Family enjoys active lifestyle after bariatric surgeries By Cindy Landrum
“It has completely changed my life, and it has changed my family’s life, too. My quality of life is so much better.”
8 Inside ANMED HEALTH
BEFORE HE HAD BARIATRIC SURGERY at AnMed Health in August 2018, Steve Smith had trouble keeping up with his 6-year-old son. “Before my surgery, I couldn’t keep up with my son,” Smith said. “He kept losing out because he wanted to play ball and run around, and I just wanted to sit on the couch.” Smith always battled weight, something he said stemmed from terrible eating habits that began in his childhood. However, he knew he had to make changes if he wanted to see his son Mason grow up. Both of Smith’s parents died in their early 40s. His brother died at 30. “I didn’t want to be like that. The last thing I wanted to do was die and leave my son as a young man without me to guide him through life,” the 40-year-old said, who started considering bariatric surgery the year before. “My wife needs me, too.” He decided he had to do something. Diets alone weren’t working, so he talked to his doctor about bariatric surgery. After attending a seminar to learn about the different types of weight-loss surgery offered by AnMed Health Piedmont Surgical Associates, Smith decided to have a sleeve gastrectomy, also known as a gastric sleeve. During the sleeve gastrectomy, the surgeon removes about 75 percent of the stomach, leaving a narrow banana-shaped tube, or “sleeve.” The procedure is done laparoscopically and is not reversible. Candidates for sleeve gastrectomy have a body mass index (BMI) – a formula based on height and weight – of 40 or more, or a BMI over 35 with a significant obesity-related health problem. Dr. Peter Bechtel, who performed Smith’s surgery, called obesity a “whole body disease” that is replacing smoking as this generation’s risk to a long life expectancy. Bechtel said research has shown that patients who have bariatric surgery live seven to nine years longer than people with similar profiles who don’t have the surgery. “There’s no part of the body that obesity doesn’t affect,” he said. “It affects the brain, the eyes, the lungs, the heart, the digestive system, the nervous system, emotions. It affects everything.” Surgery is only the first step, however. Dr. Peter Bechtel Portion control, healthy foods and exercise are essential to successful surgery. “Weight loss surgery is not the easy way out,” said Joy Vaughn, AnMed Health bariatric program coordinator. “It is both physically and mentally one of the most challenging things you can do. It is not permanent if you don’t change your lifestyle. You have to be highly motivated. You have to want to be healthier.” She said she knows somebody will be successful when they’ve already changed their diet and started exercising but can’t
The Smith family enjoys outdoor activities, like riding bikes on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
lose the weight they need. “Steve started long before we got involved. We just helped him get over the hump,” she said. Smith agreed, saying he doesn’t think he could have achieved his weight loss by dieting alone. After his surgery, Smith started walking every day at lunch. Eventually, he started riding a bike and running. His workouts vary. One day he might bike 20 miles, another he may go for a 4-mile run or swim 800 yards. In the spring, he was working with a triathlon coach and training six days a week. He had multiple triathlons on his calendar at that time with a singular goal. “Right now, I pray I finish,” he said. He and his supporters planned to wear custom-designed shirts to spotlight his success. Dr. Bechtel calls Smith an “absolute icon of what we want” because of the lifestyle changes he and his family have made. Smith’s wife Brandie had bariatric surgery two months after he did and is also doing well. Dr. Bechtel said there are a lot more “Steves” out there that would benefit from weight loss surgery. “Another Steve needs to hear his story,” he said. Smith said he wants to serve as inspiration for people who were in his shoes a year ago. “It has been completely life-changing. I always thought I would be stuck being fat, and I’d never be able to do this. But once you get your mind right, there’s dang near nothing you can’t do,” he said. To learn more about AnMed Health weight loss surgery options, please visit AnMedHealth.org/WeightLoss. If you are considering weight loss surgery, Vaughn advises attending one of the weight loss seminars offered the first four Tuesdays of the month. Call 864.512.6255 to register for an upcoming seminar.
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