Overcoming Adversity: Neal's Journey from Health Struggles to Triumph Through Weight Loss Surgery

A torn meniscus in his knee with extensive rehabilitation in January. A hospitalized mother, seriously ill with sepsis in February (she has thankfully recovered). A painful kidney stone that required emergency intervention in August. It’s fair to say Neal Cook had a heck of a 2023.

Although much of the year was full of doubt and struggle, it also included one of his best decisions ever – having weight loss surgery in April with Dr. Shauna Costinett of GBMC’s Comprehensive Obesity Management Program (COMP). It’s a decision he wishes he had made sooner.

“I weighed over 300 pounds,” Neal remembers. Like so many people, he tried nearly everything to lose weight, from fad diets to weight loss medication.

“I would see results for a little while, but the programs I did were expensive and unsustainable,” he says. A dedicated employee in a local Wegman’s produce department, Neal found it more and more difficult to be on his feet throughout his shift. When his primary care physician encouraged him to consider a more permanent weight loss solution in September 2022, he replied, “I’m ready.” The very next day, he scheduled a video consultation with COMP.

He was serious about adhering to the diet and support regimen all COMP patients attend for six months prior to surgery. It was challenging, but he stuck with the pre-surgical program while recovering from knee surgery. And he continued to work toward his goal of weight loss surgery while his mom was hospitalized, despite the stress of being her primary caretaker and the continual worry about her condition. With the COMP team’s assistance, making the changes to his diet in the months leading up to surgery wasn’t as difficult as he expected. His dietitian, Madison, was extremely helpful as he learned to eat nutritiously instead of emotionally.

When April arrived, Neal’s knee had healed, and his mother had recovered from her illness. His commitment to his own health finally paid off and he had a successful sleeve gastrectomy at GBMC. In a sleeve gastrectomy, most of the stomach is removed. The small portion of stomach that remains in the body looks like a long tube, or sleeve. It’s about the size of a banana and holds approximately 1/10^th of what it could hold before. This means the patient feels full after eating significantly less food.

A few months after his weight loss surgery, Neal came back to GBMC when he experienced severe symptoms from a kidney stone.

“I contacted Dr. Costinett right away, just to make sure my pain wasn’t related to the sleeve gastrectomy,” he notes. “Thankfully it wasn’t, but she still came to see me in the Emergency Department, which says a lot about her compassion for people, and about how dedicated the COMP team is to their patients.”

Neal is grateful to have had surgery, which has enabled him to care for his mother more easily, pursue more workouts with friends (and walks with his dog!), and to remain free of pain while at work. He feels so strongly about the benefits of weight loss surgery that he recently attended a “Meet & Greet” event held by the COMP team and shared some of his experience with others who are considering surgery themselves or supporting a loved one through it.

“I really do wish I had done this sooner,” he says. “My quality of life is just so much better than I could have imagined.”

If you are considering weight loss surgery and have questions, GBMC’s COMP team is happy to speak with you! Visit www.gbmc.org/weightloss to learn more about the available procedures and to make a video consultation appointment today!