This is the first Christmas I can walk without my mobility scooter. I set myself a goal to be able to walk to the end of the promenade, which is about a mile and a half, I can do that now.
Janette
The gastric sleeve
A history of health problems from the age of 22.
In her early 22’s Janette was diagnosed with arthritis, being so young at the time doctors didn’t prioritise any need for operations to help her. The older she got the more her health declined and her weight increased.
Struggling to be mobile and move around coupled with a love for food and cooking equated to Janette continuing to put weight on throughout her life.
At age 48 Janette suffered from a heart attack, thankfully doctors were able to treat her but it left Janette with worry about the future of her health.
By this point because of her weight and health problems Janette relied on using a scooter. The beautiful seaside town she lived in wasn’t something she was able to enjoy anymore. She couldn’t even walk the promenade.
Living with horrendous pain Janette wanted to do something that would improve her health for good. She was worried that if another heart attack happened she wouldn’t survive it benign the size she was.
“I wasn’t going to be able to see 60 the way I was going”
Janette was one of the lucky few to be accepted for weight loss surgery on the NHS. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 and the 4 year waiting list she was in no position to let more years pass by without doing something about it. So she decided to go private.
Healthier weight was Jeanette’s option down to the aftercare offered. She felt that the most important bit of the surgery was the help she would get afterwards.
This Christmas will be different - This Christmas I can walk again
After a successful gastric sleeve surgery with Mr Rishi Singhal in 2020 Janette has gone from a size 24 to a size 16.
“I can dress in the clothes I’ve wanted to wear, I’ve re-invented myself, dyed my hair and got a nose stud, I’m a bit of a hippy and now I can actually wear the hippy clothes I wanted to wear when I was bigger”
But it’s more than the weight loss and high street shopping. This year Janette can wave goodbye to her scooter that she relied on for mobility and walk unaided.
“I set myself a goal to be able to walk to the end of the promenade, which is about a mile and a half, I can do that now”.
This Christmas Janette intends on cooking a delicious meal for her family “I only have a small plate of the food I can eat, but I get my enjoyment by watching them enjoy it”. And for the first time she will be able to join them on a Christmas day walk in her lovely seaside town.
"It’s definitely not cheating"
The stigma that comes with weight loss surgery is still present. People think that it’s the easy way out, cheating and for people who can’t be bothered to lose weight but Janette wants to share how this is absolutely not the case.
“It was what I needed to save my life”
Without the surgery Janette dreads to think where her life would be. She expresses that it’s life changing and you have to be ready mentally to work with it. She had to learn to cope with not being able to use food for emotion anymore.
Janette suggests to anybody thinking of weight loss surgery to read the stories of people who have gone through it and had their lives changed.
2022 plans & goals for next year
It’s been just over a year since Janette’s gastric sleeve surgery, and she’s experienced both on and off scale victories.
“My goal is to lose another stone and keep it off for good”, she said. For Janette the most important thing is keeping her body as healthy as possible. With her heart and arthritis being something she can’t control, her weight now is and she plans on keeping it that way.