A Gentle Giant

I was given a referral to see J. R. Salameh, MD, FACS with Surgical Associates at Virginia Hospital Center. I called and scheduled my appointment to meet with him and then immediately got online to do as much research as I could on the man that was going to be changing my life. I was impressed. Dr. Salameh is a very learned, well practiced, talented man when it comes to being a surgeon.

One morning at the beginning of March 2012, I found myself anxiously sitting in the examination room waiting to meet Dr. Salameh. So much was going through my head. Was this doctor going to judge me? Was he going to tell me that I haven't tried to diet and exercise hard enough and to try again before he would operate? How long would I have to wait until I could schedule my surgery? Was I going to be able to handle the requirements? Could I discipline myself enough to follow what I needed to after my insides were re-routed? I was nervous, excited, scared and happy all at the same time.

That's when I heard the light tap on the door that doctors always do before entering an examination room. Dr. Salameh walked in and he was a man that was very large in stature and a bit intimidating. He smiled and said hello, introduced himself and immediately put me at ease. He asked me to share my story with him and explain to him why I wanted to make this change in my life. I began to explain to him my struggles, I explained through tears rolling down my face, how I refused to let obesity and diabetes take my life. As I finished my explanation and looked up at him and saw all the compassion in the world in his eyes, I KNEW he was not judging me. I KNEW that he wanted to help me and that I could trust this man. Dr. Salameh then started to explain to me that WLS was not a cure but merely a tool to help me accomplish my goals. He then explained something to me that struck my heart and validated why I had chosen to have WLS. He explained to me that losing weight is hard enough when you are only 15-20 pounds over weight let alone when you are carrying 100 plus pounds around as I was. He explained that out of the people who weigh as much as I did and more and try to lose weight by diet and exercise alone, only 3% are successful. THREE PERCENT! The odds were ever not in my favor.

 We discussed the different WLS options and agreed that Gastric Bypass was the best option for me. I had to meet with the nutritionist that works out of his office once before surgery and then I was good to go. I made an appointment with the nutritionist and also scheduled my surgery date. My surgery was scheduled for April 11, 2012. That was THREE weeks away.

How blessed I was to have been given this Gentle Giant to help me change my life.