still enjoy being able to just step out of the office and go. That thread of worry is gone. I’m just trying to embrace life. I’m enjoying it.”

Karen offers these words of wisdom to those considering surgery, “It isn’t a magic bullet. It is a very serious step and you have to be committed to following through on what the surgery requires. You can’t think life will be the same before and after. The surgery is a tool that will help you lose weight, but it’s on your stomach, not on your head. A lot of the behavior to overeat comes from your head, so it’s something you have to work on.”

Choosing the right surgical weight loss program can be daunting, but The Jewish Hospital Center for Weight Loss Surgery is proud to offer a comprehensive program that helps patients prepare for surgery, and, just as importantly, sticks by them with a carefully constructed post-surgery plan.

“What I really value about the program is the support group. Before surgery I went for 4 weeks and in that course I saw people who had weight loss surgery and came back. It was comforting to see people have the surgery come back and say they were doing OK. And then post-op, I could share with people who were experiencing the same thing. It’s always comforting to know you’re not alone,” Karen says.

Karen is continuing to make the most of her newfound life. “I’m getting ready to go to France and Germany with my husband. I’m looking forward to flying in a coach cabin and not having to use a seatbelt extender and use a tray table. I’m looking forward to going and not being encumbered by my weight. And in Europe, there aren’t so many overweight people, so I always overpacked on previous trips. If something had happened to my clothes, I wouldn’t be able to buy clothes there. 

I love riding roller coasters and the past two years are the first years I’ve had a King’s Island season pass. I couldn’t ride the coasters, let alone walk around the park, before I lost the weight. I work out at a gym regularly and I want to sign up with a personal trainer. I got a bike rack that goes on my Mini Cooper, and we put our bikes on it and just have a blast. I love having an active lifestyle.”