Hello, my name is Stephanie Shirley-Brown, and I am 34 years old. I had laparoscopic gastric-by-pass, Roux-N-Y (distal) with Dr. William O. Richards on March 25, 2002. I weighed in at a whopping 335 lbs. on the day of surgery. I am 5’6 1/2 and my BMI was 53. I was borderline hypertensive and had considerable knee and foot pain from carrying all the weight. Luck would have it that my overall health had not deteriorated “yet.” I knew it was a matter of time; I had a long family history of heart disease.

I had been overweight my entire life and never had a clue of what being thin would be like. I was always the largest kid in my grade growing up and that was a hard thing to deal with, as most of you reading this already know. Most of my childhood was spent on and off every kind of diet known to mankind, but nothing worked long term. By the time I was in high school, I had accepted the fact that I was fat and always would be but I still always desired to be “normal” and fit in. I wanted to have the kind of life that thin people had. Through my hopeless twenties I gained over 100 lbs. In 1997, at age 27 I married and was near 300 lbs. My husband never judged me and was my hero. I never knew just what that would mean until it was put to the test in March of 2002 and my life would change forever.

Within a day after surgery, I contracted a bad case of pneumonia. The pain was so intense and I thought I was going die. As sick as I was, I knew that if God brought me to it, he’d see me through it. I ended up being out of work nearly six weeks, I only planned to be out three weeks and didn’t even have enough sick/vacation leave to cover my absence. Times were hard. To top it all off, I had a really hard time with eating, practically everything made me sick. I lost quite a bit of hair as well. The problem with eating went on for a long time. Through it all I never once said I regretted doing the surgery. I knew it was my only hope and I had educated myself so intensely beforehand on what could go wrong that I felt I could handle just about anything that was tossed my way. I knew that each day would only get better, and it always did. I lost 97 lbs. in 4 months, 157 lbs. in 10 months, and a tremendous 185 lbs. by month 13. The surgery was not a “quick fix,” merely a tool that I skillfully had to learn how to use. I endured months (eventually years) learning just what this surgery was all about, and it’s never what you think it’s going to be. Thank God for support groups! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Still, I feel like I have received a miracle and I would do it over and over again and not think twice.

After the weight was gone, the sagging skin was unbelievable and detrimental to me. I was NOT prepared for this. The years of being so overweight had made their permanent mark. I was “thin” but nowhere near “normal!” I forged ahead with major plastic surgery. My second miracle took place on March 4, 2004 and the results were incredible, 12lbs. of skin GONE! Well worth the pain, money and effort.

As I live life today, I am a “normal” person. My dream came true. I am happier and healthier than I have ever been in my life. I exercise regularly, I eat healthy and I can do things I never thought I could. Nothing seems impossible to me anymore. I know how hard it was for me to get to where I am and I will never forget it. Since the weight loss, I have been promoted considerably at work, enjoyed a more fulfilling marriage, and I love the way I can walk in a store and buy any clothes I want right off the rack and look great in them!  My favorite thing about my weight loss is that I can finally cross my legs and wear high heel shoes.

People often hear me say, “nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” This is my motto. I love my new life. I never dreamed being thin was this great. Gastric-by-pass gave me life and I intend to live life to the fullest.