My Success Story

Growing up as an obese child was not an easy part of my life. The constant bullying and stares one gets leave wounds in your heart that sometimes seem will never be erased. Growing up and not being able to find anything to wear or if you did find something, you didn’t feel happy with how you looked. I come from a family that has history of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. There was a point in my life where I gave up on the diets and the exercising because I would hit plateau so fast and I would stop losing weight. Giving up on myself was the hardest and worst mistake I believe I made at that time of my life.

I met my husband 5 years ago and he has always told me I am beautiful and I am perfect for him. He would get so frustrated and upset with me when he would hear the horrible things I would say about myself and my weight. He came to me one day with a piece of paper that had a number on it and said to me “I will support you in any decision you make but only do this for yourself and not for anyone who has hurt you because of your weight…”. With that being said, I called the phone number on the paper and a representative of Beverly Hills Physicians answered my call. She told me she had gotten the lap band and that it was the best decision she has ever made. She gave me hope that a change could be made and that I was not the only person struggling with obesity.

My first appointment with BHP was in March of 2013. I weighed in at 256lbs (my heaviest weight), 22 years old and a mother of two little ones. I met with Nichole that day who was my consultant, she is amazing. She told me and my husband that this was the best decision I could make for my health and for our family. My husband wasn’t quite convinced that I should get this done because he thought it wasn’t necessary.

We then met with Dr. Misra who explained to my husband the health risk factors that I was going to have to face in the future, like diabetes, high blood pressure etc. Finally my husband understood. He told her he wanted to have me for a lifetime and would support me in my decision.

I decided to get the gastric sleeve done because I felt like that was the surgery for me and Dr. Misra agreed with me and gave me more information about the surgery. My surgery date was August 29th 2013 and I was so nervous and excited at the same time. I was about to take such a big step in my life that was going to turn things around for the better.

Everyone was very nice to me and I felt like I was so supported by all of the staff at BHP. Dr. Misra came to the room where I was being prepped and gave me words of encouragement and she was so positive about everything that all my worries went away. The rehabilitation center was amazing and everyone was so helpful during my recovery. I felt great about what I had done and I couldn’t wait to begin to see results.

As the weeks went by the pounds starting to come off and I was able to exercise and everyone could see that the “new me” was beginning to show herself. It has been 10 months since I had my surgery and I have gone from a size 20 in jeans to a 12-14, 50lbs down and still counting. I love being able to go into a store and not have to head directly to the plus size section anymore. I love BHP for giving the opportunity to love myself once again and for being with me every step of the way.

I couldn’t have done this journey with my support team. My biggest supporters have been my husband and my mother, I couldn’t have taken the first step if it wasn’t for them. I have to thank Nichole, Dr. Misra, and all the wonderful staff at BHP that helped me through this journey and showed me that impossible does not exist.

BHP gave me the chance that I had been searching for my entire life. They brought out this person in me who learned to be confident and most important I learned that I was not the only person struggling with my weight.

Thank you for giving me my life back.