Jody's weight loss journey

Weight loss surgery can be a life-changing experience. Here, Jody Gzhadawsot Mattena shares her story of being treated by the team at TriStar Centennial Center for Weight Management and the profound impact weight loss surgery has had on her life.

“At the age of 47, I found myself with not much hope. I had gained 100 pounds in the last decade and had tried everything I could think of to stop and lose the weight. Nothing worked, and I decided that I was just going to be obese for the rest of my life and die young as my parents both did. I even made sure my will and estate were in order so that my young kids and husband would be ok. I knew diabetes was right around the corner for me. My blood pressure was high and rising, resting heart rate always over 88, developed asthma, and I was on a CPAP.

I’m an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, and so our trust of the medical field is not that high. Going to get help from our primary care physicians is trying enough, but getting help from a weight loss specialist is super low on the list. Then a friend of mine shared her weight loss journey with me through gastric sleeve procedure with Dr. Dyer. I watched her journey and then decided that I needed to go on this journey as well. I contacted Dr. Dyer’s office the next morning and my journey began.

At the time I called the office, I was weighing in at 246 pounds on my 5-foot-2-inch frame. I decided on gastric sleeve and weighed in at 230 the day of surgery. I was terrified but excited. I don’t want to die young or be on a plethora of medications for the rest of my life. I wanted to have an active life for my children and my family. It was time to choose and take charge of my life.

I immediately felt so comfortable in Dr. Dyer’s office. The staff is incredibly supportive, and the atmosphere is a nonjudgmental one. Dr. Dyer is straightforward, and that’s exactly what I needed. The manual they gave me was the type of instruction I needed to keep with me, and my husband often refers to it when he wants to cook a meal or take me out to eat. The day of surgery went so smoothly. Dr. Dyer and his team checked in with me often prior to surgery and then afterwards. The dietitians gave me great nutritional information and answered all my questions about vitamins, shakes and other questions I have had.

Right after the surgery, it was rough. I questioned everything but kept in mind that after a couple of weeks I would feel better. I just stuck with the plan and followed the manual given to me from the office to the letter. Don’t deviate! Keep your end goal in mind all the time, and know that after the first few weeks you will feel so much better and start seeing the results!

I’m now five months out with normal blood pressure without medication; I’m off cholesterol medications, I’m off the CPAP, resting heart rate is now 62, no signs of asthma, and I have lost a total of 76 pounds! I feel so much better in so many ways. I can keep up with my kids and even “out-show” them at the gym now.

The major personal goal for me was to be able to slalom water ski again. This is something I absolutely loved in my younger years but, because of the weight, I couldn’t do since I was 38. I’m so proud to say that I got up and had a blast! I felt like I was in my 20s again.”