Newspaper article on Gastric Bypass

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1083487095230890.xml

This woman came here to recruit people to interview, but it doesn't seem like she was anxious to contact any of us who had postive things to say...she was supposed to call me and talk but never did.

LInda: All I can say is AMEN!!! I also contacted the reporter and invited her to read my profile but I guess she was not interested in speaking to successful bypass patients. It's true that people die from the surgery so I guess the best way for her story to get on the front page of the sunday paper was to chase the hearse and speak with the ambulance chasing lawyers. Jesse

Hi Jesse...I guess our profiles were too positive...I always talk about both sides, believe me I have had my share of complications including the biggest hernia you have ever seen, but the trade was worth it for me. I do not get the Sunday Star Ledger, was it a front page story?

LInda: The article is below the fold on Page 1 going across the entire width of the page with a color photo of two people who lost their mother because of complications from surgery. In fact I received a private e-mail from someone having their surgery on Tuesday asking me to reassure her. I told her that things in the article should not deter her from what she wants and that when you get to being 48 hours away from surgery we all get the jitters. If you really read the article it does not have any information that a good surgeon or psychartrist would not have already told us. I guess that's the power of the press.

I second what Linda said. The reporter posted here to recruit subjects for her story but did not contact anyone who has had success. It seems that her motivation was to do an "if it bleeds, it leads" type of article and it wound up on the front page of the Sunday paper. My advice to all is to research surgery for yourself and make the decision based on your own research, not on a sensational news story. Jesse

Hi everyone I am Patti Schwartz age 39 the last two paragraphs of that article. She put my statement in and I could not believe it she told me that the article was to make people aware of the bad things with the surgery not only the good. She said she was not going to use my info, and I got a phone call this morning real early from everyone in my family asking me if I read the paper yet and I told them know and then they told me about the article I was real surprised. Patti

I hate when they claim they want info and they already have the mind set it is there way or no way. I to had contacted this kady and she never even contacted me either no professional curtosey. She could have anwsered my e mail! As a nursing professional a bloot clot is a risk after ANY type surgery! The fever is also common up to 100.9 after 101 they should do blood cultures and monitor you very closely. I hate negitive energy! I am hot and cold with this to at times, I KNOW I need this surgery for me to live to be old enpugh to see my grandchildern my sons will have one day. I am scared and I work in a hospital ESPECIALLY As I know how things get covered up. BUT this is a risk I am willing to take. I have had 4 operations so far and came through it with flying colors so I claiming this to JESUS I will again. thanks for the article...as my Mama always said God rest her soul "if you can't say something good then don't say nothing!" Mama was always right. Love you all and thanks for the support I have been given on here. Ever time I feel discouraged I log on and usually always feel better afterward! I hope to get a date in the next couple of weeks! God Bless Joyce

Man, this article burns me up. The writer really slanted things! And in Erin Sansone's profile, she wrote that she developed pneumonia MONTHS after her bypass, and gained weight back due to steroids...both unrelated to WLS, but that's not how the reporter presented it. ARGH!

Yeah! I was really steamed too! I just told my dad on Easter that I was going to have surgery, and why. My younger sister, who is also scheduled for surgery, had not told hime yet, and was even more nervous to tell him since the article scared the pants off of him! Our older sister is also having the surgery soon, and she read the article and started to get scared as well. Most of us have really searched to the ends of the earth for options for losing weight, and have come to the conclusion that the risk of having the surgeryis far less than what we risk if we do nothing! It has not been easy to decide, and most will have researched this beyond anything else before making our decision. The article was extremely biased! She put those two young girls picture (who sadly had lost their mother) on the cover of the Sunday paper, and exploited what happened. While certainly, some people have difficulties, complications, and some will even die; I think it was a terrible disservice to the weight loss surgery community to leave any positive outcomes until the last sparse paragraphs on page 41! There are thousands of positive outcomes with WLS every year, but these are hidden under the authors cloud of doom!