“My wife is also a bariatric patient.
Weight loss surgery was never something I thought about even though I was near 450 pounds and struggling with daily life for years. One day my mother (also a patient of Dr. Guske) suggested weight loss surgery. She asked me to attend a weekend seminar with her. I reluctantly agreed to go. Within a couple of months, I had surgery. My mother had surgery the month before me, so we were able to experience everything together. I was in the OR for less than an hour. I was mostly recovered physically within a week. At my 3-month appointment I was down 90 pounds (including the preop liquid diet). The first 3 months changed my life. No medications, no CPAP, no back pain. I can walk for hours without breaking a sweat now. I jog around the block with my dogs every day. I have come a long way from the days of instant back pain if I tried to walk a short distance.
I moved to a few different states over the last few years. I found a job that I absolutely love. I met the woman of my dreams in San Bernadino, California, we got married in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We bought a house in Springfield, Illinois last year. My life has been a wonderful adventure over the last few years because weight loss surgery freed me from the prison of obesity. I feel better that I have in a decade. I went from being someone who absolutely expected nothing out of life to someone who now enjoys having everything.
Suburban Surgical has a wonderful team from beginning to end. After watching my story over the last couple of years another family member decided to take the plunge. She had surgery in June with Dr.Rantis. She recently hit the 3-month post op mark and she is in absolute heaven with her progress.
Thank you,
Thomas Mac Burks”