A Gastric Sleeve Surgery Review
Rosemary Had a Gastric Sleeve Surgery in France in 2013
This is Rosemary’s Story in her own words
For me, Christmas Day 2012, was the day my life changed!
Better than any Christmas present, I came upon Tullia Law ! Feeling at the lowest ebb, Tullia gave me hope. My life was on a downward spiral and I felt I had nothing to live for. In fact, I had to face the reality that if I did not take drastic action soon my future, long or short term, would be grim. I was very, very overweight!
Bariatric surgery!
I was very apprehensive about taking that route. I had read every diet book and tried every diet.
- Nothing worked – not for long anyway!
- Should I spend money looking for a remedy?
- Could I, should I, trust a lady whom I’d never met, with a considerable amount of my money?
- Would I be able to cope in a hospital where I could not speak the language?
- What if it all went wrong?
Procrastination is the thief of time! I just had to get on and do what I had to do – no more dithering!
The wheels were soon in motion once I had made my decision and had told Tullia that I wanted to come to France to have sleeve gastrectomy. Looking back now, making that decision was the hardest part of the whole process but is one that I shall never regret. I was a classic candidate for developing diabetes, I had breathing difficulties and my mobility was poor. I needed help in order to manage my daily life and I was registered disabled. Things could not get much worse at the very time I had begun retirement and should have been looking forward to a life without work and all the stresses which went with it. Within weeks of having gastric sleeve surgery I felt like a different person!
- The weight dropped off me.
- I was able to take back my independence.
- I no longer felt so depressed.
- I could walk more comfortably without feeling pain and becoming breathless.
- I began to enjoy life again the more weight I lost.
I managed to lose seven stone!
I was able to start making plans for my future! Tullia tracked my progress, and continued to encourage me – this, together with comments from family and friends, indicating that they could see a change in me, spurred me on. In the past, when they said that I was ‘looking well’, I took it as a euphemism for, ‘ You’ve put more weight on!’ From time to time, my weight fluctuated – sometimes my weight went up, sometimes I didn’t lose any. I became very disheartened, but somehow I managed to keep going. I managed to lose seven stone and I am working on losing more.
It is a lifelong project!
I can go out to restaurants with family and friends and I am happy to just have one course. I will often take a doggy bag home too! I know how much I can comfortably eat before I get the warning signs to say, ‘That’s enough!’ It took a while for friends to understand that I am quite happy to stop after the first course whilst they go on to each of the next three or four courses!!
Since sleeve gastrectomy, I can’t wait to plan my next trip!
My life has changed in other ways too. I love travelling but I was doing less and less of it when my health deteriorated due to weight issues. Since sleeve gastrectomy, I can’t wait to plan my next trip! I have been to China and managed to walk along a section of the Great Wall, despite the high steps which had to be negotiated! I was able to go on my very first cruise and went to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Reaching the southern tip of South America, I realised that I was only two hundred miles from the South Pole! I was determined to go there!