Short Stories Series III

Jennifer Serrano weighed 310 pounds and was a size 30 when she underwent her gastric bypass in 2002. She had been heavy since her middle teens and finally hit the bottom at age 25. After having two babies she put on 160 pounds and had borderline diabetes. Doctors told her she had to lose weight or she would have less than 10 years left. She says, “I never liked myself.”

After doing some research on the internet she finally find Atlanta bariatric surgeon Titus Duncan. Jennifer received the surgery, and then lived on broth and water for two months in a miserable state of mind. Finally, the weight began to come off and she lost 165 pounds and 20 dress sizes. Even her husband lost 32 pounds due to healthier eating in the household. Her daughter, Stephanie, says, “I see her smile…and she looks beautiful.”

For Debi and Zvika Akin life was a series of discriminations towards their large size. The couple would be denied seats in movie theatres because the seats were too small, could not attend school meetings because they couldn’t fit in the children’s seats, and eventually removed from an airplane because no seatbelts would fit Debi. “We were so humiliated,” she recalls.

A year later Debi, at age 49, checked into Alvarado Hospital, right down the road from their family owned and operated deli, “D.Z.Akin’s Deli.” She lost 145 pounds, shrinking from 350 to a weight of 205. Her husband Zvika, who weighed 370, followed her example along with her son, Neal, who weighed 328 before the operation. They lost 150 and 123 pounds respectively with the surgery at a cost of $90,000, of which 2/3rds was paid by insurance. The entire family lost a grand total of 418 pounds and couldn’t be happier. Even Neal’s new girlfriend is overjoyed. She claims, “Before, I probably would have seen his body, moved on and missed this wonderful person. I’m so glad I didn’t miss him because of the way her looked.”

Eric Decker has had a problem with his weight since he was 11 years old. He was taunted as a child which only led to more depression and weight gain. The 190 pound sixth-grader joined Weight Watchers but fell off the wagon every time with meals like “four or five éclairs.”

Weighing in at 385 pounds at 5’10” in September of 2002, Eric was inspired by the story of Carnie Wilson who dropped 150 pounds with gastric bypass. The 17-year-old aspiring performer realized that he was never going to get famous in our superficial world with his body. In January 2003, Eric received gastric bypass surgery from Dr. Victor Garcia at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Following the day of the surgery, he underwent another to repair the leak of bile in his stomach. “Why didn’t I just get on the treadmill,” he thought to himself. Today, at 190 pounds, Eric sees the world in a different perspective. He works at the YMCA in Hartsville, S.C. and attends Coker College as a musical-theatre major. “I have a picture of what I used to look like, and people don’t realize it’s me,” he says. “I’m ready for my close-up now!”

Source: People Magazine Vol 61. Issue 3

Click here to view the Next Series of Stories (Nothing Promised)

Click here to return to Bariatric Surgery Stories Menu