Bariatric Surgery - a decision for my health

Employee Day at Front Runner Warm Springs Facility 
in 2019

My life has been a very full and fulfilling life.  If it ended tomorrow for some unknown reason, I feel good about most of it and have learned from the rest.  However, I want to live longer and be with my family here on earth for as long as I can and so I decided a year ago to pursue having bariatric surgery to help me with my weight.  I have not always been overweight, in fact in my earlier years, participated in competitive basketball.  My freshman year in college, I worked out pre-season with the BYU Basketball team but decided to quit out of a lack of desire prior to season tryouts.  Later, when I returned from my mission, I was introduced to the University of Utah basketball coach by a family friend and worked out with them part of a summer, but then decided not to play.  It was really not until my late 20's that I started to put on more weight than I should.  I was called and served as a Bishop at age 27 in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and my life got much busier and my physical activity less so.  Then I ran for and got elected to the Salt Lake City Council in 1997 where at age 31 served for another 16 years, longer than any elected official there in the prior 100 years.  I did a lot of sitting and was in a lot of meetings, and didn't take the time to really care for myself.  None of it was overnight, but progressively it got worse and more importantly, my health and the complications of weight, got progressively worse.

In 2012, at a particularly difficult time in my health and subsequent self-esteem, I decided to involve myself with other local elected and public officials in Intermountain Healthcare's My Heart Challenge.  I wrote quite a bit about that experience in the following blog posts:

Sometimes success is measured in not regressing!

Daisy is Losing It Too!

My Heart Challenge Results Announced - I Win Most Improved!

There is nothing more motivating than having TV and newspaper photographers documenting your weight loss and having it discussed on the morning news.  I lost 41 lbs. during that challenge and truly felt better and a number of health measurements improved.  I did better at understanding my health and what factors would have the greatest impact.  I felt more liberated physically and it like most things, became a joint effort between me and my wife Cathy.

With Pro-Golfer Tony Finau on a Thanksgiving
Dinner giveaway for the Rose Park area

However bit by bit, the weight returned and while I had moments where I dropped 30 lbs. they seemed to find their way back.  In the normal course of life, I burn through a lot of calories, more than most and actually can lose weight at 3,900 calories a day.  My weight didn't fluctuate a lot, but it also didn't stay in an improved state either.  Far be it from me, to judge others in their challenges with weight.  I think a number of factors in addition to eating flow into it.  Genetics certainly plays a role.  Underlying health challenges without a doubt factor in and of course exercise and staying active.  While I've worked on exercise, I wouldn't get any gold stars on my forehead with that accomplishment.  

I was invited to offer the opening
prayer for the Utah State Senate a few years ago

I've never been ashamed if you will of my weight, although when I looked at pictures of myself, it was a little painful to see how big I was compared to others.  It's been difficult in recent years to get myself off the ground or do some of the things I like to work on in my home improvement projects or simply picking things up.  It's been embarrassing at times when I've dropped something and others watching me bend over to pick it up, stepped in because they could see it would help. While my doctor had been encouraging me for years to consider bariatric surgery it wasn't covered under the health plan I was on with a prior employer.  The cost was just too much for me and so while I considered it, decided I had other financial commitments to keep. Until recently, I was ok with just keeping the status quo.    However in 2021, with the increasing problems of diabetes and other health consequence, realized if I didn't take better control of things, I would not likely have a long or the healthy life as I desired.  I also discovered that my current employer's health plan would cover one bariatric surgery in a lifetime, making it much more obtainable.  

My family on our summer vacation in Sun Valley, ID

The process of qualifying for bariatric surgery is not simple, as it should be.  The outcomes are not reversible and the decision should also come with commitments to maintain your new weight and do much better.  I started about a year ago, going through a number of pre-qualification processes and then hit the challenges of postponement for elective surgeries due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.  Initial recovery time is roughly 1 to two weeks, so finding and maintaining a window where it could happen as Chair of the Board for the Utah Transit Authority, was also not a simple task.  I owe a great deal of gratitude to our staff who helped me once a date was set, particularly my assistant, so I could focus on my health and frankly me.  On January 5, 2022, I had the surgery performed by one of the best surgeons in this area. Dr. McKinley performed the Gastric Sleeve procedure, which took away most of my stomach, including a portion that contains the gland that causes you to be hungry.  So far, things have gone well and I've been grateful for the support I've received by many.

I know the road ahead will have many bumps and challenges.  I was nervous right up before the surgery and still questioning whether I should move forward.  I have a devout belief in my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as a member of his Church.  On the day prior, I received a special blessing from one of it's leaders and in the course of that blessing it reassured me that I was making the right decision and all would be well.  It was a tender moment for both me and my wife Cathy, who joined me for this blessing.  I have been blessed since the surgery to eliminate three of the four diabetic medications I had been taking and more recently, eliminating my blood pressure medication.  While I had lost 30 lbs. on my own prior to the surgery, I have lost another 35 lbs. since my surgery about 10 days ago. The doctor is hopeful that I might lose 100 to 150 lbs. in the coming year.  

While this was my visit to Medford, MA Harbor Freight
I got one of my exercise efforts by spending portion of the 
morning in my local Harbor Freight store!

There are emotionally difficult times ahead as well.  My diet right now is roughly 4 to 5 ounces a meal of mostly liquid or very light food of no sugar yogurt or cottage cheese.  It was hard watching my family eat a yummy Sunday meal yesterday while I had my Cream of Chicken Soup.  I will need to take vitamins the rest of my life to help maintain my health.  It will be a number of months before my diet, albeit at much smaller portions returns to anything in a normal category.  However I have no regrets and look forward to returning to my normal daily activity in this coming week.  While I have some up and down days still to come, I look forward to some new found freedom that this decision will bring me and look forward to torturing my children as long as I can!