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The biggest winner
  
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By Michele Sample
At one time 31-year-old Sharon Cating worried if the seatbelt would fit around her on an airplane. Now, 155 pounds lighter, she just worries about which duathlon or marathon she will participate in.
Two years ago Cating decided to have bariatric surgery from Dr. Frank Chae at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Cating partially financed the surgery by cashing out some stocks she had in her portfolio.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.
Sky Ridge Medical Center is an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. This status is given to surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.
“What makes our program unique is the ongoing support we offer the patients,” Nancy Falk, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Sky Ridge said. According to Falk, it’s not just about having the surgery, but afterward, support from nutritionists, psychologists, surgeons and plastics surgeons are offered to the patients through group meetings as well.
“We have folks attending the support group six or seven years out,” Falk said. The program is a life-long connection.
Cating is a big fan of the meetings, and attends them as much as possible. She is dealing with the changes not only with her physical appearance, but psychologically as well.
“My mind still thinks I’m big,” Cating said. “I firmly believe your mind is directly related to your eating habits.” Sometimes, she admits, she is fearful that she will end up back to where she was.
According to Cating, her weight gain started in junior high, and when she reached adulthood, continued to escalate.
“I would go out with people who weren’t as big as I was, and they would get the door held open for them,” Cating said. “Not for me.”
The decision to have the surgery wasn’t hard for her to make. Cating said she was 100 percent sure.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” she added.
Dr. Chae has been performing bariatric surgeries for more than a decade, and said, “It still gets me everytime I see the patients later.”
To Dr. Chae, it’s the positive energy, the optimism he sees in his patients that is so rewarding. He said approximately six to eight procedures are performed at Sky Ridge per week.
“Comments I hear from them is that they have gained a second life,” Chae said. “Or, that they felt like a prisoner before.”
The surgery is laparoscopic, and depending on which operation, a gastric bypass or banding procedure, the success rate can differ greatly from plastic surgery.
“We can see patients successful 20 years out,” Dr. Chae said.
The food plan and regiment after the surgery consisted of a six-week program. Clear liquid for two weeks, pureed food next, and then only soft food you can cut with a fork. After that, it becomes a trial and error period.
Thankfully, Cating’s co-workers have been the biggest source of support during this time, and never questioned her on what she was eating, or why.
“They have been the best,” Cating said. “These are the people you spend most of your time with, eating breakfast and lunch.” She added that when a decision was made to go out for a meal, they never criticized her for restricting a restaurant.
Growing up as an only child, Cating’s father is blind, and her mother is overweight. After the surgery, she was afraid her mom may become a bit jealous of her transformation.
“My mom now knows that this was the right thing to do,” Cating said. “I guess when you are a mother, all you want is for your kid to be happy.”
Reminiscing about her heavier years, she remembers going out to eat with her father a lot.
“My dad can’t see me, but we went out to eat a while back, and he said, ‘there’s sure a lot of room in this booth.’ ”
Plans for the future for Cating include not only a possibility of a relay team for the Denver Marathon, but Elitch Gardens theme park as well.
“I couldn’t fit on some of the rides before,” she said. Sports including softball are part of her life, and also parasailing and snorkeling during a recent cruise to Grand Cayman and a trip to Mexico.
“I have the confidence now, and would have been too heavy before to do those things.”
Sky Ridge Medical Center sponsored an event recently called “Pants Across Sky Ridge” that was a visual artistic display of “before and after” pants of bariatric patients.
“It was impactful, inspiring and educational,” Falk said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 66 percent of all U.S. Adults are overweight or obese. Morbid obesity is closely correlated with a number of serious conditions that severely undermine the health of overweight patients, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
“We are here to fight diabetes and heart disease,” Dr. Chae said. “To give back life.”
For information on bariatric surgery, go to www.skyridgemedcenter.com.
Two years ago Cating decided to have bariatric surgery from Dr. Frank Chae at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Cating partially financed the surgery by cashing out some stocks she had in her portfolio.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.
Sky Ridge Medical Center is an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. This status is given to surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.
“What makes our program unique is the ongoing support we offer the patients,” Nancy Falk, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Sky Ridge said. According to Falk, it’s not just about having the surgery, but afterward, support from nutritionists, psychologists, surgeons and plastics surgeons are offered to the patients through group meetings as well.
“We have folks attending the support group six or seven years out,” Falk said. The program is a life-long connection.
Cating is a big fan of the meetings, and attends them as much as possible. She is dealing with the changes not only with her physical appearance, but psychologically as well.
“My mind still thinks I’m big,” Cating said. “I firmly believe your mind is directly related to your eating habits.” Sometimes, she admits, she is fearful that she will end up back to where she was.
According to Cating, her weight gain started in junior high, and when she reached adulthood, continued to escalate.
“I would go out with people who weren’t as big as I was, and they would get the door held open for them,” Cating said. “Not for me.”
The decision to have the surgery wasn’t hard for her to make. Cating said she was 100 percent sure.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” she added.
Dr. Chae has been performing bariatric surgeries for more than a decade, and said, “It still gets me everytime I see the patients later.”
To Dr. Chae, it’s the positive energy, the optimism he sees in his patients that is so rewarding. He said approximately six to eight procedures are performed at Sky Ridge per week.
“Comments I hear from them is that they have gained a second life,” Chae said. “Or, that they felt like a prisoner before.”
The surgery is laparoscopic, and depending on which operation, a gastric bypass or banding procedure, the success rate can differ greatly from plastic surgery.
“We can see patients successful 20 years out,” Dr. Chae said.
The food plan and regiment after the surgery consisted of a six-week program. Clear liquid for two weeks, pureed food next, and then only soft food you can cut with a fork. After that, it becomes a trial and error period.
Thankfully, Cating’s co-workers have been the biggest source of support during this time, and never questioned her on what she was eating, or why.
“They have been the best,” Cating said. “These are the people you spend most of your time with, eating breakfast and lunch.” She added that when a decision was made to go out for a meal, they never criticized her for restricting a restaurant.
Growing up as an only child, Cating’s father is blind, and her mother is overweight. After the surgery, she was afraid her mom may become a bit jealous of her transformation.
“My mom now knows that this was the right thing to do,” Cating said. “I guess when you are a mother, all you want is for your kid to be happy.”
Reminiscing about her heavier years, she remembers going out to eat with her father a lot.
“My dad can’t see me, but we went out to eat a while back, and he said, ‘there’s sure a lot of room in this booth.’ ”
Plans for the future for Cating include not only a possibility of a relay team for the Denver Marathon, but Elitch Gardens theme park as well.
“I couldn’t fit on some of the rides before,” she said. Sports including softball are part of her life, and also parasailing and snorkeling during a recent cruise to Grand Cayman and a trip to Mexico.
“I have the confidence now, and would have been too heavy before to do those things.”
Sky Ridge Medical Center sponsored an event recently called “Pants Across Sky Ridge” that was a visual artistic display of “before and after” pants of bariatric patients.
“It was impactful, inspiring and educational,” Falk said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 66 percent of all U.S. Adults are overweight or obese. Morbid obesity is closely correlated with a number of serious conditions that severely undermine the health of overweight patients, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
“We are here to fight diabetes and heart disease,” Dr. Chae said. “To give back life.”
For information on bariatric surgery, go to www.skyridgemedcenter.com.
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