Hi Lynn!  I have an orientation session booked for this Wednesday in Richmond.  Wondering what to expect!  I live in the Fraser Valley as well :)

Hi Everyone I am new here too. I just had my orientation in Victoria last week. I live in Maple Ridge. I am going tomorrow morning for my blood work up. I am going on March 24 to be fitted for my CPAP as I have mild sleep apnea. For the first time in a very long time I feel like I am taking control of my life and moving forward. I have lost 30 lbs since last October. I am worried about my BMI it is rather high. I am currently 351 lbs and I am 5'6" and my BMI is over 50. I am wondering what is next for me in the process? LOL!!!

The only plastics MSP will cover are breast reduction and panni removal (and only if you meet their criteria).

Hello! I have a questions about fitness trackers. I use the one on my Samsung, SHealth, to track my steps. I have downloaded the MyFitnessPlan app recommended by the clinic. But I am hoping to find a walk interval trainer that will record training for a 5k? I am not ever going to run because of my knees, (the osteo is bad) but I really like the SunRun interval training for walking - I'd like to have a record of it and to track my progress. Everything i have found is walk/run interval trackers. Any ideas for android, walking apps would love to hear!

Also: I can't find any trackers that record swimming. This is annoying as swimming is my primary go  toexercise now. Any one else swim? It would be straightforward record keeping but no place in MFP or SHealth for swimming...

thanks all!

Tamara

Greetings to all. I have spent some time observing comments made here online regarding the company called Mexico Bariatric Centre . I have listened to one female berate the owner of the company and one of his staff. I respect that each of us who post here are entitled to their opinion and so I have decided to share my story regarding Ron Eli and MBC.

I am a Canadian who travelled to Mexico to have the VGS performed by Dr. Alejandro Lopez in April of last year. The experience was one I shall never forget, met many a new friend and visited a new country. I trusted in my surgeon and his staff to perform the surgery that I hoped would give me a new lease on life.

After the surgery was performed, Lopez advised me that I had a Hiatal hernia that he had “repaired” and that there was an added expense. I was a bit shocked as I had a test performed one week prior to my surgery and there was nothing that concerned my own doctor. The test was completed and the results were sent directly to Dr. Lopez to verify that I did not have a hernia.

When I returned home to Canada I was feeling alright for about two weeks, not great but I was doing okay. Unfortunately, that changed in days. I had a massive infection between the esophagus and the stomach…the same place Dr. Lopez stated he had repaired. I was informed that the suturing had been done quite poorly.

I spent two months in hospital and eight days in critical care. I was advised by my doctor that it was touch and go. During this period, I had to undergo another surgery to correct the damage from the original surgery, as well as two blood transfusions. I felt like I was dying. I was released from the hospital on June 10^th and came home too weak to walk, let alone go back to work.

What upset me was to see comments stating that MBC and owner Ron Eli were not nice people and that they somehow had become a punching bag for some of Dr. Lopez’s patients. I, like many of you, had a wonderful experience with MBC. That being said, when everything went sideways with my health, Dr. Lopez tried to hide behind legalities and threats. MBC and Cindy Rios were the only ones that treated me with respect and took responsibility for the botched surgery Dr. Lopez had performed on me.

I kept every piece of correspondence between myself and Dr. Lopez.  He told me that my doctors were “liars” and with incredible arrogance refused to believe that I spent two months in the hospital.  All I wanted was for him to take some responsibility, to say “I’m sorry for this happening to you”.  Would that not be the decent reaction of a caregiver? He would not even return the calls of the Canadian surgeons, who wanted to speak with him.

MBC did the honourable  thing and took full responsibility for Lopez’s botched surgery, something the doctor himself refused to do. MBC did the decent thing, the right thing. So please, before you decide who is the big bad monster out there,  I would check and see how many other patients have experienced Lopez’s marginal surgical skills and callous, uncaring attitude.  Thank You to Ron Eli and the Mexico Bariatric Centre and to Cindy Rios for all her hard work and genuine concern. They can both hold their heads up for their compassionate handling of my unfortunate situation.