150 pounds lighter

PRIOR to adulthood, Carol Bagaloo Mitchell lived a normal life in Wynters Pen, St Catherine, growing up like the typical Jamaican child. But after marriage she started experiencing physical changes, and started gaining weight.

“I was at ease, eating wrong, not doing the right things. Then I started having a hormonal imbalance,” she said.

Eventually the weight gain became a burden, which in part led to her divorce, and she moved back home with her parents. However, she started having health complications, which became potentially life- threatening.

“I started to get ill and have hypertension complications, pre-diabetes, sleep apnoea, asthma and pain. It became so bad that my elderly parents were taking care of me when it should be the other way around. I’d be at the supermarket pushing the trolley and just start having some terrible pains and I had to leave and go sit down. They were doing the work I should be doing. We had a family trip overseas and they went exploring and I couldn’t go because I couldn’t walk long distances and my mother felt bad and came and sat with me,” she remembered.

“Even at work I’d be there and have to be sent home because I wasn’t feeling well or was in so much pain.”

She said she was sick and tired of being sick, so she started doing research and learnt about bariatric surgery.

“I had a family member who had done bariatric surgery and so I started researching it, but it wasn’t done locally and the cost of it abroad was very expensive,” she said.

A bit disappointed, Bagaloo Mitchell continued searching until she heard about Dr Alfred Dawes, a general, laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon who offered the procedure locally.

But on visiting him she faced her true reality: She weighed 295 pounds and he said if something wasn’t done immediately the consequence could be death.

“When I heard my weight, just five pounds shy of 300 pounds, I cried. I remember when I went to do some blood work, I was 45 years old and the endocrinologist looked at me and told me I didn’t have five years left. I went outside to my car and I cried,” she said.

At this point, Bagaloo Mitchell said she felt like giving up, but with the help of her family and Dr Dawes, she developed a fighting spirit.

“There were many roadblocks along the way to the surgery and he fought for me. I was so ill that the other doctors thought I couldn’t manage the surgery, but Dr Dawes put special things in place for the procedure. He made a case for me with the insurance company so that I was able to offset costs for the surgery and he babysat me through the recovery process,” she said.

Today, one year and six months after her surgery, Bagaloo Mitchell is a few months shy of her 47th birthday and weighs a mere 145 pounds.

Though she’s now reaping the success of her gastric sleeve procedure — she no longer suffers from diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea and asthma complications — she admits that the entire process is by no means easy, nor is it a quick fix.

“Bariatric surgery isn’t a quick fix. Your whole life will change. It’s not about fitting into clothes. It is a commitment. Mentally you have to prepare yourself for it, or else it won’t be a success. Your diet has to change. At first I was drinking clear liquids such as coconut water, water and broth, and then I moved to protein shakes, then soft foods and regular foods that are modified because there are some things my stomach won’t accept,” she explained.

She added: “It is an adjustment I just made up my mind to do. Food is no longer a struggle for me.”

Additionally, she said her self-esteem has been lifted as now she socialises more and even attended her first party recently.

“When I was sick and tired I didn’t want to go anywhere. I watched a lot of TV, but now I’m walking more. I’ve joined the walking club at work and I’m attending events,” she said.

And for those who believe weight loss surgery limits you to taking medications for the rest of your life, Bagaloo Mitchell said it’s quite the opposite.

“I’m off my medications. The only things I take are my supplements and multivitamins,” she said.

“I can’t see myself back at 295 pounds, and people can’t see me back there either. Never give up, no matter how bad the situation is because there is always hope and help. You don’t have to go my route, but there is a solution to whatever issues you have. If it is weight, do your research and get help.”