James Bennett Tells His Story

Having developed degenerative arthrits approximately fifteen years ago, I noticed severe pain and damage in my lower back and both hips. The more pain I was in, the less active I was, and kept gaining weight. In march of 2005, I had emergency abdominal surgery because of severe diverticulitis. I was off my feet for three months, and began gaining weight at a rapid pace.

In April of 2006, I had a full left hip replacement, followed by three months of physical therapy. Off my feet and work for another three months, gaining even more weight, but the pain was no better.

In March of 2007, I had a lumar spinal fusion because I had a disc basically disintegrate and had vertebrae grinding together. When the surgeon opened me up, he discovered one of the affected vertebrae was cracked, and also repaired that. This time, off my feet and work for four months, gaining even more weight. The pain was still severe

Then in January of 2008, I had read about Dr. Myers and bariatric surgery. After going to the seminar in Mansfield, I went home and weighed in at 406 pounds and knew this was the right decision for me. By this time, I was in so much pain I could not walk without a cane or walker, (That is me with the orage shirt sporting a cane in the third picture), and my wife had to push me in a wheelchair when we would go shopping. September 25, 2009 I had a gastric bypass procedure done by Dr. Myers. That day I weighed in at 376, having lost some weight by following the Fresh Start nutrionist diet and changing my eating habits.

The first three months were a little tough, going through the different stages of liquids and soft foods before getting back to a normal diet. The rapid weight loss kept me motivated, losing 80 pounds in the first 90 days. Slowly the pain FINALLY began to wane. Now I was really motivated.

Some things were difficult to adjust to, physically and psychologically, but the fresh start team was right beside me through it all. To date I have gone from a whopping 406 pounds (54 on the BMI chart) to 185 pounds (26 on the BMI chart)! Now instead of buying my clothes at big and tall, I shop in the young mens dept! Instead of laying on the couch in agonizing pain, I am golfing, hiking, camping, canoeing and all the other funs things I used to enjoy doing.My pain and stress level are way down and my attitude and self esteem are way up!

For me, sacrificing 3-4 helpings at dinner, bags of chips and cookies was a miniscule price to pay for the health and happiness I am enjoying everyday. Dr. Myers and the entire Freash Start team are definately the most caring and professional group I have ever met! I owe him my life.

James Bennett