Update 6th Feb 2018:

This week, we celebrate the successful WeightLoss of Hannah Edwards. Here’s her story:

I spent the day today helping my brother on the building site and I realised I would never have been able to do what I was doing today if I hadn’t had my sleeve! Officially 75kg down and literally half of who I once was! Absolutely loving life!

First Published: [March 01, 2017]

This week’s wonderful weight loss story is Hannah Edwards, below is her “BEFORE” image.

Here’s what she says:

My heaviest weight 149kg
Pre-op diet weight – 145kg
Day of surgery weight – 140kg
Current weight – 92kg
Goal weight – 75kg (17kg to go 🙂
10 months post op on the 5th of march. 

My surgery was the scariest, hardest, most challenging, amazing, life changing and best thing I have ever done! And here’s why.

I have been overweight all my life, varying versions of it of course, but always overweight. I had the best family, and they tried their hardest always to get me to eat less and exercise but I simply loved food and wouldn’t give it up. I was told time and time again that I needed to look after myself but I had always been pretty healthy and able bodied (I thought) and so ignored everyone’s heartfelt advice. I was overall fairly happy, well that’s what I thought anyway.

Over Christmas and New Years of 2015/2016 I went on the trip of a lifetime with my best friend to New York, and what was supposed to be an amazing time, became an absolute nightmare;  I struggled to fit in air-plane seats, I couldn’t do activities or lots of walking and then the clincher, I was admitted to an American hospital as I was really unwell and they thought I had a clot in my lung. So as I sat in a hospital in my dream city of New York, thousands of miles away, I thought to myself… what have I done? I was terrified, I just wanted to go home! And it dawned on me that the horrible situation I was in was pretty much the result of being morbidly obese. I decided in that moment I had to do something about it.

I had thought about WLSA before but always dismissed it for fear of being judged. I know people think it’s the easy way out. But let me tell you, it most definitely wasn’t! After I got back from New York, I got myself back to a good mindset after my medical scare and contacted WLSA and that was the beginning of my amazing journey. The team was amazing. I met everyone and felt really comfortable!  I booked a surgery date and didn’t look back!

5th of May rolled round, and I was feeling good! It was all a bit of a blur and I went from section to section in the hospital and finally lied down on the surgery table and laughed with the nurses as I fell asleep knowing my whole life was going to be better when I woke up.

And then I woke up, and I felt terrible!!! I was thirsty, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, I was in pain. I just wanted to sleep it all away. So I did for the first 18 hours. Then when I was fully alert all I could think was, what have I done, that sudden realisation that I couldn’t undo my sleeve. I was terrified!

The next 2 months felt like a lifetime and suffice to say I had a rough time. I became really worried about everything… that my stomach would split, that I would get a clot, that I would get an infection…. everything you can think of, I thought it. I started having panic attacks and I thought I was having heart problems… I really spiralled. I refused to eat for about 5 weeks and became very weak, I didn’t want to be alone, or drive… I basically had decided I was going to die, which is absolutely crazy and irrational but it was the head space I was in. In that time I met Leslie (WLSA psychologist), my absolute angel Leslie, she helped me so much in realising it was all my head and that I could get through it. She identified why I was having these overreactions and taught me techniques to get past the fear. I’m so grateful to her!  I also had my amazing family and friends looking after me that whole time too. I am very blessed.

It took me about 4 months to stop being scared all the time and I still have panic attacks if I am triggered. But after those 4 months I started realising the blessing I had. The weight was falling off. After 5 months I had lost 40kg. I couldn’t even believe it! And now 10 months on I am nearly 60 kg down from my heaviest weight.

My whole life is different; I can paint my own toenails. I can fit in a airplane seat, and I don’t even mean that I just fit, it’s roomy. People don’t look at me with fear anymore when they realise they are sat next to me. I can run around and play with my dog. I look forward to going for walks with friends. I don’t get scared as I approach a flight of stairs, as I know I won’t have trouble getting up them anymore. I love that my nieces give me cuddles and giggle cause they can get their arms around me now! I don’t struggle to get up anymore. There are so many things! I could go on and on. I had always thought I was happy! I didn’t realise how much my weight held me back.

I didn’t bother dating cause no one would want a big girl, I didn’t apply for jobs because nobody hires big girls… those sorts of things used to run through my head daily, and I didn’t realise I was doing it!

I still have a little ways to go but I am so in love with my journey now. My 3 months of terror don’t even dent the amazing feeling I get when I wake up each morning now.

It won’t be easy… it will be mentally challenging, you’ll want to kick and scream and cry sometimes…. but it’s all worth it. I tell people constantly it’s the best thing I ever did. It’s changed my life for the better and I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Hannah Edwards

#WeightLossWarrior

From WLSA:

Thanks for sharing your story, Hannah, and what a big change you have had! Above are some “AFTER” photos showing her progress post the Gastric Sleeve procedure at WLSA, it shows a very happy & healthy looking Hannah Edwards indeed – wow!

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*Disclaimer: Results may vary for each person