Although this surgeon in Belleville, Illinois is a little hard to understand, she understands the principles well. Bariatric surgery can be lifesaving for those who need it, but it is not a cosmetic procedure.
I like that she sees the beauty in her patients, though I’m a little concerned that she’s eager to extend the operation to patients who are pre-diabetic.
But it’s absolutely true: patients who have had post-op surgery are often transformed.
Their medical problems seem to evaporate: diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea all dramatically improve.
But the truth is that the work is just starting. Learning to eat well with a gastric band, sleeve or bypass overlaps with healthy eating, period.
Eating for hunger instead of emotion. Eating small portions and learning to savor. Counting your health blessings as a gift: practicing gratitude in itself is healing.
Speaking of which, Oprah was interviewed by Piers Morgan last night: her message overshadowed Piers’ questions.
“My brand is love” she said, and it is. She helps people become more of who they are by believing in their own abilities to transform their lives, as she transformed her own when she was 14 and pregnant, and thinking her life was over. But it wasn’t.
Oprah transformed her own life with planning, intelligence and passion. People who need bariatric surgery can do the same.