My 6 year Surgeversary in words and pictures - Lots of Pain, Lots of Gain
On 30th September 2014 I checked into the Claremont Hospital in Sheffield for gastric surgery. I was alone as my wife who was scheduled to be there with me was back at home nursing my mother who had been flown back to the UK from India as a serious medical emergency having developed DVT and a blood clot that could have killed her.
I had never been in hospital for anything more than a sprain so the idea of invasive surgery terrified me. I was reassured that once I was put under anesthesia the next thing I would be aware of would be waking up back on the ward with the operation completed. Given an injection and told to count backwards from 100, I got to 89 before losing consciousness and being taken into theatre for the one hour sleeve gastrectomy surgery.
This operation would see ? of my stomach being cut out leaving a greatly reduced stomach that would see me eat far less and therefore lose weight. My weight at that time was around 25 stone (350lbs / 160kg), I had a BMI of 53.3 classing me as severely obese. I was taking a number of medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, back pain and diabetes that left me feeling lethargic and tired. If nothing else I was hoping a significant weight loss could help me cut down on the doses of these meds and give me a more normal life.
Post-surgery I was greeted by a collection of faces around my bed all looking quite worried, clearly something was wrong. Through the fog of anesthesia I was still coming out of my surgeon tried to explain that my haemoglobin levels were worryingly low and dropping by the minute. Basically my body wasn’t getting enough oxygen and the most likely explanation was that I had an internal bleed that had been missed during surgery after I had been sewn up. So I was literally bleeding into my body cavity and left unchecked I would be dead within the hour. I don’t remember much of what happened next but I was told by the lady in the bed opposite that I had to be forcibly put back into anesthesia which in her words was a distressing sight as I had to be held down and knocked out.
I was taken back down to theatre and opened up for a second time while undergoing a series of blood transfusions as they hunted for the bleed. Thankfully the bleed, a capillary bleed was found and fixed by the team. My back to back double surgery meant I was in extreme pain so much so that I had to be given very high doses of morphine. The morphine knocked me out for a long time, I finally returned to the land of the living fully awake some 30 hours later. Unbeknownst to me my wife had been phoning to speak to me but I had told the staff prior to first surgery they just tell her I would call when I was up and about, and that all was alright – they did as I asked but she suspected something wasn’t right. I finally telephoned her to explain what had happened and reassure her that I was very weak but I was fine, and no one needed to come to see me.
Instead of 2 days in hospital post-surgery I remained in hospital for 5 days. Truth be told my surgeon wanted to keep me in over the weekend for 2 further days but I insisted I was recovered even though I wasn’t as I wanted to get home to my family. I told the medical team I was being picked up from hospital but walking out of the hospital I called a taxi which took me to the train station in Sheffield so I could catch a train home to Peterborough.
As only my wife knew I had been in hospital for an operation my family especially my mother was shocked at what I had done. Its fair to say pretty much everyone in terms of family and friends thought what I had done was too extreme and I would probably regret doing what I had done. Over the next 6 weeks while I recovered at home from my double surgery, a severe chest infection and the ability to literally eat only a couple of spoonful’s of soup.
Getting used to my new post gastric surgery life wasn’t easy not least because I knew of no other guys who had been through this who I could speak to. I did receive great support from the team at Gateway Health as I had no choice but to go private and pay for my surgery. But the most important person from a support perspective was my wife Jas who along with my children got me through the toughest times in those first few weeks.
Eating very little but not feeling hungry the weight literally started falling off me as I lost 1St (14lbs/6kg) each month and within 12 months I had lost 10St around 40% of my body weight. My BMI dropped from 53.3 to 33.1 so I went from severely obese to being classed as obese/overweight. But most importantly the doses of the medications I was on were lowered and within 18 months I was off all medications and was now no longer diabetic.
I felt that gastric surgery as a tool had given me a second chance to take my life in a different direction, but it was down to me to take affirmative action. I did this by deciding to become physically active, something I had not done in the previous 25 years. I was never a gym person so I identified a couple of activities I might enjoy, namely walking and cycling. I started by walking 1 or 2km most evenings and within 6 months I was walking 10km every night. Not only was this a physical activity but walking gave me a degree of mindfulness allowing me to switch off from the stresses of my day job in I.T. My transformation hadn’t gone unnoticed by my healthcare provider and they asked if I would be happy to speak to other men with obesity issues who were considering surgery, I said yes, I would. Speaking to others with obesity issues led me to create my not for profit website www.bariatricman.com as a resource anyone, but particularly men with obesity issues could leverage. Although the website highlights my journey it was never just about me, it was more about how anyone of any age, gender and background can make a change and beat their obesity.
I take great pride in the fact that during the last 5 years since creating the website I have personally, been in contact with, advised, helped, coached and mentored over 100 people with obesity issues. Some just wanted to learn more but many others took the next step and underwent gastric surgery to make life saving changes. In August 2019 one of my critics my eldest brother Peter inspired by my journey decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery. One year later he has lost over 140lbs in weight and is enjoying a healthier life. I am especially proud of helping my brother someone I care for deeply.
To further help pay it forward and do good I kicked on in terms of my new physically active lifestyle by undertaking some major physical tasks and link these to charity fundraising. In 2016, two years after my surgery I got off the couch and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro to raise finds for Sue Ryder a charity that helps terminally ill people. Climbing the highest mountain in Africa is to date the toughest thing I’ve done not least because I became seriously ill with pneumonia before summiting. My descent of Kilimanjaro was the stuff of nightmares as in a weakened state I came down via the Umbwe route which is the preserve of technical climbers and not a sick novice. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I almost died on Kilimanjaro. But then it’s said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Mt Kilimanjaro tested me both physically and mentally to the limit and I not only survived but I came out away knowing I can do anything I put my mind to.
My long walks evolved into running not sprinting but distance running, from 10km to half marathons to full marathons. In 2018 I completed my first marathon at Loch Ness. Then in 2019 I was lucky enough to get a place in the London Marathon and I ran the iconic 26.2 mile course along with world beaters like Eliud Kipchoge and Sir Mo Farrah, albeit I was some 5 hours behind them. With that said I may have been slow but I did it, I crossed the finish line and picked up my medal. I even got interviewed on live television by the BBC at Tower Bridge as someone who inspires others. I ran 5 races in 2019 including the London Marathon and the Great North Run and Great South Run, the world’s biggest half marathon and 10 mile race respectively, all for Cancer Research UK charity. I was due to run these 3 races in 2020 but alas due to COVID-19 they were all cancelled, so I’ll have to wait until 2021. But that didn’t stop me in April 2020 of running a marathon distance of 26.2 miles over 4 consecutive weekends to raise money for NHS frontline health workers helping keep us safe from Coronavirus. In August 2020 I started to coach my wife Jas on the Couch to 5k running program. As a non-runner she has literally gone from the couch to running 5k in under 8 weeks.
6 years on from that day in a hospital gown in Sheffield I am enjoying life more than ever as I have kept off 90% of the weight I lost while putting on muscle. I am fitter, happier and a better person than I was. My only regret if I have one is waiting for so long to take affirmative action about my obesity and inactive lifestyle.
No risk, no reward - you are the change you want to make!