The guest blog below is the fifth in an occasional series by Shaun Thomas, a young man in northern Colorado who weighed 725 pounds before undergoing bariatric surgery in Fort Collins, performed by Dr. Stefan Pettine of Northern Colorado Surgical Associates.
Shaun’s first guest blog focused on his thoughts before surgery in August and his hopes for an improved lifestyle, while his subsequent blogs gave an update about his progress. They are all inspiring reads: one month after surgery; a Q&A with Shaun; and his dreams for 2012.
If you or a friend think bariatric surgery may help, please call 866.495.7579 or click here to learn more.
Back in August, I could barely walk to my mailbox and back. Things have changed a lot since I had bariatric surgery.
If you remember, the day I had surgery I weighed 725 lbs.
Fishing
At my primary care doctor’s office even before that, when we first started talking about weight-loss surgery, I weighed 767 lbs.
I’m happy to say that now I’m down by 209 pounds. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do that on my own.
When I say things have changed a lot, I mean a lot.
I can walk much better. My mom and I go to Dixon Reservoir to fish. She caught a huge catfish the other day. I thought her trout pole was going to break, but she stuck with it and brought it in.
I like being on the go.
We’ve been going fishing so much that I jacked up my shoulder. I don’t know if it was from casting or catching, but it hurts.
Last year I wouldn’t have even thought about going fishing, let alone hurting my shoulder doing it. I kind of like the fact that I was able to get out and hurt myself. I like being on the go. Besides, I don’t think it’s serious.
A lot of people seem to have questions about weight-loss surgery these days. I like answering their questions.
In fact, this guy called me up after reading my blog and wanted to talk about surgery. We talked for three hours. We’ve gotten to be pretty good friends. He’s come over and gotten a few tattoos and now he’s heading in for surgery in a couple of days.
He’s pretty scared but I keep telling him everything will be fine. The doctors and nurses at Poudre Valley Hospital know what they’re doing.
Besides, once you start losing the weight and feeling better, you’ll forget you were ever scared.
Of course, everyone asks about food.
When people ask about the weight-loss surgery, I tell them I wouldn’t change a thing. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
At this point I can pretty much eat anything but I’ve really focused on eating healthy. I stay away from red meat. I eat chicken and fish. I also eat salads.
It’s funny. Before I had surgery, I ate whatever I wanted and didn’t really think about nutrition. Now I think about nutrition. I want to make sure I eat right.
Things have definitely been 100 percent on the go. I spend a lot more time out of the house. I can play with my nieces and nephews without getting tired. And I see my friends a lot more. My tattoo business is going well and we’re all talking about moving closer to Denver.
It’s a pretty exciting time.
When people ask about the weight-loss surgery, I tell them I wouldn’t change a thing. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’m sure my friend will feel that way too.
And to make sure he has a good experience, I’ll be at the hospital with him and remind him about the endless opportunities ahead of him.
Shaun
