DS in the news "Happy diminishing returns"
Saw this as a share from one of my FaceBook DS friends:
http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20110731_Happy_diminishing_returns.html?ref=facebook.com
Theres three pages so I'll just copy and paste the first one:
Happy diminishing returns.
After weight loss, family rediscovers small joys
Matt Sullivan never sat in a booth at a restaurant, ever. When you weigh 390 pounds, a booth is a tight, humiliating squeeze.
But now he loves booths. Now he weighs 185. "You've got a table open? No, thanks," he'll tell the hostess. "I want a booth. I'll wait."
Oh, and how about this: He had to learn how to run again. When he went out on a tennis court with his new body, "my muscles just forgot how." He watched his 12-year-old son and imitated him.
Matt, 53, was the guinea pig. He is one of 12 Sullivan children, most of whom grew up in Warminster or Willow Grove. As kids, the siblings were divided into Fat Sullivans and Skinny Sullivans, though most were Fat Sullivans. "We were a large family of large people," Matt said.
When Matt told Dion, 44, the baby, just 364 pounds, that he was having weight-loss surgery, Dion said: "You're insane. No way I'm going to think about doing this to my body. You talk to me in a year, and I'll see if you think this is still a good idea."
A year later, Matt called. Dion had the surgery April 21 and is already down 80, a new man.
"When he [Matt] didn't die," said Greg Sullivan, 45, another brother, 357 pounds, "I figured, all right, I'll look into it."
Greg had surgery in early March. He has dropped 115 so far.
Five Sullivan siblings now have had weight-loss surgery at Abington Memorial Hospital and eight relatives in all, including one spouse, a daughter, and her husband.
The first four had surgery more than a year ago and have lost 640 total pounds. The next two, Greg and Dion, have shed 195 more so far, making 835.
The seventh relative, Dion's wife, Amy, had the surgery two weeks ago, and the fifth sibling, Francine Stafford, 50, at 270 pounds, just had it Monday.
"I didn't want to be left behind," Francine said.
Liquid diets
Nadine Sullivan, 58, went third. She said she had been a camel: Were famine to strike, she would have been the last person alive, because her body held on to every calorie. Five times she dieted and lost 100 pounds, basically through starvation and liquid diets, but the moment she stopped dieting, or just looked at food, the weight came back, and then some, so she'd end up fatter than she had started.
She's down from 330 to 158. Type 2 diabetes, gone. Hypertension, gone. High cholesterol, gone. "I'm starting to feel like being fat was a dream," she said.
She was the sister who had tried her best to prove that the surgery, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, the rarest and most complicated bariatric surgery, was a terrible idea. A newly minted Ph.D. in sociology, she spent two days trolling academic websites, but came up only with reasons to do it. "Everything was like, 'This will save your life.' "
Seven of the ever-diminishing Sullivans sat in the living room of Greg's home in Bala Cynwyd the other day. They were there to give emotional support to Francine, who was to have her surgery the next morning. They talked about all the diets they had tried, over and over and over, and all the abuse and criticism they had taken from all the know-it-alls who passed judgment on them for being lazy or lacking willpower or living like gluttons. And now they are so happy, reborn.
"I was on 11 different prescription medicines," said Matt. "Now I'm on one."
All believe they have added years to their lives, gaining energy, stamina, and confidence. Small joys have been rediscovered.
"I love drying my clothes in the dryer," said Greg.
"Instead of having to hang them so they won't shrink," said Nadine.
"Maneuvering in public restroom stalls," said Dion. "Being in a public restroom without smacking your head into the wall."
"There are only two stores I could shop in," said Amy, still on a post-op liquid diet. "I'm so looking forward to shopping in any store I want."
"You know what I'm waiting for?" asked Francine. "I'm waiting to tie my sneakers the skinny way instead of the fat way."
Everyone in the room understood: no more putting your foot up on a chair, or tying the laces on the inside of the foot because that's as far as you could reach.
Hey, if you click on the link to see the picture, you'll see that's our forum's Sarah B. in the back right!
http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20110731_Hap py_diminishing_returns.html
Excellent story, Sarah B.! Congrats to you and your family!
C-Girl
Starting Stats: Ht: 5' 0" HW: 242 ~ SW: 229.9 ~ CW: 117 ~ Goal: 124.9 ("normal" BMI)
% EWL @ 03 months: 36% % EWL @ 09 months: 80%
% EWL @ 06 months: 63% % EWL @ 12 months + 2 weeks: 100%
