'Every day I see someone new looking at me in the mirror'
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By JENNETTE BARNES
Standard-Times Staff Writer
April 19, 2006 (reprinted with permission)
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Tiffany Machado, who recently had gastric bypass surgery, returned to work this week. Here, the lab technician prepares blood for testing at C-Lab in Mashpee.
Photo by John Sladewski/The Standard-Times | |
She was 21 pounds lighter and feeling well enough to follow a busy schedule, visiting a nursing home and drug rehabilitation center to draw blood for testing.
The Standard-Times is following her experience with surgical weight loss.
"Every day I wake up with a smile on my face," she said.
She can see weight slipping away from her face, chest and stomach.
"It's amazing to wake up every day and see a difference," she said. "Every day I see someone new looking at me in the mirror."
She has more energy, too.
Yesterday she spent the morning collecting blood samples, then returned to the C-Lab laboratory in Mashpee to process them.
"I've gone out with my friends," she said, placing vials of blood in a centrifuge machine. "Everywhere I go, people are like, 'Oh my God, you look so different.'"
On April 29, she plans to wear a dress to a friend's wedding.
"I never, ever wear dresses," she said. "This will be the first time in a long time."
Ms. Machado, 21, lives in New Bedford with her parents and her brother and sister, who are 18-year-old twins.
Her family reports that she is sticking to the prescribed nutrition plan in spite of their taste for take-out.
She took her mother to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate her mother's birthday, her father said. But she stuck to the post-surgery rules, ordering chicken with mashed potatoes and eating only a few bites.
Most of her meals consist of breakfast shakes, crackers or deli turkey, all eaten in very small portions. She also eats sugar-free cups of pudding, Jell-O and apple sauce.
Ms. Machado started eating solid foods on April 12, the two-week anniversary of her surgery.
Although she sometimes wants foods she shouldn't have, she does not feel hungry.
"I never felt full (before), and now I have no hunger at all," she said.
Her father said he worries about the long-term effects of the surgery but loves seeing his daughter happy.
"One day she called me at work and said, 'Dad, guess what? I actually fit in five pairs of my old pants,'" he said.
Ms. Machado's brother, 18-year-old Shawn Machado, said his sister inspires the family to eat better.
"We're a very fast-paced family," he said. "Fast food was, like, dinner when we were growing up."
The twins work at a pizza shop where the family gets a discount.
Now they try to eat balanced meals more often, thanks in part to his sister's influence.
"She really changed the way we think about eating," he said.
Contact Jennette Barnes at jbarnes@s-t.com
Date of Publication: April 19, 2006 on Page A01
Copyright © The Standard-Times 2006. Reprinted with permission.
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Important Note to Patients
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Like any major surgery, major abdominal surgeries such as procedures to treat morbid obesity bring a significant risk of complications. It is important to remember that those afflicted with morbid obesity may have additional elevated serious risks, or co-morbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and severe pulmonary issues, which can cause further complications during this or any surgical procedure. This surgery is only performed after patients participate in a lengthy screening and orientation process that involves their families and all of their existing health care providers, including their primary care physician. Patients are also required to undergo medical counseling and engage in health and lifestyle practices that are designed to reduce co-morbidities to whatever extent possible.
You should always contact your Primary Care Physician to discuss any questions or concerns related to your medical history and options for choice, particularly if you are planning to undergo any surgery or partake in a new medical regimen.
