WLS For Mom And Two Daughters
January 8, 2013All In The Family
WLS For Mom And Two Daughters
When asked if obesity ran in her family, Jayne Slvia responded, “No, I was the pioneer.”
At 348 pounds, it was a passage in a book that opened her eyes, prompting her to research weight loss surgery and make that fateful call to the Wareham, Mass. office of Rayford Kruger, MD, FACS, Medical Director for Southcoast Center for Weight Loss.
“I wasn’t living my true life. I was a verb acting as a noun. My legs couldn’t carry the weight of my body. They were tired and painful. I’m so happy I made the decision to have WLS, and I don’t regret it for a moment. It’s not the easy way out; it’s a way out. It’s a tool that can change your life and help you become a verb."
I’ve been married to my prom date for close to 30 years. We have two beautiful girls. Melissa, newly married and a WLS patient, and Mallory, our 20 year old who is also a WLS patient. My girls learned from me... I now teach new lessons.”
Jayne and her daughters, who all had surgery with Dr. Kruger, have lost a combined total of 425 pounds and have supported each other through out their weight loss journeys. Jayne and daughter Melissa attended seminars and went through the process together. However, Mallory was a little reluctant to consider the surgery.
Melissa, Jayne, and Mallory before WLS
“My mother and sister never asked me if I ever wanted to have the surgery,” Mallory explained. “At first, when they had it, I was highly against it. I thought you should love your body no matter how big you are. Then, I ended up going to the doctors one day and my doctor was nervous about my heart rate. It was very scary for me. I had to take a stress test and a 24-hour heart monitor. That was when I started looking into the surgery without my family’s knowledge.”
All three women state that they have come to the realization that they have been emotional eaters. For Melissa, a bad relationship triggered her weight gain. And Mallory shares that she tended to eat through every emotion. But Mom Jayne remembers when she finally accepted that she was an emotional eater.
“It took the prep and WLS and sometime after to realize that I am an emotional eater,” Jayne recalled. “I will remember that day for all of my days. An ‘Aha’ moment I like to call it. The day it all came together for me. It doesn’t go away. You just learn how to deal with it. Triggers come in all different ways. Boredom, stress, whatever it may be. To put a name to the feelings and what I do about them has been a help to me.”
Mallory, Melissa, and Jayne today!
Their weight loss journeys have been filled with funny post–op moments, grateful moments, WOW moments, and more. You can read about those moments, read more about their personal journeys, their thoughts on support, and get insight and advice about the pre-op and post-op journey in a second part feature to be posted on ObesityHelp.com soon!
Keep moving, PROTEIN, and stay positive, journal, attend MEETINGS, exercise, and drink lots of water, DANCE, take slow walks....Allow your friends and family to be there for you!
