Meet Anne Marie W.

What was life like before bariatric surgery?

At my prime, I was teaching aerobics and running half marathons. But once I started to have kids, I stopped taking time for my own health needs. I had three babies in five years and had lots of transitions as we moved cross country and started our family. I was stressed, worn out, and depressed. I found myself in depression medicine, anxiety medicine, and blood pressure medicine. I was pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol, and fatty liver. Even though those things weren’t on display physically, it was obvious I was very overweight, unhappy, and struggling. And with three sweet babies in tow, I didn’t want to be like that!

If you put off the decision to come in for a long time, why was that? What kept you from booking a consultation?

As soon as my primary care doctor mentioned weight loss surgery, I began thinking and praying about it. It wasn’t long before I saw the hope and potential that this could do for me. Having struggled with weight most of my life, I was only able to manage my weight by doing extreme workouts and running races. I couldn’t out-run my poor diet and lifestyle choices, no matter how much I tried. I finally decided to have the surgery because I truly couldn’t work any harder. I needed a physical tool to help me not harm myself by going to the extremes, and to give me perseverance to recover from several years of really tough health problems, primarily high blood pressure.

What was it like to work with the team from the start of your journey to today?

I came to see Dr. Bleu desperate for help, and he was so warm and inviting. He said he wanted me to meet his team, and I loved them all. There is so much support from the staff, from podcasts, to social media, and even their nutrition store. In fact, I have two friends who will be traveling to the panhandle this month where Dr. Bleu will perform the switch surgery for them. They will travel 260 miles to get here, on my word that PWLC is the best and will help them be successful! I couldn’t be more thankful.

What is your life like now? What’s the #1 thing you love being able to do now?

I look and feel better than I did before entering the dreadful 40s. Now I look forward to looking and feeling young, especially since I have three boys to keep up with!