“Life’s an adventure! What are we doing next?!”

It’s almost like Sara Brown can’t stop smiling. You can hear it in her voice as she talks about her husband of 18 years, her two young adult stepchildren, her favorite pastime, and her health.

“I’m me again,” she said, “and it is such an incredible feeling!”

To fully grasp her joy, you have to understand how far she’s come.

"I've always been a bit on the heavy side, and it got so much worse as I got older and became less active."

An avid bowler (more on that later), she struggled with her fluctuating weight for years, trying diet after diet that just never stuck. Eventually, she faced mobility challenges, humiliating limitations due to her size, and constant, debilitating pain from a herniated disc and sciatica.

“I couldn’t sit cross-legged on the floor with my dogs or fly in a plane without a seatbelt extender.”

Despite the daily pain, difficulty moving, and isolation, Sara was very hesitant to consider weight loss surgery. In fact, she sat on the fence about it for 10 years.

“I knew people who had successful surgeries, but I also knew some who had complications. That uncertainty scared me enough to keep me from pursuing surgery,” she said, “even though I was miserable.”

She finally reached her tipping point on January 1, 2022, thinking to herself,

“I’m not living like this anymore – I have to take control of my life.”

So that’s exactly what she did. Sara reached out to GBMC’s Comprehensive Obesity Management Program (COMP) and began taking the required presurgical classes.

“The classes were easily accessible and so helpful! I also joined COMP’s private Facebook group, where I met my ‘surgery twin,’ Ashley,” she said.

Sara and Ashley had the same sleeve gastrectomy procedure on the same day in May 2022, only one hour apart, and with the same surgeon, Dr. Timothee Friesen. In addition to the outstanding support she received from the COMP team, Sara found it beneficial to talk with others, including Ashley, who were going through the same process. To this day, the “surgery twins” still check in with each other every week and exercise together a few times per month.

For Sara, the best part of weight loss surgery is not being in pain anymore. Her pain completely vanished shortly after the procedure, which has profoundly improved her life. One of the most challenging parts, though, was not being able to excel in her favorite hobby for 18 months postoperatively.

“I’ve been a tenpin bowler for 20 years – I even met my husband at a bowling alley,” she said. What started out as just a fun activity to do with friends became more and more a part of Sara’s life over time.

She planned to take six months off from bowling while she healed from surgery. What she did not anticipate was the year it took for her to re-learn the sport with her new body.

“It didn’t occur to me that my balance and movements would be so different after losing weight. I really had to work at adjusting all my mechanics, which was quite frustrating at times,” she conceded. But Sara applied the same “no turning back” attitude to bowling that she used to prepare for and recover from surgery and is thrilled to report she’s back in the game, throwing the ball much more consistently. She now bowls on a league three days a week, sometimes traveling out of state to compete. This would have been virtually impossible to do before losing weight.

When asked what she’d share with someone who’s considering weight loss surgery, Sara said, “Put yourself first - make your decision based on you and you, alone. And keep in mind that many of the obstacles you face are in your own head. My only regret is I didn’t do this sooner!”

Interested in learning more about weight loss surgery and how it could improve your health? The GBMC COMP team will gladly answer your questions! Schedule a video consultation appointment today by visiting www.gbmc.org/weightloss.