CityView Magazine

Above | Rebecca Morris with her husband Andy before her gastric bypass surgery. Left And after | She calls the date of her surgery, Dec. 17, 2004, her new birthday. class at the hospital and met several women who were taking the class as a prerequisite for weight-loss surgery. But Rebecca had to drop out of the class due to scheduling conflicts. Her weight was back up to 225. In November 2003, Rebecca began working as a nurse at Village Surgical Associates and struck up a friendship with Donna Carter, gastric coordinator, and Dr. Leo Davidson’s second bariatric patient. A year later, Rebecca had the surgery, too. She weighed 247 pounds with a body mass index of 46. A body mass index over 40 is considered “morbidly obese.” At 6 a.m., Dec. 17, 2004, Rebecca arrived at the hospital with her husband, Andy. Davidson, her surgeon and boss, explained what would happen after the procedure. The Roux-en-Y surgery, otherwise known as gastric bypass, took about 45 minutes with no immediate complications. Rebecca began a clear liquid diet and was sent home her second postoperative day. The realities of surgery set in. First, she had a Jackson-Pratt drain removed the day she left the hospital. Donna Carter had warned Rebecca that it would feel like way too many sit-ups. Rebecca said it felt more like the kick 58 | Oct • Nov 2008 of a mule. And then there was her post-surgery diet. After a week of clear liquids and having her staples removed, she moved to a full-liquid diet with protein supplements and skim milk. At three weeks, she could eat a soft diet of cheeses, baked fish, soft veggies, cottage cheese and yogurt. Rebecca told me that many bariatric surgery patients say that their first boiled egg post surgery seems like the best thing they’ve eaten in their life! When she could finally eat solid foods, she had to introduce them one at a time. This was so she could judge what she could tolerate and what would make her feel too nauseated. But it wasn’t just the nausea, she said. “I would get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and with it cold sweats, shakiness and lightheadedness. My vision would get impaired, and I would feel drained of all energy.” She was taught to eat protein first and then to eat vegetables or starch. After one or two bites she would put the spoon down and sit. After a minute or two, she could continue. Portion sizes are restricted to the following guidelines: meat or protein sources should be about the size of your palm. Starchy vegetables should be no

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