Family Support After Gastric Bypass Surgery
By Dawn Rodriguez, New Jersey Bariatric Center Patient

Procedure: Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass
Weight Lost: 101 lbs, starting weight 268 lbs

When I decided to have the gastric bypass surgery at the New Jersey Bariatric Center, it was a very personal decision.  I had done every diet, taken every pill and tried almost everything to lose weight.  So, when I decided to have the surgery, I also made up my mind that it was going to be the last thing that I did to control my weight.  I was going to do whatever was necessary to lose the weight.  I was also going to go into it with my eyes open; I did all the research and spoke to Dr. Goyal in-depth to make sure I understood what I was undertaking. 

I then spoke to my husband and daughter.  I was prepared with all the statistics, good and bad, and all the information that I learned so I would be ready to answer any questions they had, because I was determined to move forward with the gastric bypass surgery.  My daughter’s main concern was what if there was a complication during surgery and I died.  I told her that if I continued at this weight, I would probably die early anyway.  She understood, and told me that she loved me and whatever I wanted to do would be fine.  I then spoke to my husband, never really giving him an opportunity to speak until I got all the information out.  He looked me straight in the eyes and said “If you want to do this, do it for yourself, not for me.  I love you no matter what you look like.”  I knew he really meant it, so I moved forward with the surgery with my family’s blessing.

Although I never regretted my decision, after the surgery it wasn’t always easy.   We had lots of issues come up, even just sitting down to eat as a family became an issue because of what and how I had to eat compared to what and how they ate.  Then as the weight really started to come off, my own personal issues, the issues that caused me to put on some of the weight in the first place, started emerging.  I dealt with it by staying in therapy after my initial psychological consult because , again, it was important to me that gastric bypass surgery was the last thing I did to control my weight.  And even with a wonderful therapist who helped me work through my issues, it was still very difficult on my family.  I had changed.  I became happy, out -going, and confident, all the characteristics that I was not when I was heavy.  This change took all of us some time to get use to.

I’m proud to say that no matter what the issues were or how difficult it was at any given moment, my husband and daughter never failed to support and be happy for me.  And to be honest, even though I say losing the weight is my accomplishment, if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have gotten as far as I have or had the success that I’ve achieved.