Ceci Findley was overweight all her life, but didn’t consider gastric bypass surgery until after her youngest child was born. At 273 pounds, Findley had asthma and borderline high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. She was both unwell and uncomfortable.
“I used to be paranoid about the amount of space my body would use up,” Ceci said. “I couldn’t sit in the backseat of the car with my kids or do anything physical with them.”
Ceci was part of the support system for a few of her friends who went through the bariatric surgery process at FMC and had excellent results. She wondered if it might work for her as well. Andrew Aldridge, MD, walked Ceci through the process of deciding which weight loss surgery option was best.
In the end, Ceci lost 120 pounds. Now, not only can she sit in the backseat with her kids, she can take them to the park and walk the family dogs without getting winded. A busy cosmetologist, she finds her feet and knees don’t hurt as much, so she doesn’t feel completely exhausted at the end of the workday.
“I’m 35, but I feel 25 plus shipping and handling,” she said. “My kids aren’t missing out on me.”
Ceci credits the Weight Management Clinic staff, along with her family, with helping her stay motivated.
“They were amazing cheerleaders,” she said. “They helped me maintain the high of ‘I am starting to feel good and look better.’ That reinforced that I did make a good decision.
“It helps that I listen to my body a lot more when I’m hungry and realize I need to eat the right things instead of too much junk food. I had to re-teach myself how to start consuming food, especially when I felt lethargic and tired. Things had to be more nutritious and flavorful.”
If you are considering weight loss surgery, Ceci said, it’s important to understand that fear of the unknown is normal.
“I was afraid, but at the same time, I knew how it felt to fail myself and I didn’t want to repeat that,” Ceci said. “Evaluate it as an entire life change, not an easy choice or easy out; a 100% percent investment in yourself.”